Sujoy Ghosh (of Kahaani fame) presents his take on the story of Ahalya - a minor subplot from the great epic of Ramayana - with a feminist twist that keeps the viewers on the tenterhooks till the end. Aptly cast Soumitra Chatterjee as the sagacious, yet naughty, artist husband Goutam Sadhu, ravishing Radhika Apte in the titular role and Tota Roy Chowdhury as the wavering cop Indra Sen, are convincing in their respective roles. A Subtle.. Sublime.. Scary.. short. A VERY GOOD WATCH !! RATING - 3.5/5 P.S. - YOU CAN WATCH IT RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW @ THE LINK BELOW !
Most of India identify him as the maker of the 2012 sleeper hit Makkhi (aka Eega/Naan EE/Eecha) as well as the reincarnation saga, Magadheera (Maaveeran in Tamil). However, in the annals of Tollywood, S.S. Rajamouli, is better recognized as the serial blockbuster maker with a Midas touch. Even his lesser known earlier movies have spawn successful remakes/dubbed versions in multiple Indian languages. Seen thus, he is among the few regional film makers who can rightfully claim of winning adulation and appreciation across the country.
Baahubali, Rajamouli's ambitious magnum opus, to be presented in two parts - The Beginning released now to be followed by The Conclusion next year - owes much of its existence to the critical and commercial success of Makkhi (2012) where Rajamouli proved that he could weave a riveting revenge saga with a humble housefly as the protagonist. One can also say that Baahubali as well as Rajamouli's dream took flight with the tender wings of that housefly which could establish him as a maker who could assure delivering the goods on a much larger scale and reach.
Set in a fictional medieval land, Baahubali - The Beginning is a revenge saga of a royal family where the long lost prince - Shivu (Prabhas) - would be seen avenging the injustices of a cruel and corrupt king - Ballala Deva (Rana Daggubati) who murdered his father - king Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas) and imprisoned his mother - Devasena (Anushka Shetty goes completely de-glam). While the story is as old as humanity itself, it is in his presentation that Rajamouli scores his aces. Without doubt the design and execution of the movie is on a scale hitherto unseen in Indian cinema. The movie boasts of state of the art CGI which could rival most of what is on offer from Hollywood which is seamlessly complemented by gorgeous art design of the ever-dependable Sabu Cyril which is captured by K.K. Senthil Kumar to spellbinding effect. While the songs themselves are quite unremarkable, music director M.M. Keeravani (aka Maragadhamani) has amped up the intensity of the action set pieces with an energetic score. The extended action set piece of the battle which forms the finale has been spectacularly conceived and rendered by Peter Hein and his team. In fact, the visionary director, his visual effects team, Sabu Cyril and K.K. Senthil Kumar as well as the audacious producer who believed in the director and his team to deliver the wares are the real stars of this movie. Speaking of the star cast, Prabhas and Rana bring on an intense screen presence with their hulking herculean builds even as veteran Ramya Krishna matches them with her fiery presence. Satyaraj (as Kattappa) and Nasser (as Pingala Deva) excel in their minor cameos.
S.S. Rajamouli has the rare twin gifts of being a visual artist and an entertaining storyteller. In Baahubali - The Beginning, he has let the visual artist to overshadow the storyteller in him. Baahubali has several instances where Rajamouli doffs his hat - without copying, per se - to Hollywood masters like James Cameron, Peter Jackson as well as local influences like the epics of Ramayana, Mahabaratha along with notable works in Bollywood and his own earlier works.
If one were to count the failings of the movie, I would flag the lack of emotional connect with the story and its characters, especially coming from a maker who could hook us and root for the revenge saga of a humble housefly. The insipid romance between Prabhas and Tamannah is unconvincing and is the chief culprit resulting in the extra long first half which feels a tad of dragging. Nonetheless, the movie remains consistently engrossing as Rajamouli shifts the action from one verdant locale to another which rise up in majestic CGI visuals which are well crafted with the exception of few blemishes which look phony.
Baahubali - The Beginning heralds the breach of the long held and accepted horizons of Indian film-makers and explores brave new visual vistas where contemporary Hollywood has held reign for a decade or more. Now, if only our film makers build more muscle in the storytelling side too, our films would be celebrated across the world, besides India. But, till then, Rajamouli and his team richly deserve the shower of praises that are to come their way for imagining and executing an epic entertainer that has taken Indian cinema to an all new apex. Hope he scales greater heights and concludes his epic saga with a fitting finale. I AM WAITING !!
