Munnariyippu [2014]

MPAA (UR would be PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)

IMDb listing
FilmiBeat.com listing

FilmiBeat (A.Menon) review
IndiaGlitz.com review

Kerala 9 (Unni R Nair) review
New India Express (M.K. Nidheesh) review
The Hindu (S.R. Praveen) review
Times of India (TNN) review

Munnariyippu [2014] [IMDb] [FiBt] (directed and cowritten by Venu Goopaalan [IMDb] [FiBt] along with Unni R. [IMDb]) is a well written / well acted, award winning, thoughtful / reflective Shawshank Redemption [1994]-ish  Malayalam (Keralese) crime drama that serves as the third stop in my 2016 Indian Film Tour.  The film is available for rental in the United States on various internet streaming platforms (including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and Google Play) for a reasonable price.

Set then in Kerala along the Malabar Coast of Southern India, Viewers (and Readers here) get to encounter a remarkably beautiful (and remarkably ancient) part of India.  For this lush tropical land was known already TO THE SUMERIANS (c. 3000 BC) of Mesopotamia as "the Garden of Spices." And it came to be at the very center of the sea-faring portions of the ancient trade route system known to us as "The Silk Road" that extended from the Eastern Mediterranean, the Horn of Africa / Egypt across ALL OF SOUTHERN ASIA (Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, South East Asia) and the East Indies (Indonesia) to China / Japan.

Many Readers here may ALSO find it interesting that  Kerala is also THE MOST CHRISTIAN part of India (20%,, as opposed to less than 1% across India as a whole) and has been so since ancient times.  By tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle arrived in Kerala in 52 AD where there already was a Jewish Community at the time, successfully converting several Brahmin families.  The ensuing Christian community following the Syro-Malabar Rite exists to this day.  Within my own Religious Order, the Servants of Mary, exist several congregations of Servite Sisters that have foundations now in  Kerala (and neighboring Tamil Nadu).  We Servite Friars have now a thriving Province in neighboring Tamil Nadu as well. 

I mention all this because reference to the (quite ancient) Christianity of the region appears repeatedly in the film with Catholic nuns in their habits quite frequently shown walking about town, checking things out in the market spaces, etc.  Indeed, one of the main characters in the film, a ever-smiling, _western dressed_, recently graduated / still largely freelance journalist named Anjali Arachal (played by Aparna Gopinath [IMDb] [FiBt]) is _clearly presented_ as coming from a Christian family (and reminded perhaps even nagged somewhat about her Christian duties by her more traditional Christian mother ;-).

To the film ... ;-)

At some gathering of young local journalists, above mentioned still largely freelancing, Anjali is offered a somewhat interesting / promising "ghost writing" job by one of her mentor figures: the Superintendent  of a local prison was retiring in a number of months, and was looking for "a ghost writer" to help him organize / publish "his memoirs" for the occasion.  The job apparently seemed a little beneath Anjali's established journalistic mentor, BUT for a recent graduate / "freelancer" like Anjali, this could be a valuable (and connection producing) experience.  So ... he gives the gig to Anjali and soon enough she comes over to the prison to meet with said outgoing Prison Superintendent (played by Nedumudi Venu [IMDb] [FiBt])

While talking to him, she encounters one of the staff working in his office, a soft-spoken man named Raghavan (played by Mammootty [IMDb] [FiBt]).  The Prison Superintendent tells her that he's been at the Prison now for some 20 years, first as a Prisoner (for a double murder of his wife and teenage daughter) and in these last years, as something of a "room & board" employee, as he didn't particularly want to leave.  The Superintendent tells her: "You'll find that most of the prisoners here are just like you and me.  A moment of passion / misjudgement puts them here separating them from us."  The Superintendent doesn't mind that she talk to Raghavan, indeed, wants her to quite extensively interview him (Raghavan, the former and still hanging-on prisoner) for HIS (the superintendent's) book.  So she does ...

Inevitably Raghavan becomes _more interesting_ than the Prison Superintendent, especially when it turns out that he's kept a journal over those 20 years, PHILOSOPHIZING about the meanings of Truth and Freedom while behind those bars.

