BUENOS AIRES, 1977 aka CHRONICLE OF AN ESCAPE (CRONICA DE UNA FUGA) (SPANISH) (2005)

This Argentinian movie set in the 1970s presents the real life story of four prisoners who manage a successful escape from their military junta captors during the Dirty War era in Argentina. The Dirty War era was a dark and infamous period in the history of Argentina when the right wing military government was responsible for the disappearance of several thousands - some estimates put the number at about 30,000 - of Argentinians on the pretext that they were suspected left wing terrorists.

This movie retells the real life story of Claudio Tamburrini and three of his fellow prisoners who manage to escape from a secret detention center. Claudio is a goalkeeper in a minor league soccer team and is abducted by the military secret police who suspect him to be a leftist terrorist. Their suspicion is merely based on the questionable testimony of another captive and they swoop down on an unsuspecting Claudio at his residence. Before Claudio could even grapple with the happenings, he is whisked away to a desolate detention center in a suburb where he is held as a blindfolded captive for several months along with others without any due process. The captives are put through a daily rigour of sadistic violence and humiliation in the name of interrogation by their captors who tend to play dangerous mindgames with the hapless captives. This movie is based on the autobiographical account by Claudio with further inputs from his fellow escapee Guillermo who leads their audacious escape on a stormy night.

The focus in the movie is on the daily ordeals faced by the captives and the unflinching cruelty of the thugs of the junta who inflict unspeakable horrors on them. The movie has a dark and foreboding tone throughout to provide a realistic edge to the happenings with just tiny flecks of rooted situational humour and the final act of escape is set as a thriller, albeit, sans any heightened drama. However, the movie does not bother acquainting the viewers with the social context to the unfolding events. Perhaps, this is one reason why there is a sense of something amiss while watching the movie. 

Nevertheless, this competently acted movie is successful in presenting a very real account of the chilling, visceral torture meted out to the captives without being overtly gruesome and has a gripping and taut narrative which keeps the viewer tense throughout.

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!

P.S. -  You can watch this movie on UTV WORLD MOVIES channel which airs it quite regularly.

MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO (TONARI NO TOTORO) (JAPANESE) (1988)

My Neighbour Totoro, celebrating silver jubilee of its original release this year, is an animated classic directed Hayao Miyazaki. Popularly considered that the best Japanese animated film, it has found global acclaim over the years and remains one of the best animated family entertainers ever made.

The story begins with Tatsuo Kusakabe, a university Professor shifting into a rickety rural house with his two daughters - Satsuki & Mei - such that they could stay close to the nursing home where their mother is recovering from an illness. Upon settling into their new home, Mei & Satsuki notice some strange happenings, but are not too perturbed and merely approach them with an innocent curiosity of a child. One fine day, little Mei while playing near the home, comes upon an oversized bunny like creature under a giant camphor tree. She finds the cuddly creature to be a friendly spirit refers to it as Totoro. Eventually, Satsuki also meets the creature after her initial skepticism in what turns out to be a wonderful scene when she waits with an umbrella for her dad to return home from work on a rainy night at a bus stop. The rest of the story follows the encounters between Totoro and the two girls set against the imminent arrival of their mother from the nursing home after her treatment.

For most of us who have grown upon a staple of modern digital animated movies churned out by famous Hollywood studios like Pixar or Disney, this is a welcome throwback to those wonderful years of our childhood when we used to be enthralled by animated movies/series such as the Jungle Book, Spiderman, He-Man, etc. Made in the classic style, the colourful creatures and the lush landscapes which are brought to life with great detail and richness in each frame of this movie are an ode to the tireless efforts of the animators who have hand-drawn each frame with oodles of vivid imagination and great passion. 

This movie treads a path that is markedly different from the several norms of the contemporary animated movies from Hollywood which rarely explore outside a set three act mould of story-telling. There are no superheroes, no fearsome creatures, no bad characters, no life-altering choices or challenges and definitely, no underdog aspiring to ace the masters. This movie, despite having creatures/spirits based on fantasy, portrays a natural flow of life  which is close to reality that is unadulterated by the compulsions of creating any onscreen drama. 

Miyazaki keeps the story line childishly simple and does not bother a great deal on the construction of a plot. Nevertheless, he fleshes out his characters with enough personality to engage the viewer - be it a father who is sensitive, patient, tactful and sensible; or the daughters who are caring, understanding, helpful and responsible; or the mother who is warm and confident despite her ailment. Even the minor characters like the granny and her grandson make an impact on the viewer.