This post has been selected by BlogAdda as a Tangy Tuesday pick for 30.06.2015
The success of any movie depends directly on its ability to forge an emotional connect between the characters who inhabit the movie and the viewer. The greater we feel with / for a character, identify / empathise with their predicaments, feelings, choices and actions, the higher the chances of a movie's success. What if the main characters in a movie are the basic emotions themselves..? Would it make it easier or difficult to forge an emotional connect with such a movie ?
Pixar, the path-breaking animation studio that presented us with such classic delights such as Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Wall E, Up and many more have explored the above question in their latest ambitious animated feature, Inside Out. When 11-year old Riley, is forced to relocate from Minnesota to San Francisco with her parents, she undergoes an emotional roller-coaster as she is stressed out in adjusting to a new place even as she misses her hitherto dear home and friends. The movie captures this emotional turmoil of Riley by exploring the working of her mind through the interactions between her five basic emotions of Joy (a chirpy Amy Poehler), Sadness (adorable Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).
While the movie deserves kudos for its high quality and vivid animation which we have come to expect from Pixar, what makes it tick is the fact that Director Pete Doctor (Up & Monsters Inc.) who has co-written this movie has conjured up a magical movie which works at so many levels. He presents a lively animated feature which breaches the hitherto accepted horizons of its genre to bravely explore the abstract world of mind and emotions, angst, existential crisis and depression. The movie succeeds mainly from its sheer brilliance in writing which successfully communicates, without compromising on an iota of entertainment value, the nature of every emotion,their behavioural outcomes, their utility and prominence in the larger scheme of our lives, the need to accept all of them as well as the need to strive towards a balance among them. Multiple abstract concepts which one would normally associate with psychology texts and self-help books such as formation of memories, transfer into and storage of long term memories, imagination, nostalgia, dreams, influence of emotions on memory, emotion - behaviour connect, loss of unused memory, repression, fears that fester in the subconscious, need for a balanced emotional state are presented through inventive and imaginative visuals in a sincere and heart warming manner.
Pixar has done what it does best.. Outdo Pixar.. in making the BEST animated features ever. This is an abundantly funny, yet, subtle, sensitive, profound and poignant movie that presents its inherently complex and abstract material in a lucid manner that appeals universally. It is a veritable treat which would satiate the appetite of every demographic one could imagine, effortlessly making each of them laugh and cry. Inside Out is a triumph in movie-making and am certain that it would find its place in the coveted club of everlasting classics in movie history.
If there could be ONLY one movie that one would see this whole year... THIS IS IT ! THIS IS IT !!
A RARE GEM ! MUST WATCH !!
RATING - 5/5
Jurassic World directed by Colin Trevorrow is officially the fourth installment of the famous dino franchise that started in 1993 by the master auteur Steven Spielberg who had, in turn, adopted it from the best selling novel of sci-fi author Michael Chrichton. When Spielberg presented his pioneering movie, as an adventure 65 million years in the making, it proved to be a defining moment in movie history - an early triumph of movie magic concocted from CGI and animatronics wizardry - which redefined the possibilities and consequently, the paradigm of popular cinema. It left a firm imprint (a la T-Rex's footprint) on the minds of its viewers like me with its vivid imagery - be it the tiny ripples in the water accompanied by the thuds of the approachingcreature, the chilling chase sequence of T Rex hounding a speeding jeep, the nail biter of a pantry sequence involving the two kids and a bunch of raptors as well as the sequence where kids trapped in the car are confronted by the mighty T Rex in a rampaging mode. However, as with most such mega movies, the franchise soon became a victim of its own momentous success. Dino movies, just like their dinosaurs, soon got relegated to a prehistoric era in the minds of the movie goers as subsequent summer blockbusters have continued to grow and hone their CGI wizardry to create bigger, meaner and scarier monsters which pile up the scale of mayhem with each passing year. However, the enduring value of the original movie was reinforced when Universal Studios released the reworked 3D version of Jurassic Park in 2013 to mark the twentieth anniversary of its release which proved successful across the globe.