Okay, Anjali first went to that jail to help THE SUPERINTENDENT write a book, and now she actually finds one of his (former) prisoners MORE INTERESTING than he was.  What to do?  Well, she rationalizes, as long as she gets the Superintendent's book done on time, why not indulge her interest in this (former) prisoner of his, and write A SIDE ARTICLE about him.  Indeed, her mentor ENCOURAGED HER to take the job precisely to "make connections" (and when she talks to him about this, he encourages her to do precisely that ... write the "side article" about the former prisoner even as she works on the Prison Superintendent's book.  She is a "free lancer" after all, and _as long as she completes her contracted task_ why not?

Well, she gets her side article about the prisoner published in a _prominent_ Time Magazine-like (English language) weekly.  And soon ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE are interested in both the Prisoner's story AND HER.

A young literary agent (played by Saiju Kurup) for a publisher in Mumbai contacts Anjali telling her that there's a book in Raghavan's story and quickly seduces her into this rather complicated project -- Raghavan's journal was in Kerala's Malayalam language, the book would be in English to reach the widest reading audience in India (hence, the publisher would be expecting the work to be a collaboration between Raghavan and Anjali, Raghavan writing the original text and Anjali translating / editing it).  The publisher would also want Raghavan to write about "juicier things" than just his "philosophical musings."  They'd want him to write about the crime that put him in jail in the first place.  Finally, well, they'd have a rather strict (and quite short ...) deadline of only a couple of months.

In the meantime, the Prison Superintendent was getting unwanted attention from all over, with many in the Press asking why Raghavan, who had completed his term in prison, was still there.

So ... Anjali finds herself having signed a contract with a publisher for a book that Raghavan was going to write ... and now has to find a place to put Raghavan to write said book UNDER A RATHER STRICT DEADLINE.

Well this was NOT going to be "EASY" ... AND IT WAS NOT.  Remember that Raghavan had "nothing but time" as he wrote his "philosophical musings" OVER THE COURSE OF TWENTY YEARS.  And he had no particular reason other than Anjali's increasing insistence to "write under pressure" now ... One even starst to wonder if Raghavan even wrote his journal at all.  After all, he was in jail for 20 years.  Perhaps somebody else wrote it, died, and he simply later claimed the journal as his own.  Then what of Anjali's original project, helping the outgoing Prison Superintendent WITH _HIS_ BOOK?

The film becomes a fascinating reflection on "Freedom" and "Incarceration" / "Slavery" ... who's actually "free" here and who's "under the gun" / "oppressed" / "facing jail" ?  ;-)

It all becomes a very interesting film, that unfolds _slowly_ but relentlessly in a part of the world that at least the older people (remember Anjali's mom...) didn't necessarily find much reason / desire to rush ... THEY (as well as Raghavan, "in his own way...") STILL ASKED / MUSED "WHY" ?

Great job! ;-)


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Piku [2015]

MPAA (UR would be PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
FilmiBeat.com listing

FilmiBeat.com (Suparno) review
MovieMahal.net (O. Ahmed) review
Digital Spy (P. Joshi) review
Access Bollywood (K. Gibson) review   
 
Indian Express (S. Gupta) review
Times of India (S. Mitra Das) review
Hindustan Times (A.Chopra) review
Hindustan TImes (S. Kaushal) review
Hindustan Times (N. Mishra) review  

Piku [2015] [IMDb] [FiBt] (directed by Shoojit Sircar [IMDb] [FiBt], screenplay by Juhi Chaturvedi [IMDb]) is a well written / well crafted / well acted, audience / critically acclaimed / award winning contemporary Indian "Father / (grown) Daughter relationship film" / dramedy that, smiling-from-ear-to-ear, serves as the second stop for my 2016 Indian Film Tour.  The film is available in the U.S. for a reasonable price on all kinds of streaming platforms (iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, etc)

The title character Piku (played by Deepika Padukone [IMDb] [FiBt] who won an Indian Filmfare Award, India's closest equivalent to the Oscars for her role) is 30-ish, educated, single (in good part by choice, but "if the right guy came along"), working as a junior architect at a Dehli architectural firm also lives with / takes care of her widowed and rather hypochondriac, not particularly pleasant, stool obsessed dad Bhaskor Banerjee (played by Amitabh Bachchan [IMDb]] [FiBt]).