The genius of Miyazaki is in the way he seamlessly synthesises the realms of reality with magical charm to present a movie that transports us back to an idyllic world of a joyful childhood filled with innocence, fantasy, mirth and fearless fascination for the unknown. That, in no small measure, explains the overwhelming global success of My Neighbour Totoro which remains an enduring and endearing classic for the whole family to cherish even after two decades of its original release.

A CLASSIC ! A MUST WATCH !!

CACHÉ (HIDDEN) (FRENCH) (2005)

In Caché, a sparkling masterpiece, from the noted Austrian auteur, Michael Haneke, we are presented with a suspense thriller which makes a radical departure from the movies of the genre.

Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil), a popular television show host lives with his wife Anne (Juliet Binoche) who works with a publisher and a school going teenager son, Pierrot. The apparently prosperous family lives in a quiet Paris neighbourhood. The seemingly peaceful flow of their lives is disturbed and the simmering tensions that flow beneath their settled lives are exposed with the arrival of a series of mysterious videos which indicate that they and their house are being watched. The fact that videos do not contain any threats or demands confounds them further. Some of the videos are also accompanied by crayon drawings with splashes of bright red emanating from a caricature figures. When Georges and Anne approach the police to help them solve this disturbing mystery, they find the police are not in a position to help in the absence of any threats or demands. Despite their helplessness and their growing unease at these videos, the couple continue with their lives in their professional and social spheres, attempting to brush these disquieting developments under the carpet of normal living. 

The mystery deepens with the arrival of further videos - one showing the house where Georges was raised and another which leads to the door of an apartment in a poor neighbourhood. Georges tracks down the apartment complex and knocks on the door to come face to face with a middle aged Arab man, Majid, whom he had last met when he was six. Majid seems happy to see Georges after several years. However,when he is confronted by Georges about the videos and drawings, Majid, positively denies sending any such videos. A befuddled and unconvinced Georges, leaves after threatening Majid of serious consequences, if he contacts him in future. However, a brooding Georges conceals the entire episode from Anne. Another video arrives - this time, showing the entire episode involving Georges and Majid at the apartment, including Georges' threats to Majid. The disquieting videos opens up the hitherto unacknowledged fissured in the seemingly stable relationship of  Georges and Anne, especially, when Anne senses that Georges may have some clues about the videos which he declines from sharing with her. Gradually, their once, structured and serene life starts falling apart with Georges' growing guilt, Anne's swelling suspicion and Pierrot's sullen irreverence to them.

Was it Majid who actually sent the tapes ? If so, why ? Did anything happen between them when Georges was six and could such a thing be still alive in their minds causing Majid to seek revenge and Georges to feel guilty ? Or, if Majid was innocent, then who had sent those videos ? And, for what reason ? While Georges appears to have some secret(s), does Anne and Pierrot have their own secrets ? Is there a large subtext/context to the happenings confounding the Laurents family ? 

These and several other questions rise like wild mushrooms in the minds of the viewer and multiply with the unfolding events. Haneke does not attempt to answer all the questions in the movie, though there are indications several of these are acknowledged. Consequently, the movie and its unanswered questions continue to gnaw in the mind space of the viewers long after they have finished watching Caché.   

We are familiar with the genre of suspense thrillers which employ the technique of presenting the viewer with some red herrings strewn along the narrative and a pacy unfolding of the mystery which is embellished with crisp editing, racy score and action set pieces. Caché shuns all such formulaic ingredients to merely cast a keen, observant eye on the happenings and does not bother to find closure to all issues at hand. 

This is a meticulously crafted movie, which despite being largely devoid of any background score, hooks the viewers from the very first frame, engages them in an emotionally immersive experience with the leads as they go through the ordeal and continues to hold an unyielding grip over them, till the very final frame. The performances of the entire cast and especially, Daniel Auteuil and Juliet Binoche are first rate and accentuate the movie, as in the scene where they have an argument, after the arrival of the video which shows Georges threatening Majid, which shows a growing discomfort between which is almost palpable. 

Never have I seen an opening scene and a closing scene which are so pregnant with impact as in this movie. Both these scenes, spanning well over a minute and accompanied by the credits, have been captured with stationary cameras which appear to be precisely placed. There is no accompanying background score or editing to spice up the proceedings except the natural sounds. Yet, they have a beguiling beauty and they capture important subtexts that anchor the movie. Haneke's brilliance shines through in this final scene where he almost buries the answer to a key question almost in open sight and it is as if he challenges the viewer to uncover it.