The present movie is set in Isla Nublar after 22 years from the timeline of the the first movie and ignores the story arcs of its sub-par sequels (1994 by Spielberg and 2001 by Joe Johnston). John Hammond's dream is finally a reality with his successor Mesrani (Irrfan Khan) having set up a hugely popular, luxury dino theme park called Jurassic World spanning the entire island of Isla Nublar. The park is headed by a control seeking, very formal - "I am all business" - park manager, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard). Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) is an ex-navy officer-cum-animal expert, working in the park and is involved in a study on training velociraptors. As the movie opens, Claire is forced to play host to her school going nephews, Zach and Gray, who are sent by their parents for a fun weekend while they consider an impending divorce. The park itself has been a successful venture for several years now with steady growth of visitors from across the world. The influx of the visitors is spiked periodically by introducing a new species every few years to sustain the waning interests. The tourists' fatigue of older attractions is succinctly captured in a sequence where Zach, in his observatory, prefers to remain glued to his smart phone and ignores a T-Rex (no less), quite literally, devouring a scapegoat (a key element in the first movie). So, when mother nature is incapable of dishing out attractions that could sustain such volatile attention spans, the corporation running Jurassic World decides to take matters in its own hands to bolster the sagging growth curve of footfalls in the park. They cook up a new dino attraction - read bigger, louder, smarter dinosaur with more teeth - called Indominus rex, by concocting a genetic cocktail of DNA sourced from multiple dinosaurs and other species. Predictably, as dictated by the template of such genre movies, the dino escapes its confinement to go on a killing frenzy, unleashing mayhem on the unsuspecting tourists as well as other dinosaurs.
Off the cast, Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) continues to charm with his performance and one gets a feeling that he might well be the right guy for an Indiana Jones reboot. He shares an interesting chemistry with Howard who is competent and brings in the necessary intensity in the second half. The rest of the cast including Irrfan and the two kids are merely for functional aspects - to stage an action sequence, mouth something vaguely philosophical or become feast for the predators - with limited scope to perform as is the norm in such monster movies.
Director Colin Trevorrow who had impressed with his indie time travel comedy, Safety Not Guaranteed, on his debut, is filling some VERY BIG shoes for his second feature and has managed to ace his first try at the summer blockbuster genre. Trevorrow's execution manifests his brilliance in marshaling the resources at hand to craft a sure-fire winner that packs in the right dose of spectacle to shock and awe the viewers. He stages the action sequences with commendable clarity and fluid camera workwhich herald him as a maker who is confident of his craft and can leave his mark despite several imprints of Spielberg (Executive Producer here) that permeate the movie. Trevorrow also doffs his hat at Spielberg's original as well as earlier works more than once as in the case of using Mr. DNA animation, statue of Hammond, using the dilapidated site of the earlier park to stage an action sequence or even in the spectacular sequence of feeding a great white shark to an aquatic dinosaur (Mosasaurus).
Besides being the big bang blockbuster, Trevorrow and his co-writers supplement the regular fare of faulting human hubris in playing God to include multiple elements of self-referencing all through the movie by flagging the never-ending saga of our times - the interplay of consumerism and capitalism wherein we, the consumers (even as audiences) are constantly seeking the next BIGGER, BETTER experience and the capitalists seeking to continuously stoke this innate, insatiable instincts of the consumer and milk the same for more and more moolah.
On the flip side, the movie could be definitely held guilty for doing such self referencing a tad too much as well as for playing up the ancient gender archetypes, multitude of conspicuous product placements and some pretty hollow characterisations. Yet, it redeems itself by delivering solidly on its promise of bringing the scares through BIGGER, LOUDER & MORE TEETH which translates into popcorn munching fun, fear and wonderment. While clearly not surpassing Spielberg's original, Trevorrow's energetic movie is mighty successful in replicating much of the awe and is clearly a worthy successor that ups the benchmark of spectacle value for future movies which could well make it the biggest winner of this summer.
A MUST WATCH !! (preferably, in IMAX 3D, if you can !!) RATING - 4/5
Three decades (1971-85) after presenting the Mad Max trilogy which enjoys a cult status among action movie aficionados, Australian writer-director George Miller has returned with a fourth film seeking to reboot the series with Mad Max - Fury Road.