Yes, I do believe that a fair amount of Westerners will be initially taken aback by the amount of stool / bodily functions discussed in this film.  Yet we should remember a good part of traditional Indian medicine is concerned with "cleansing the body" and especially the colon of "toxins" (and then honestly, vegetables would tend to be "gassy").  In any case, Piku's dad seemed absolutely convinced that he was going to _die_ of constipation. "But dad, _nobody's_ ever died of constipation." "Elvis did."  "Elvis??"  "Yes, when they found him dead, they found him sitting on the toilet ..."  

Be that as it may, Piku's quite unhappy dad at home serves as a significant drag on her life.  And it's not necessarily that he's "evil."  Educated / otherwise quite liberal himself, he's often a stronger advocate for his daughter's independence than she herself is. Yes, one does wonder if that's at least in part "self-serving" on his part -- if she's single, she still has to take care of him.  On the other hand, he also does seem to be _sincere_ about his desire that his well educated daughter not simply be(come) "a slave" of whoever she'd end up marrying:

In one of the funniest scenes in a film, after Piku's aunt (played wonderfully by Moushumi Chatterjee [IMDb] [FiBt]), her revered (deceased) mother's sister, tries setting her up with some 'intellectual artist type' "back in Dehli from San Francisco" it's her dad who gives him the 4th degree.  Piku's dad: "Why would a guy like you want to get married?" Possible suitor (taken a bit aback / trying to be nice): "Well, maybe if I met a nice girl..." Piku's dad: "Well, my daughter's _not_ a virgin.  She's well educated, financially independent, sexually independent.  She _does not need_  someone like you.  Would she be the kind of 'nice girl' that you'd be looking for ..." Piku (rolling her eyes): "Thanks dad ..."  

 Well all comes to a head when Piku decides that she'd really like to take a few days off from work (really from her dad ...) and he decides that what she really means is that she'd like to take him back to their family back in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) (they are originally Bengali).  Rolling her eyes, no that's not at all what she meant.  But, then who's gonna take care of her dad while she's gone?  They've gone through 4-5 housekeepers in a couple of months, because, ever constipated, he seems to be always in such a bad mood.  So she consents.

But then, how to get her dad from Dehli to Kalkota 1500 km (1000 miles) away?  He doesn't want to fly (totally messes up one's intestines).  Doesn't want to go by train (again the constant "rocking back and forth" messes everything up inside).  Fortunately, there's now a modern limited access expressway that goes between the two cities.  So they "hire a taxi" to take them there, something that Americans or West Europeans would not necessarily do, but is not entirely uncommon in other parts of the world.  Last fall, I reviewed an Argentinian movie Road to La Paz [2015] about an elderly man hiring a taxi to drive him from Buenos Aires, Argentina to La Paz, Bolivia).

The taxi driver (actually the owner of the taxi company that the hire) is played by famed Indian actor Irrfan Khan [IMDb] [FiBt] and he has fun with this rather odd set of clients.  And the dad again isn't necessarily mean toward him, and even sympathizes with him as the taxi driver (owner of said firm) explains to him (and Piku) that he was actually an engineer and had spent a number of years working "in Saudi" but finally could not stand being "kept in his place" by people who so obviously "knew less than him," finally returning to Dehli to take over his dad's fairly successful taxi firm instead: "A lot of honest people end up like you, taking jobs like you (rather than in the fields that they were traine for)."  But then the dad's colon takes over his head again and ... they find themselves stopping _over and over_ so that he could _try_ to go to the bathroom.  So it makes for a _long_ trip ;-)

But the film keeps a humorous beat.  IMHO the funniest line in the film comes when they stop for the night at some "roadside hotel" midway between Dehli and their destination.  Handing them the keys, the clerk tells them quite matter-of-factly: "Prayer's at 5, checkout's at 8" ;-) -- ALL my American Servite colleagues who've ever been to India remember _well_ THE BLARING literally "from the roof-tops" 4:30 or 5:00 AM Muslim "call to worship" ;-) ;-)

Anyway, much family stuff has to happen, and it does.  And it all makes for a very nice contemporary movie about family life in India today.