Caché is a multi-layered movie and works on several planes. At the surface level which is most apparent, it is a suspense thriller, where we keep constantly guessing on the identity of the person sending the disturbing videos and diagrams as well as the motive(s) of such person. At another level, it also presents us with a set of characters, each of whom have secrets that continue to haunt them deep below their cultivated superficial stability. At yet another level, the events unfolding in the lives of the Laurent family and their reaction to it hold subtle pointers to an infamous episode in the French history called Paris massacre of 1961 (aka la nuit noire), when on October 17, 1961, hundreds of Algerian protesters, protesting France's colonial rule over Algeria, were thrashed and killed by the French Police. It throws the spotlight on the repression of the memories of the massacre from the collective conscious of the nation which is guilty of such an inhuman act. At a deeper level, the movie is also an allegorical reference to the cause-effect relation between historical oppression of imperialism and the eventual backlash of violence and terror that seeks to threaten the apparent prosperity and peaceful existence of the erstwhile imperialists. And, in the tradition of the best of movies, it shuns from preaching or taking sides and merely holds a mirror that makes the viewer to look deep within themselves and to draw their own conclusions.

Caché won 3 award at Cannes Film festival in 2005 where it premiered, including Best Director and Critics Award for the Best Film  and went on to collect many more well deserved awards internationally. This is a rare movie that is minutely crafted to perfection to a level where it is almost transcendental such that it successfully works at both a micro level as well as the macro level - at the micro level, where it is a sparse, dark, taut and unnerving thriller and at the macro level, where it is an effective political allegory on insensitive acts of oppression, a concerted repression from the collective memory of the citizenry of a nation and its resultant backlash of impending violence and terror which could upend the carefully constructed cocoons that shelters the haves from the have-nots.

A MASTERPIECE ! A MUST WATCH !!

MADRAS CAFE (HINDI) (2013)

When I was first introduced to fiction from Fredrick Forsyth and his many peers who have written some delightful political thrillers based on real life events, I was enthralled by their detailing and real life political  setting as well as the oft blurred lines between fact and fiction, so much so, I used to refer to them FACTion and not mere fiction. While Hollywood and international cinema churn out political thrillers and dramas based on real life events in regular intervals, the best we ever get from mainstream Bollywood and regional language movies are the occasional biopics. Dramas or thrillers based on real life political events have been an arena where contemporary Indian cinema had clearly feared to tread.

Director Shoojit Sircar's Madras Cafe ventures into such a sphere and presents an interesting thriller set in the background of civil war in Sri Lanka during the late eighties and the early nineties. It weaves a fictionalised account of the political conspiracy that eventually culminated in the assassination of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. 

The movie has a quirky beginning with a dishevelled, dazed and drunk John Abraham in a hill station recounting the events to a priest which unfold as a flashback. John plays Vikram Singh, an army officer working with Reasearch & Analysis Wing (RAW). It is the late eighties when India had signed a peace accord with the island nation and had sent in the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka to restore peace and assist in a peaceful political transition in the Tamil areas of the north and the east by disarming the rebels. However, they have to confront the powerful Tamil rebel group called LTF headed by the Anna Bhaskaran (an aptly cast Ajay Ratnam) who is keen to continue the armed struggle for an independent Tamil homeland, for he fears that if they accept disarming, the locals will be decimated after the withdrawal of IPKF. Vikram is sent to the Jaffna to work under Bala (Belawade) to ensure that the peace process succeeds and there is a peaceful political transition through popular elections. To this end, he tries to weaken Anna's & LTF's  stranglehold over the region by providing covert support to outsiders as well as dissenters within the LTF. Vikram is helped by Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakhri), a London based war correspondent who provides him with some vital clues. However, he is ignorant of the many undercurrents of betrayal at play and is forced to return to India after a failed operation. Consequently, Anna and LTF eliminate all their opponents and emerge the strongest force in the region. Shift in political dynamics in India & Sri Lanka result in an ignominious exit of the IPKF from Sri Lanka. However, when the political winds of change blowing in India indicate the return to power of the former prime minister, whom Anna fears could jeopardise his ongoing struggle, he resorts to pre-empt that situation and conspires to assassinate him. There is also an element of international conspiracy that seeks to profit by perpetuating strife in the region. The rest of the movie is a race against time where Vikram and his colleagues unravel the conspiracy and attempt to foil the plans of Anna and his assasins. 