Set in a post-apocalyptic desolate desert-lands of a dystopian future, this movie find the protagonist Max (Tom Hardy), an ex-cop and road warrior, trying to survive the feral forces controlled by the tyrannical warlord, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) who controls the precious resources of water, fuel and blood. He joins forces with renegade warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who is trying to escape the clutches of Joe with five of his slave wives. What follows is a long chase where Joe with his army of warriors in monster trucks and myriad malevolent contraptions try to hunt down Max and Furiosa.
While it is true that story line is wafer thin and the characters lack any semblance of depth, Miller is successful in using them to create a powder keg of an action package which brims with raw energy and is sure to blow the mind of the viewers. Miller mounts humongous adrenaline rushing action set-pieces which are highly original and chaotic in wreaking their hyper-kinetic havoc by seamlessly melding the old world action elements with contemporary CGI wizardry.
While a noisy thumping heavy metal score that elevates the impact of the action set pieces to a level unprecedented in recent times, brilliant cinematography captures the desolate desert-scapes in beguiling beauty and the well mounted action spectacles with rare clarity which is amiss in junkyard jamborees like Transformers series as well as several superhero movies. Charlize Theron, the real hero of the movie, is in kickass form as Furiosa and Tom Hardy does justice in reprising the gritty titular role of Max with a quiet intensity.
While I've never been a fan of loud music or mindless mayhem, Miller brings them together in an hypnotic concoction that would engross the viewers as never before. There is craft in the chaos of these jaw-dropping stunt sequences which set the bar for action movies high and could teach a lesson or two to the Michael Bays who pride themselves as makers of mighty blockbusters.
A veritable treat for action and auto junkies that could be best enjoyed on the BIG screen with 3D (IMAX 3D, if possible) !!
"When poison expires, does it get more or less dangerous ?", muses a character in Wild Tales, Argentinian writer-director Damián Szifron's brilliant black comedy, co-produced by the great Almodovar. It is an anthology consisting of six individual pieces themed on rage and revenge. Anthologies, in general, are helmed by two or more directors who contribute individual pieces to the final movie and by this very structure, there is a loss of congruence among the individual pieces. However, Wild Tales, is a rare exception to the aforesaid pitfall as Damián Szifron, who has written and directed each of the six shorts, strikes a fine balance among them and has pruned off almost all flab from the proceedings which engross the viewer in their taut storylines.
The movie begins with Pasternak, where a model boards an air plane and finds, through a casual conversation with another passenger, that she shares a connection with all her co-passengers in the form of her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Pasternak. This is the shortest piece among the ensemble and precedes the title credits and packs a wicked punch in its tail that would leave a lasting impact.
The Rats (Spanish - Las Ratas) is set in a rainy night on deserted diner, wherein the waitress finds that the lone grumpy customer stepping in is, in fact, the loan shark who had driven her father to suicide and ruined her family. While she is inclined to insult him verbally, she finds herself caught in a bind of a fledgling moral compass, when the cook - an ex-jailbird herself - suggests mixing rat poison in his food.
In The Strongest (Spanish - El más fuerte), a suave corporate honcho is driving in his swanky premium car through a remote highway when he encounters a driver in a shabby truck who frustrates him by blocking the path with his crawling pace. He verbally abuses the truck driver and shows him the finger when he ultimately manages to overtake the truck. However, things escalate into a catastrophic case of road rage - a la Spielberg's "Duel", albeit in an ultra-violent version - when the honcho's swanky car has a flat tire and finds that the truck driver is the first to arrive on the scene .
In "Little Bomb" (Spanish - Bombita), a demolitions expert (Ricardo Darin - "The Secret in their Eyes"), trying to reach home to be in time for his daughter's birthday party, stops to buy her a cake and finds that his car was towed away despite the absence of any markings on the parking space as tow-away zone. He is driven into a righteous rage and his quest to seek justice from the corrupt system pushes him into a downward spiral resulting in him losing his money, his job and even his fragile family. His response to this unfolding turmoil transforms him into an unlikely popular hero.
The Deal (Spanish - "La Propuesta") finds a rich manipulative businessman trying to salvage a situation when he finds that his son is involved in a hit and run accident which has resulted in the death of a pregnant woman. He contacts his lawyer, a long time associate and together they cook up a plan to convince the poor gardener to become the fall guy in lieu of a suitable compensation to his family. But, when the lawyer and the investigating cop start demanding their own pound of flesh for the cover-up, the rich man finds himself in familiar territory of being a hard nosed negotiator in a high stakes game.
