Rashomon - human weakness exposed.
I have heard this movie and its director Akira Kurosowa but I dont recollect why. I know that Akira Kurosowa is a well renowned director. But I haven't seen any of his movies and this was the first. It starts slow and progresses slower, just like our older movies (like Veedu). You should be patient for a while and it will be rewarded :)
The total number of characters in the movie are about 7-8 max. The story takes places in a forest and in a temple sort of place and its heavily raining. I guess rain suits for all purposes :). A horror scene, a romantic one, a tearful scene , you name it and you can add rain to the scene to enhance its effect. To have a few cast and to tell a story which shakes the very belief in humans !!! whew!!! As the monk says, I just don't want to give up on humans yet.
It exposes the very basic nature of the humans, to keep their ego and self respect in tact and when in need, to protect it, act in self defense, no matter what. The woodcutter, the wife, the samurai and the bandit all wanted to make sure that their version of the story doesn't harm their image of say a fearful bandit, a good pathivrata wife, a humble husband or a innocent woodcutter. Everyone twists the story in such a way that you wouldn't know who to believe. And the only one person who would know the true version is amongst these four.. what a mess ain't ? The only thing which I wasn't little comfortable with was the place where spirits speak to you..but when we have so many ghosts and spirits stories of our own and we accept the same, so why not this !?
Again there are few lines which hits you hard ... and apparently are very true... irrespective of the time line of human generations.
I have heard this movie and its director Akira Kurosowa but I dont recollect why. I know that Akira Kurosowa is a well renowned director. But I haven't seen any of his movies and this was the first. It starts slow and progresses slower, just like our older movies (like Veedu). You should be patient for a while and it will be rewarded :)
The total number of characters in the movie are about 7-8 max. The story takes places in a forest and in a temple sort of place and its heavily raining. I guess rain suits for all purposes :). A horror scene, a romantic one, a tearful scene , you name it and you can add rain to the scene to enhance its effect. To have a few cast and to tell a story which shakes the very belief in humans !!! whew!!! As the monk says, I just don't want to give up on humans yet.
It exposes the very basic nature of the humans, to keep their ego and self respect in tact and when in need, to protect it, act in self defense, no matter what. The woodcutter, the wife, the samurai and the bandit all wanted to make sure that their version of the story doesn't harm their image of say a fearful bandit, a good pathivrata wife, a humble husband or a innocent woodcutter. Everyone twists the story in such a way that you wouldn't know who to believe. And the only one person who would know the true version is amongst these four.. what a mess ain't ? The only thing which I wasn't little comfortable with was the place where spirits speak to you..but when we have so many ghosts and spirits stories of our own and we accept the same, so why not this !?
Again there are few lines which hits you hard ... and apparently are very true... irrespective of the time line of human generations.
- "But is there anyone who's really good? Maybe goodness is just make-believe. "
- "Man just wants to forget the bad stuff, and believe in the made-up good stuff. It's easier that way."
- "It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves."
- "They are common stories these days. I even heard that the demon living here in Rashomon fled in fear of the ferocity of man."
I guess we would all behave like these men there (except for the monk) at one time or the other when pushed. Is that good or bad ? Well I ain't starting that sensitive conversation now :) If it was good for some, it would be bad for others. Big deal!!!
But a very nice and intelligent movie. Must watch. (I guess this was in the top 50 movies to watch list somewhere...and it deserves it too)
Happy Days - Telugu - Predictable yet Cute
When you are confined to your home on a Saturday afternoon with heavy rains pouring outside, trust me, it is a perfect day for a good romantic movie with a hot cup of tea giving you company. And I chose Happy Days (Telugu) which I had with me for quite some time, but didn't feel like watching and y day I did..just like that.. and it was nice :). Its the same old college days filled with friends, love, jealousy etc etc type of story.. like the jaane tu ya jaane na type...but yet it was cute.. What made it cute ? may be it was the fresh faces particularly that Tyson :) Man...he's got guts.. he was crazy, but cute. And the usual lovey dovey couple Madhu and Chandu... The other unusual couple was Appu and Rajesh... very funny and cranky and if you have all good ones, you must have one bad one too...its Shankar and Sangeetha.....You have this senior-junior clash, ego clash between couples (as in Kushi), senior-junior affair...blah blah blah..But somehow it clicks. On what grounds ? God knows..or at least I didn't. I just felt good that is all. And yes, special mention to the music. It was very good..especially the award winning "Are re re"... I am a huge fan of Karthik and he never failed to surprise me.