A lovely, lovely film. 



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Last Days in the Desert [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (3 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (C+)  Fr. Dennis (1 star)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (S. Wloszczyna) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review  



Last Days in the Desert [2016] (written and directed by Rodrigo García) is an apocryphal story invented by the writer / director and added to the end of Jesus' 40 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Temptation in the Desert [cf Mk 1:12-13, Mt 4:1-11, Lk 4:1-13].

In this story, near the end of 40 Days in the Desert, Jesus (Yeshua) (played by Ewan McGregor) encounters a small Family _living_ out there in the Desert (the father, mother and teenage son played by Ciarán Hinds, Ayelet Zurer and Tye Sheridan) and is TAUNTED by the Devil (voiced / played by Ewan McGregor again) to "resolve their problems."  And there are plenty: The Father seems to have been driven to the Desert by his own sense of Failure in life.  The Mother is ill and wasting-away / dying of some unspecified (though probably cancer-like) illness.  Finally, the Son is itching to just get away and strike-out on his own.  

So the challenge that writer / director seems to be giving his Jesus (and to believing Viewers) is to "put aside the Bible" and make him (Jesus) "relevant" to this family with "plenty of its own problems."

And I suppose, in our "focused in on ourselves" quite narcissistic time, that's a quite realistic "challenge" and one that Jesus (be he the script-writer's Jesus or any other one, including the actual One) would certainly fail.

That's because if a person is primarily focused on him/herself, _by definition_ NO ONE (not even Jesus / God) will have much "relevance" to that person. 

The Father seems to be focused on his Failures / Impotence, the Son is focused on whatever big dreams he has as soon as he "blows this Desert" and the Mom is focused on the reality that she's not going to be part of the Living much longer.

So  the writer / director's "Jesus" HAS TO FAIL ...

But do any of the three others "succeed"?  Of course not.

The mother's facing imminent extinction, the father sees that he's not going to leave a mark, and the son, okay, "for a while" can _pretend_ that HE's gonna "make a difference" ... but in 10-20-30-40-50 years, he's gonna be where his father is now ...

EVEN THE BUDDHISTS see this: NOTHING IN THIS WORLD is Eternal.  EVERYTHING IS CHANGING (and if one is honest is directed toward extinction / annihilation).

So then, where does one put one's Hopes / Treasure?

THIS IS INDEED what the BIBLICAL JESUS ACTUALLY FACED IN THE DESERT:

(1) Just make yourself some food ... but food / material well-being are not enough in so short a life.
(2) Make yourself "important" ... but what good is ruling "even the whole world" if you're gonna die and _quickly_ become _unimportant_ then ANYWAY.
(3) Give up then on life and just be a dare-devil ... you'll just die sooner.

I confess that I _don't_ much like stories that seek to _add_ (invent entirely new) episodes to Jesus' life or to the Bible.  I gave a similarly poor rating to a recent film Young Messiah [2016] that focused on "Jesus' hidden years" (as a youth). 

The _actual_ Scriptures offer SO MUCH MORE to _chew / reflect_ on ... and this is why I gave The Bible (History Channel Series) [2013] FOUR STARS while I gave the current film / Young Messiah [2016] one each.


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Money Monster [2016]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (2 1/2 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (D+)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RogerEbert.com (C. Lemire) review
AVClub (J. Hassenger) review


Money Monster [2016] (directed by Jodie Foster, screenplay by Jamie Linden, Alan DiFiore and Jim Kouf, story by Alan DiFiore and Jim Kouf) is a film that at least initially may seem "to go flat" / disappoint, after what would seem to have been a CAN'T MISS / COMPELLING / EVEN SCARY "HOOK" ...

An angry and DESPERATE blue-collarish man in his mid-late 20s, named Kyle (played quite convincingly by Jack O'Connell) posing as "a delivery guy" comes onto the set of a live absurdly amped-up CNBC-like "Financial Advice" television show hosted by an as _empty_ (in oh so many ways) a "talking head" as one could imagine ... an ever smiling, well cut guy named "Lee Gates" (played close to "Las Vegas" / "circus act" perfection by George Clooney) who MAY or MAY NOT have a clue what he's talking about BUT ... you "listen TO HIM" because ... well, HE (somehow) "looks like" someone who'd know what he's talking about.