The final piece, Until death do us part (Spanish - "Hasta que la muerte nos separe") takes place in a boisterous wedding reception which descends into an unbridled chaotic see-saw finale when the bride, Romina (an electric Erica Rivas) discovers that the groom was sleeping with one of the guests. Seen as a whole, while Bombita and La Propuesta might seem a few shades darker in comparison to the other four stories, they stand out for their gravitas and social commentary.
While at the apparent level there is no connection between the six stories, Szifron weaves them in the same thematic thread where he pushes his leads to their breaking point in a narrative that sparkles with fluency and visual flair. He also manages to transcend the vicious violence in these stories to present his views on the social decay that festers in the form of corruption, inequality and injustice that permeate Argentina at every level. Each of his stories is a resplendent exposition of Szifron's consummate skills as a writer-director, where his stories immersethe viewers in an intense roulette of role reversals, set to a lively pace, packed with oodles of wicked dark humour and horror in equal measures right till their twisted denouement.
Wild Tales was a final nominee for the award for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards where it lost to the Polish movie, Ida. It has also received wide critical as well as popular acclaim across several international film festivals where it was screened.
When Quentin Tarantino picks a film as the "Best film of the year", one does expect a lot from the movie. And, as one would expect, this movie has several elements and quirks that we have come to identify as the imprints of that master auteur himself.
The movie begins with the kidnapping of a little girl by an unknown assailant when she is playingwith her mates somewhere near the woods. A few days later, a phone call directs the police to the headless body of the girl with signs of physical abuse. She is the latest in a series of such gruesome crimes by a twisted serial killer who also appears to be a pedophile. Our protagonist Micki, who heads the team of cops is convinced that Dror, a shy schoolteacher, is the perpetrator of these evil deeds. However, in the absence of any material evidence to prove his instincts, he picks up Dror with his team and interrogates him quite brutally in a secluded location. While his colleagues remain uncomfortable with the interrogation per se as well as the methods employed by him, Micki who is convinced of Dror's guilt is desperate to make Dror confess to the crimes irrespective of the means employed by him. However, when another kid playing in the vicinity captures the interrogation on video and uploads it on YouTube, Micki is shunted out of the force. Nevertheless, a undeterred Micki, intrigued by Dror and convinced of Dror's guilt, plans to extract a confession from Dror to clear his name and vindicate his instincts. Micki abducts Dror and in an unexpected twist, both Micki and Dror are, in turn, abducted by Gidi, an ex-serviceman and the father of the latest victim. Gidi takes Dror and Micki to a secluded cabin in the woods where he aims to extract a confession from the schoolteacher and also to deliver some painful vigilante justice. In the basement of the secluded cabin, Gidi and Micki begin torturing Dror to make him confess to his crimes and to identify the place where he has secreted the head of Gidi's daughter as the same is essential for the final rites as per Jewish customs which mandate that a Jew is to be buried as born - complete with all his limbs and organs. Some distance into the bloody interrogation, when Micki starts to doubt of Dror's involvement in the crime, an unwavering Gidi, chains Micki and continues with his interrogation.
The trio are also joined by the Gidi's father, another army veteran, who arrives at the cabin to check on him and upon finding the two captives in the basement, decides to help his son in his mission. The rest of the narrative unfolds in a series of bloody, violent and quirky twists laced with black humour and shifting alliances to a finale that stumps the viewer.
While the movie works well as a first rate psycho-thriller which is tense and unpredictable, the director-duo Navot Papushado and Aharon Kashales deserve kudos for the way they have smartly structured their narrative in a morally ambiguous space wherein the actions of each of the leads appear to oscillate between morally correct and blatantly inhuman. This challenges the moral compass of the viewer and sows seeds of doubt in their minds as the movie brings into sharp relief the hidden animal in each of its characters through the unfolding events which seem to blur the the lines that would differentiate between the predator and the prey.
Overall, this is an excellently staged, entertaining, darkly comic, blood-soaked, psycho-thriller which is highly recommended for the fans of Tarantino and Park Chan-Wook and definitely not for the weak of heart.
Thank You AIB for putting profanity on such a high pedestal which makes it sound almost profound.. So profound that people didn't mind paying good money to pay for the tickets.. (Oops.. It goes for charity .. you see..)