The movie takes some time to set up the context and these early portions lack in pace and are listless. However, the movie finds it soon after the scene shifts to Sri Lanka and some tighter scripting and crisp editing sets up a pulsating second half which is set as a race against time. The cinematography is excellent throughout and provides an authentic feel to the unfolding events. Shantanu Moitra's score sets an apt tone for the proceedings and elevates the intensity of the events in the second half.

John Abraham has done a good job in the role that requires a restrained performance. Nargis Fakhri seems adequate in a cameo of an English speaking international war corrspondent. The other roles have been aptly cast - be it Ajay Ratnam as Anna or Sidhartha Basu as Robin Dutt, the RAW chief or Belavade as Bala - and their performances are competent.

On the flip side, the movie appears a bit muddled in some portions where the events appear to unfold in a haze. Also, the portions between John and his wife (Rashi Khanna), though included to portray him as a normal person, could have been edited out as they slacken the pace without adding any significant heft. Also, Vikam's retelling of the events as a flashback to a priest in a hill station appear to serve no useful purpose. 

Nevertheless, John Abraham as a producer as well as the lead and Shoojit Sircar deserve much credit for the mere fact that they chose to make such a movie and explore an hitherto unexplored terrain for Indian mainstream cinema. It is also no mean feat that they have managed to pull off this ambitious enterprise quite successfully without succumbing to the several cliched compromises of Bollywood such as making the hero to pull off Bond/Bourne like stunts (Ek tha Tiger or Agent Vinod), jarring jingoism which paints the other side as pure evil (Gadar, Border, et al). 

Despite being a movie set in the background of a war, Madras Cafe does not take sides; Nor is it a movie that overly focuses on its main lead. The protagonist here is merely one of the key players in the plot which has several layers of intrigues that he has to grapple with. The unfolding political conspiracy remains the unflinching focus of the movie and it underlines the theme of futility war which begets devastates both winners and losers.

Overall, Madras Cafe, despite a few flaws, is an audacious venture and presents a taut thriller which is authentic in equal measure. Both, John Abraham as producer and Shoojit Sircar as the director deserve plaudits for such back-to-back (after Vicky Donor) projects which raise the bar for Indian cinema. If only, we, as a nation, could grow to appreciate and encourage such efforts without expressing umbrage, we can hope to see more such meaningful entertainers. If only ....

A VERY VERY GOOD WATCH !!  

KON-TIKI (NORWEGIAN) (2012)

If Supermen of Malegaon (my previous post) was a documentary about the making of a movie, Kon-Tiki is a movie based on the making of a documentary of an extra-ordinary expedition.

Kon-Tiki is based on the real life story of the legendary Norwegian ethnographer & explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, who, in 1947, along with a five member crew, dared to undertake an expedition, spanning about 100 days and some 4300 nautical miles on the Pacific, from Peru to Polynesia on a puny balsawood raft held together by mere hemp ropes. By doing so, Thor wanted to add credence to his controversial theory that Polynesia was first populated by South Americans and not by Asians as was believed in those days.

Thor's theory was based on his observation of some statues of Polynesia which were similar to those found in South America and also from the Polynesian beliefs that their ancestors came from the east. However, this was contrary to the accepted theory that Asians were the first settlers in Polynesia. Thor's peers ridiculed his theory as they felt that ancient South Americans did not have the means or technology to cross such long distances on the Pacific over 1500 years ago.

Consequently, Thor decides to provide proof to his theory by undertaking an experimental expedition aboard a balsawood raft, named Kon-Tiki after the Inca god of Sun and storm, which was to be made in the exact style of the ancient Peruvians and by using only such materials as was available to the ancient Peruvians.

What follows is an engaging and realistic adventure that pits Thor and his crew against the elements on the Pacific where they are tested by several challenges like wrestling with choppy waves, raging storms, weakening ropes that bind the raft, sinking morales of the crew, early signs of dissent, deadly shark attacks as well as razor sharp reefs. Thor and his crew also made a documentary (also named Kon-Tiki, available on YouTube at this link - http://bit.ly/13DMs0K ) of their expedition which won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary in 1951.

While the characters themselves do not make much of an emotional connect, this movie is nevertheless engaging with constant drama and realistic adventure.  Kon-Tiki also benefits greatly from fine cinematography which captures the visuals of the ocean gorgeously and some stunning special effects.

