Ida: Search for identity!

Ida is a Polish film which won Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Category at the recently held Academy Awards. And it deserves the accolades for its sensitivity in dealing with the subject. The film is the story of a young nun Anna (played by Agata Trzebuchowska) who was orphaned during the World War II. She is now determined to meet her aunt and find out about her parents, before she could take her religious vows.

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Director: Paweł Pawlikowski

The journey, though, takes her to hitherto uninhabited terrains and situations, which she finds both revelatory as well as momentary. Even as she discovers how her parents were killed, she is not disturbed beyond a point about the events that took place in the past and shows remarkable calm and composure. Even when she comes to know that she was born a Jew, she is not overtly amazed and thus does not indulge in exaggerated emotions.

And that perhaps is the strength of the film. Throughout, one gets to witness characters contrasting in nature, yet not resorting to undue pomposity. They go about their role play nonchalantly, giving the film its richness and artistic value.

Agatha, the young nun, is just the right character to play the role of a courageous and indifferent girl. Her performance has elevated the character, and of course the film, a notch or two higher in quality. Full marks to director Paweł Pawlikowski for his effective handling of script and screenplay.

- Melwyn Pinto SJ

Blue Jasmine: The tale of a woman!

Woody Allen's movies have never appealed to me, as they have always come across as a tiny bit artsy and often with a very vague plot. But in Blue Jasmine draws one’s attention and probably the focus here is Blanchett, whose performance  takes a vague and mindless character and makes her surprisingly, um ... , sadly riveting. 

Director: Woody Allen

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Darkly funny, often in a self-deprecating way, Jasmine resembles one of those '50s wives who are dumped and then find themselves with no skills to survive, not even being able to live in the manner they'd grown accustomed. Strangely the film held off most of my family at arm's length, but for me it is Blanchett that makes this depressingly sad movie enjoyable. Her spaced out character should make you want to hate her, but by the end, you can't help but feel sorry for her and feel she is slightly misunderstood as well.

The mental instability of the character is brilliantly portrayed by the exceptionally talented Blanchett, however some viewers felt very unsatisfied and angry about the ending. But personally, it's good that the movie didn't end with a typical happy Hollywood spin. The film sets you thinking about how many women there are out there totally lost with no skills to survive like Blanchett; how important it is for a woman to be educated, with more skills than just looking pretty and dressing in branded clothes!

A friend on Facebook seemed to feel she could hear the distant clang of A Streetcar Named Desire --- not a rip off from the earlier film, but a sort of respectful tribute.

- Marianne Furtado de Nazareth

12 Years A Slave: Value of freedom

Well, as expected 12 Years A Slave has won the best film award at Oscars 2014. Not that the other films were not competitive enough. What made the difference perhaps was the human touch of the film and the way the director has handled the narration, without allowing the subject to become a heightened melodrama, despite the story lending itself to it.

 

Director: Steve McQueen

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The film is apparently based on a real life story and loosely hewed on the book of the same title. The events occur in the mid-19^th century when slavery was considered normal in the US. However, the protagonist in the story had to face a double whammy as he was kidnapped and forcefully made a slave and he remained in that state for 12 years. More than the physical pain, it is the humiliation and sheer helplessness he went through which make the audience resonate sympathetically with the theme. That is when one realises how precious freedom is and how devastating it is when freedom is robbed from people who are born free and who believe that they are born ‘in the image and likeness of God’.

There have been several films that deal with the theme of slavery. In fact this film reminds of another classical Amistad which was a poignant tale of slave trade and had a much bigger canvas. (Incidentally, the  protagonist Chiwetel Ejiofor had played a role in Amistad). However, 12 Years A Slave stands out for its straight forwardness sans glamour and for not making it a spectacle of brutality that slavery was, even while conveying the message powerfully.

Full marks to director Steve McQueen. Lupita Nyong'o rightly  deserved the award for the Best Actress in a supporting role. 

- Melwyn Pinto SJ

Wadjda: The little rebel!

Wadjda is the first film from Saudi Arabia to be nominated for Oscars award this year. It is the official entry in the Best Foreign Film Category. The film should be called a bold attempt given the Saudi Arabian conservative circumstances.

Director: Hafeesa al-Mansour

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The film is about Wadjda, an 11-year old girl, whose life desire is to buy a cycle for herself. It is near impossible for a girl to ride cycles in Saudi Arabia, given the religious patriarchy. But Wadjda is little bit of a rebel and wants to get it at any cost. In depicting Wadjda’s pursuit to buy a cycle, the director brilliantly presents before us different facets of a Saudi woman. Wadjda’s mother has her own daily anxieties to deal with. Her husband is out to marry another woman, and sadly, she has no control over it. Then there is the over-disciplinary and ultra conservative school headmistress who seems to have internalised the Islamic conservatism to perfection. While the director Haifaa al-Mansour suggests that it is only women who can liberate women, she also seems to send across a message that women can at times be the biggest hurdles on the way of their own liberation.

The story of the film is seen through the eyes of the protagonist Wadjda, played sensitively by the highly talented Waad Mohammed. The typical Middle-Eastern music adds colour to the narration. What makes this film important is the context in which it is narrated. Women have been fighting hard in Saudi Arabia to drive cars on the roads. The Muslim clergy is yet to be reconciled with such a demand. But, women are violating all ‘norms’ and are driving their private vehicles. This ‘revolt’ is symbolic of the greater freedom that Saudi women are demanding. Wadjda , incidentally, makes a similar, yet bold, statement en route to women’s liberation.

- Melwyn Pinto SJ

Amour: True meaning of love!

Amour means love in several languages. This is a French film. The love that this film deals with is the love of an old man for his wife who is also of almost his age. She is incapacitated by a stroke due to the shock of a robbery taking place in the house. The man Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) promises his wife Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) that he would not put her in the hospital as she is afraid of doctors. Instead, he looks after her delicately at home. However, things are not as simple as he thinks they would be. She deteriorates day after day. Worse, she begins to get more and more hysteric. He is painfully inadequate in dealing with such a miserable situation. But he puts up with all that, because he loves his wife so deeply. The end also looks more as a consequence of his love than anything else.

Director: Michael Haneke

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Amour is the official film selected from Austria for this year’s Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category and is a front runner to win the award. The narration is melancholic and the mood looks very depressing. But, each scene is delicately woven to portray what true love means and what its burdens and consequences are. True love is full of passion at one level; it is also full of pains at another. This seems to be the message the film tries to put across.

The film has very little embellishments except the fine performances by the lead characters, especially Emmanuelle Riva. She is one of the strong contenders to win the best actress award. The camera acts more as an observer than recorder of scenes, because each moment seems so realistic. Finally, one cannot help but realise after watching this film that, it is one thing to grow old gracefully, but quite different to grow old together!

- Melwyn Pinto SJ