Thanks for educating us that it is indeed SUPERCOOL to punctuate every sentence with multiple profanities & one can even go a step further, if one can vandalize their vocabulary to such an extent that sentences are populated more by profanities than by proper words.
Yes.. Thanks to the Constitution, we are blessed with a right for free speech which includes the right to offend and insult, especially when it is consensual and even be liberal with one's profanities.
Yes.. Humour is highly subjective.. What is funny to some could be totally unfunny or even abusive to others..
&
Yes.. Insult, Abuse, Raunchy and even Profanities could certainly be counted as categories of comedy
But..
Personally, I felt while there were some genuinely funny moments strewn around the whole episode, the entire theme of couching everything in a canvas flooded with expletives appeared utterly hollow and trying too hard to appear cool.
Yes.. The viewer has the choice to choose to ignore it or view it on his/her own volition and having watched the same, cannot react as if the contents were forced down their throats.
And.. there is no gainsaying that the ability to laugh at one self is an essential component of maturity. But, if this is to be considered as your/Bollywood's attempt to mimic maturity, it seemed as hollow as most of the regular tepid fare that Bollywood dishes out on a weekly basis.
And, it is utterly unsurprising considering the fact that it was anchored by none other than (KKK)Karan Johar - the heartthrob/poster-boy of all things hollow & a master of vacuous fluff which pass off as blockbusters in the largely silly universe that goes by the name of Bollywood.
Choi Hyeong-goo, a cop was on the trail of a serial killer who has killed 10 women. After fifteen long years of fruitless pursuit, the statute of limitations kicks in shutting the door on the investigation. Knowing that there can be no conviction beyond the period of limitations, Lee Doo-seok surfaces and confesses as the serial killer who committed those murders. What's more..? He pens a book detailing each of those murders and becomes an instant celebrity and media darling adored by the mindless masses. The appearance of Lee and his public confession also leads to the coming together of few of his victims' kin who seek to avenge their dead beloveds by bringing Lee to vigilante justice. Coincidentally, the media spotlight also falls on Choi who had investigated the case who refuses to accept Lee as the killer and pursues his investigation, albeit at a low key. Choi is also personally interested to solve the case as the last victim happened to be his lover and he hoped she is not dead yet as her body is yet be found. The media organises a debate on live TV between Lee and Choi to clear the confusion. However, in an unexpected twist, a caller to the show, identifying himself as J, claims himself as the real killer.
Who is this mysterious caller J ? Is he the real killer ? Would Choi solve the crimes ? What happened to his lover ? Is she still alive ? Is the charming and enigmatic Lee the real killer ? If he is an impostor, why did he confess to such gruesome crimes ? Could the band of victims' kin avenge for the killing of their beloveds ? The rest of the movie answers these and more in a pacy roller-coaster narrative where the tables are turned continuously and the momentum oscillates continuously from one side to the other. Confession of Murder is another notable addition to the genre of racy thrillers emerging from the realm of Korean cinema which dishes them out at regular intervals. The movie sticks to the tried and tested template of the genre and is replete with its standard ingredients like stylish leads, brilliant action set pieces, bloody violence, suspense, intriguing twists, brisk editing and racy screenplay which doesn't let the viewers to exercise their grey matter too much. Besides the thriller element, the movie also serves a reflection on the rot in a society sozzled in sensation-seeking media ever craving for the next big scoop, reality TV and 24-hour news reportingthat could morph even ruthless murderers as celebrity rock stars even as it breeds a growing insensitivity to the agony and anguish of the voiceless victims and their kin. A VERY GOOD WATCH !! RATING - 3/5
Shankar, the showman of the current generation, has presented a personal revenge story set in the glamorous world of modelling in his latest venture. While he continues his trend of pushing boundaries in terms of budget of regional movies, capturing hitherto unexplored exquisite locales (this time in China), cutting edge special effects, he has moved away from his usual social message embedded narrative featuring a lone hero/vigilante fighting societal evils. Keeping with the theme of the movie, I is the cinematic equivalent of that lavishly made, well picturised attention grabbing commercial which captivates you for the first viewing, but remains/means little else thereafter. Whether that spells success/otherwise of its maker Shankar is the big question. Speaking for myself, despite its several shortcomings - including its length of 189 minutes, a paper-thin plot lacking depth and further beset with several crater-esque perforations, cardboard-cut characters, indulgent action set pieces that lack the zing and overstay their welcome - I liked it for the way Shankar has managed to package it as an engaging entertainer with P.C. Sreeram's visual brilliance showcasing a montage of vivid and rich imagery, WETA's magic in creating very real pro(ae)sthetics, Rahman's numbers (Ennodu Nee Irundhal, Pookkale & Mersal) and above all, for the towering brilliance of its leading man,vIkram whose performance and transformations through the film are simply SUPERB. A GOOD (ONE-TIME) Watch !!