Well 20-something Kyle HAD LISTENED to that guy ... and LOST $60K, EVERYTHING THAT HE HAD, on a stock tip that Lee had IRRESPONSIBLY promoted AS A SURE THING (more reliable than gravity, more reliable than sunrise and sunset ...) before it suddenly TANKED one fine morning (before recovering) due to a "computer glitch."  That "glitch" cost that firm, IBIS (sounds vaguely "Evil" like ISIS ...)  $850 million, and ... Kyle, his $60K life savings.

So in the name of EVERY certainly naive, and perhaps simply not particularly bright, "small time investor" who's ever been F-ed by Wall Street, Kyle comes onset WITH A GUN and A COUPLE OF EXPLOSIVES LADEN VESTS -- one for Lee, the other for the a-hole CEO of IBIS -- demanding "answers."

Again, the "hook" is compelling, SCARY and perhaps even IRRESPONSIBLE.  After all, there could be ALL KINDS OF PREVIOUSLY _STEPPED-UPON_ PEOPLE watching this film, who honestly MAY be tempted now to "act out" in a similar way... 

So, of course, the film makers KNEW that they COULDN'T let Kyle get away with this.  SIMPLE MORALITY DEMANDS that we NOT take people (audience members) to the edge of contemplating something really, really stupid, without "walking them back"

But the film makers COULDN'T "walk Kyle back" from this.  So, yes, IT SIMPLY HAS TO "END BAD" FOR HIM.  But what now ...

Up to this point, the film honestly may seem like A MALE "THELMA AND LOUISE [1991]" :-) with poor, dumb, even if "right" in this case Kyle needing "to die"


BUT THIS IS WHERE THE FILM BECOMES INTERESTING.  For if one considered ONLY THE MEN, the film leads to Death / Destruction -- Kyle's death, Lee's exposition as an idiot, the CEO of IBIS's exposition as at least some kind of a fraud -- BUT ...

... there were MORE than just men in this film ;-)

The WOMEN, ALL in "SECONDARY ROLES" (often with ONE obvious exception in "behind the scenes" roles) offer ALTERNATIVES _if only_ the others (the men) would listen to them:

There's Patty Fenn (played magnificently by Julia Roberts), Lee Gates' ever calm amidst on-set chaos director managing the now UTTERLY CHAOTIC SITUATION _on her set_ with an almost "regal wisdom" of a Queen of Sheba if not Solomon, and CERTAINLY _better_ than the NYPD who seem to see only (ever crazier) shooting scenarios to bring the situation to an end;

There's Molly (played utterly unforgettably by Emily Meade), Kyle's girlfriend, who's 2-3 maybe 5 minute performance on the film UTTERLY STEALS THE SHOW as she speaks utterly unforgettable truth reminding truly EVERYONE that she's part of this story too

Finally there's Diane Lester (played by Caitriona Balfe) IBIS's "Communications Director, at least initially seeming to be "the only woman of any consequence" at The Firm, and certainly one who was being "asked to dance" (for "The Firm") in front of the cameras, "paid to explain" WHAT SHE HERSELF WAS NOT PRIVY TO ... what happened when IBIS' stock "dipped" like it did on that fateful day.  But "Dancing for Thieves / Liars" was NOT exactly what Diane grew-up wanting to do ...

All in all, this makes for a VERY INTERESTING FILM ... and NOT ONE that one would have initially expected.  On one hand, the film ends the way it had to end.  But on the other ... the film-makers remind us that IT COULD HAVE ALL GONE DIFFERENTLY ;-)

SO GOOD JOB JODIE FOSTER, VERY GOOD JOB ;-)


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The Darkness [2013]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  RogerEbert.com (1 Star)  AVClub ()  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (K. Jensen) review
RogerEbert.com (P. Sobczynski) review
AVClub () review


The Darkness [2016] (directed and cowritten by Greg McLean along with Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause) is a film that I
had more or less determined that I was NOT going to see.  Made by the people who made Insidious [2011] (not a selling point for me as I thought that movie was terrible ... both needlessly dark and low budgety in _not_ a good way ...) I was content to stay home from this one until I read Peter Sobczynski's still not exactly "stellar" review of the film for RogerEbert.com (above). From his review, the film started to seem like an update to a "in my time" already "cheesy" but at least not Evil "Brady Bunch" episode: 

In that old BB episode, the family went "on vacation" in Hawaii and one or another of the kids came across an "old pagan idol," took it "back to the hotel" with him and ... all sorts of strange things began to happen. 