Watch this movie, if you just want to chill out :)
When you are confined to your home on a Saturday afternoon with heavy rains pouring outside, trust me, it is a perfect day for a good romantic movie with a hot cup of tea giving you company. And I chose Happy Days (Telugu) which I had with me for quite some time, but didn't feel like watching and y day I did..just like that.. and it was nice :). Its the same old college days filled with friends, love, jealousy etc etc type of story.. like the jaane tu ya jaane na type...but yet it was cute.. What made it cute ? may be it was the fresh faces particularly that Tyson :) Man...he's got guts.. he was crazy, but cute. And the usual lovey dovey couple Madhu and Chandu... The other unusual couple was Appu and Rajesh... very funny and cranky and if you have all good ones, you must have one bad one too...its Shankar and Sangeetha.....You have this senior-junior clash, ego clash between couples (as in Kushi), senior-junior affair...blah blah blah..But somehow it clicks. On what grounds ? God knows..or at least I didn't. I just felt good that is all. And yes, special mention to the music. It was very good..especially the award winning "Are re re"... I am a huge fan of Karthik and he never failed to surprise me.
Watch this movie, if you just want to chill out :)
Australia - Simple, Predictable War story.
Its the usual war time story which attempts to bring back the humane side and yes, you should have a villain here too , otherwise it would be boring isn't ? But I still liked the movie, because of the involvement of the kid(s) in the movie and the camerawork. The kid was very cute for a half-caste Aborigine. The way he sings to the fish or to Mrs Boss, its so warming. The romance between Mrs Boss and Drover is slow and steady and sweet. They made a very cute pair. As a story it has nothing very special to mention about (or at least I didn't find any). But the camerawork was great. One thing that keep popping up in my mind was, why they named the movie Australia, it is hardly about it.. Its just about the place called Darwin or Faraway Downs... or otherwise the northern part of the continent to which the story is confined during the world wars. Whatever it is, it was fun watching it. Good time pass and crikey ;) particularly when Mrs Boss tries to drove the cattle herd. Neil Fletcher is the bad man here. He does make you feel like you would want to hit him at least once.
The story also tells about how the tribes of Australia are exploited by white fellas. Its the same case everywhere I guess... be it Africa or Australia,.... I am not sure how much of this is true, but I guess people are or were exploited because of their color everywhere.
Its the usual war time story which attempts to bring back the humane side and yes, you should have a villain here too , otherwise it would be boring isn't ? But I still liked the movie, because of the involvement of the kid(s) in the movie and the camerawork. The kid was very cute for a half-caste Aborigine. The way he sings to the fish or to Mrs Boss, its so warming. The romance between Mrs Boss and Drover is slow and steady and sweet. They made a very cute pair. As a story it has nothing very special to mention about (or at least I didn't find any). But the camerawork was great. One thing that keep popping up in my mind was, why they named the movie Australia, it is hardly about it.. Its just about the place called Darwin or Faraway Downs... or otherwise the northern part of the continent to which the story is confined during the world wars. Whatever it is, it was fun watching it. Good time pass and crikey ;) particularly when Mrs Boss tries to drove the cattle herd. Neil Fletcher is the bad man here. He does make you feel like you would want to hit him at least once.
The story also tells about how the tribes of Australia are exploited by white fellas. Its the same case everywhere I guess... be it Africa or Australia,.... I am not sure how much of this is true, but I guess people are or were exploited because of their color everywhere.
Good masala entertainer.