The technical finesse as well as the basic plot line which pits man against elements from ocean as a background brings back memories of Life of Pi. However, where Life of Pi straddles the sphere of an adventure rooted in fantasy, the makers of Kon-Tiki desist from over dramatising the adventure and to a large extent, persist with the retelling of the real life story of Thor and his crew.

Kon-Tiki was the highest grossing blockbuster in Norway in 2012 and was also Norway's official nominee for the 85th Academy Awards where it was picked as a final nominee for the Best Foreign Language Movie and lost to Amour.

AN ENGAGING ENTERTAINER BASED ON REAL LIFE EVENTS !!

SUPERMEN OF MALEGAON (HINDI DOCUMENTARY) (2012)

Documentaries, as a genre, are popular among audience in many countries across the world and even find theatrical releases just as regular feature films. However, in India, most cinephiles would remember documentaries as those dull productions from the Films Division of India that preceded their much awaited movies at the theaters. Many others may also recognise them as part of staple programming during an ancient era when that solitary state channel - Doordarshan - ruled the roost in Indian Television. Quite often, these documentaries were used by the ruling dispensation as effective Weapons of Mass Diversion (WMD) to influence a captive audience who were bereft of choice. Consequently, the genre of documentaries never found much favour with the general public and have withered away with the onset of satellite television which subjected them to a deluge of 24*7 news and entertainment channels.

Supermen of Malegaon is a novel enterprise that successfully weds the supposedly drab genre of documentary to that great opiate of Indian masses, viz. cinema. It is, indeed, a travesty that most mainstream media references to Indian cinema in this centenary year are restricted to that singular monolith called Bollywood, save for a few exceptions who may make (at best) a passing reference to the many strands of regional cinema that are churned out from the several & lesser cousin "woods" (Tollywood(s), Kollywood, Sandalwood, Mollywood, et al.). 

Few of us would be aware that there exist an even more micro strand in the realms of Indian cinema called local cinema. I, for one, was totally ignorant of such a species of movies prior to watching this documentary. Local cinema emerges from the numerous small towns across India and is fuelled by little else other than the indomitable spirit of cinephiles who have this ardent passion to make movies which are predominantly consumed locally. 

This brilliant hour long documentary, directed by Faiza Ahmed Khan, chronicles the travails of one such strand local cinema of Malegaon, a small town in Maharashtra which is about 300 km from Mumbai. It tells story of Sheikh Nasir and his rag-tag band of enthusiastic friends who assist him by associating themselves with various aspects of film-making. Armed with a single video camera, a computer and talents that are sourced locally, they make parodies of mainstream hits on what is essentially a shoe-string budget of upto Rs. 50,000/- per movie. These movies are screened in the ramshackle video parlours of Malegaon and are well received by an audience which find movies as their primary and perhaps, predominant source of entertainment after several hours of hard labour in the several power looms units which provide livelihood to most of the residents of this small town.

After finding an encouraging reception for their earlier movies such as Malegaon Ka Sholay, Malegaon Ka Shaan, etc., Nasir and his associates dare to parody a popular Hollywood superhero movie, viz. Superman. The documentary captures the making of this ambitious project which despite being constrained by limited resources, is however, realised through their boundless imagination, toil and also some essential desi jugaad. The project is beset with several setbacks and challenges and how Nasir and his team overcome them is presented with a light humour throughout. Simultaneously, we are also presented with a close look at the harsh realities of their existence clouded by privations and penury. 

Faiza and her crew remain keen observers of the unfolding events in all their details without in any way disturbing the milieu or the flow and consequently, neither the humour nor the sombre moments appear forced and they essentially flow from the reality of the situation itself. Faiza shuns that familiar urge of her counterparts in Bollywood and desists from reducing Nasir or his team as mere caricatures. Rather, she opts to present an authentic and very real account of their lives hard labour, limited means, their ambitious dreams, unflinching spirit and inventiveness with which they pursue those dreams which adds gravitas to the proceedings and engages the viewers. 

Supermen of Malegaon is an endearing watch that could effortlessly charm the viewer with its fine balance of dry humour and poignancy. It is also an ode to the passion and enthusiasm of independent film makers like Nasir and his team whose efforts who spare no effort to realise their dreams and to that extent are no less than the superhero they parody. 