When you are born in a land which has been suffocating under strife for generations, distress and betrayal could well permeate into your very being to the extent that they get embedded into the genetic code itself. Perhaps, it seeks to serve as a flimsy line of defense that helps this cursed populace fight on in a futile battle of survival. And, it would appear that trust is something that gets truncated with the umbilical cord at birth itself. In the resulting melee of such poisoned environs that fester with insecurity and hatred which feed on each other, innocence goes incognito.
This is a case of a history which refuses to remain just that as it transcends the realm of the past to haunt the present, perhaps in a death wish which seeks to reenact itself on a daily basis. History, akin to a mighty banyan tree, which even as it provides the security of shade from the heat of a scorching sun, stunts the inherent growth - in this case, the present and the future -of plants beneath it. Seen that way, this is a generation buried under the burdens of their past which is spreading its tentacles through timelines to slowly scupper their present and future.
The story is set in the West Bank region of Palestine which features the tall wall that separates the fellow Arabs on either side as much as it seperates the Israeli and Arab settlements. Our protagonist Omar (Adam Bakri), a baker is in love with Nadia, the younger sister of his close friend Tarek. Omar and Nadia steal occasional moments of romance and togetherness hiding away from the eyes of their conservative society and plan for a "happily ever-after" marital bliss. Meanwhile, Omar, Tarek and Amjad who are buddies from childhood are planning to launch an attack on an Israeli army post as their act of angry defiance against an enemy who defiles their daily lives through their continuing occupation and oppression. Their ill-conceived, mindless act results in the death of a random Israeli soldier which triggers an Israeli backlash in the form of a manhunt for the perpetrators.
While Tarek and Amjad flee, Omar is apprehended and lands in the Israeli prison. In the prison, after being put through the customary third-degree torture, Omar is entrapped by the wily Israeli agent Rami who persuades him to accede to a deal for his freedom in return of him aiding the Israelis to capture Tarek who is seen as the leader of their gang. A desperate Omar agrees on the false hope that he could somehow wriggle out of this mess and may even turn this deal to the advantage of their gang. He also hopes to salvage his relationship with Nadia and realise their dreams of a life together. Alas, all is not well and the best laid plans and hopes turn to mirage in a land parched by the unquenchable thirst of a continuing conflict.
There are no winners in this battle of betrayals which is a zero sum game that feeds and fuels a seemingly perpetual vicious cycle of meaningless violence and bloodshed. Fears cloud the psyche as a thick and persistent smog strangling any recourse to reason. And, this is a land where even love appears steeped on conditionalities of one's conformity to a credo that is identified as the common cause.
Director Hany Abu-Assad, who awed the viewer with his earlier Paradise Now (2005), paints an intimate picture of love and betrayals in a conflict zone. While he refrains from making any overt political commentary on this region trapped in turmoil, in his observation of events at the micro level of his leads here, he subtly brings out the lasting effects of life in a war zone. With a cast of mostly fresh, albeit confident, artists, Assad succeeds in essaying an engaging human drama which is filled with romance, friendship, commitment, betrayal, pain and survival laced with intrigue and subterfuge.
"Omar" has been richly awarded in several international film festivals including the prestigious Un-Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes. It is also the second film directed by Hany Abu-Assad to be a finalist among foreign language films nominated to receive an Oscar at the 2014 Academy Awards and lost to The Great Beauty, the winner from Italy. It was featured in the recently concluded Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES-2014).
A multi-layered film, Omar is at once a crisp thriller, engaging human drama as well as a subtle commentary on the devastating impact on the daily lives of ordinary citizens of an occupation that has spanned several generations without an end in sight. It is a thoroughly satisfying watch which stays with the viewer long after watching it.
Sujoy Ghosh (of Kahaani fame) presents his take on the story of Ahalya - a minor subplot from the great epic of Ramayana - with a feminist twist that keeps the viewers on the tenterhooks till the end. 