The director Faiza Ahmed Khan and her team have won several accolades globally and one feels that they are so well deserved as the viewer is successfully transported to this small town for an entertaining and realistic rendezvous with Nasir and his motley band as they go about making their dream project. One only hopes that they present us with more such gems in the future and many more makers find inspiration from their success to venture on this road less travelled called documentaries. I, for one, hope that Faiza's (and even Nasir's) much more pampered and privileged peers from mainstream cinema watch Supermen of Malegaon and learn a thing or two about creativity and craft that sparkles in this accomplished work of art. Alas, it may be too much of a hope ......


A MUST WATCH FOR EVERY CINEPHILE !!

UPSIDE DOWN (2012)

In Upside Down, director Juan Diego Solanas presents us a romance set in sci-fi fantasy with Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst playing the leads. The film begins with a young Adam (Jim Sturgess) explaining the extra-ordinary setting of a dual planetary system he belongs to with two planets stacked one on top of the other. If you could remember that extra-ordinary scene in Inception where Ariadne (Ellen Page) tests her powers on a city road, it would be easy to visualise this setting where both these planets are literally a stone's throw from each other. The planet below is Down There which is a dump wears the look of a war ravaged zone and is populated by poor have-nots who can barely eke out a living. In contrast, the planet above, Up Top, bears an ultra swanky look with affluence all around. He also explains a set of principles which govern the physics of these two planets, viz. - 

• Both the planets have their own opposing gravity and matter from each planet is pulled by the respective gravity
• An object's weight can be offset by matter from the other world (inverse matter)
• Matter in contact with inverse matter starts burning after some time
• Any unauthorised contact with the residents of the other planet is strictly prohibited and is punishable

Despite their close proximity, they are connected by a singular high rise structure which connects both these worlds which is owned by a mega corporation from Up Top called Transworld which controls the affairs of both the planets. Transworld mines the resources of Down There and also allows the poor workers from the other planet to toil for the corporation for earning a livelihood. We also see that the tallest peaks of both the planets come very close to each other and this is where we see a young Adam, who is a resident of Down There chances upon Eden (Kristen Dunst) from the other planet. Their contacts grow in length and frequency and when one such extended contact is detected by security guards, it results in an accident in which Eden loses her memory of Adam. Ten years pass by without an event and Adam carries on with life under the presumption that Eden is lost/dead and is now working as a scientist in a workshop in Down There. One day, when he sees Eden in a TV show and finds out that she is now an employee at Transworld, his feelings for her are rekindled and he too joins as an employee of Transworld to meet her and to rediscover their lost love. The rest of the movie narrates the events unfolding in the lives of the protagonists following Adam's risky venture.   

This movie, in itself, has much in common with the dual contrasted planetary system it portrays. Despite the seemingly unlimited potential inherent in such an interesting premise, the movie never rises to reach its potential (a la Up Top) except in the case of visual splendour and plummets into an insipid romance (a la Down There) that redefines the term cheesy. The movie is further weighed down by an uninspired and apparently sleepwalking cast with the notable exception of the vivacious Timothy Spall who plays a lively cameo as Adam's co-worker. There is enough material in the premise to weave an engaging plot for some great romance between the leads from opposing worlds or even some well written drama or action thriller on class struggles. Alas, all Solanas and his co-writers could manage here is to barely scratch the surface, rather than to dig in deeper to come up with a more polished work. It is sadly ironic that a film which has gravity as its central premise is bogged down by a story and characters lacking the necessary gravitas !

The result is sadly apparent in a superficial, barely there plot, underwritten one-note characters and a grand opportunity that is squandered royally. Nevertheless, the movie does excel in presenting arresting visuals that are simply awesome in their imagination and execution which redeems it, if not wholly. Every frame of this movie is rich in beautifully crafted detail and presents picture postcard imagery which is simply dazzling. There are several stand-out scenes like the shot of an apparently endless office floor (and ceiling) full of cubicles   or the one in which Adam, to escape chasing cops, falls, nay, leaps up into a river as well as the one of a grand ballroom with dancers from either world swaying on their respective ends with a giant chandelier in the middle. 

 
Overall, this movie presents one of the most artistically sculpted exquisite and imaginative CGI visual splendours seen in recent times and would be a delight to watch on the big screen. If only the writers had put in even half the efforts of creating such visuals, we could have had a much better movie than what remains here as pure eye-candy that merely provides spectacular visual delights, but little else. If only ....

HOLLOW EYE (SIGH...) CANDY !!