Well, in the current film, a family (the dad played by Kevin Bacon, an actor of my generation, who like me would have been a kid when that old BB episode had played) goes "on vacation" to the Grand Canyon and while hiking, one of the kids falls into a cave where he finds five small idols left there by the Anasazi people (the Native Americans who built the towns in the Mesas of (relatively nearby) Mesa Verde Nat'l Park).  Of course, the kid puts the little idols in his backpack and takes them home with him (without telling anybody...) and ... all sorts of strange things start to happen.

I also looked at the film's rating -- PG-13 -- and wondered if it would end up being something like another recent PG-13 rated "scary movie" Mama [2013] which I actually quite liked.  And so ... more certain that the film was not going to scandalize me or otherwise waste my time, I went to see it.... and DID NOT LEAVE disappointed.

It's opening on a Friday the 13th Weekend and I would say that it's NOT an altogether bad "scary movie" to take the kids to.

And the screen family is no longer "perfect" like the Brady Bunch.  Pa' (played by Kevin Bacon) still an architect, is still dealing with the guilt / consequences of some marital infidelity _years before_.  Ma's (played by Radha Mitchell) still dealing with some lingering "trust issues" has also _more or less_ bested a previous drinking problem. Eyes often rolling "why can't our family be (completely) normal" teenage daughter Stephanie (played by Lucy Fry) is bulimic, and younger son Michael (played by David Mazouz) is autistic.  And into this plops an added quite random "horror" ... brought home "from vacation" ;-)

Then a surprise _prize_ in this film comes when the family, finally realizing that _something_ that's _really beyond_ them has entered into _their world_, decides to seek help, a previously spooked family friend sets them up with a NATIVE AMERICAN / HISPANIC (!) "curandera" named Teresa MORALES (played by Alma Martinez) and the curandera's teenage grand-daughter (Stephanie's age) Gloria (played by Ilza ROSARIO) who help then to exorcise the house. 

Obviously, I would have preferred that they call the Catholic priest and we'd bless the house (I've done plenty of those over the years and _know_ that such blessings _do_ indeed stop things from going "bump in the night").  Still, in my work, I have run into some of the supernatural of both the Caribbean and of the Desert here in North America and I found it kinda nice to see this (Native American) Hispanic "grandma and granddaughter team" helping to bring peace to this modern but then quite detached from their past American family that found itself in a situation that was quite beyond their normal capabilities.

So then, the film turned out to be a not altogether "bad" The Brady Bunch meets The Poltergeist with a South-Westy (Native American / Mexican / Hispanic) sort of feel at the end.

A pretty good job then!  Pretty good job! 


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Francofonia [2015]

MPAA (UR would be PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
Allocine.fr listing*
KinoPoisk.ru listing*
Kino-Teatr.ru listing*

Gazeta.ru  (J. Zabaluev) review*
KinoAfisha review*
KinoArt.ru (V.  Rutkowski) review*
Lumiere-mag.ru (X. Ilina) review*
RossiyskayaGazeta.ru (V. Kichin) review*
Seance.ru (M. Kuvshinova) review*

aVoir-aLire.fr (V. Morisson) review*
Critikat.com (J. Morel) review*
LaCroix.fr (J.C.  Raspiengeas) review*
LeMonde.fr (J. Mandelbaum) review*
Liberation.fr (C. Gallot) review*

APUM.com (L.E. Forero Varela) review*
KinoZeit.de (P. Weillinski) review*
Slant Magazine (S. Nam) review
The Guardian (P. Bradshaw) review
The Hollywood Reporter (D. Young) review


Francofonia [2015] [IMDb] [AC.fr]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* (written and directed by Aleksandr Sukorov [IMDb] [KP.ru]*[KT.ru]*[AC.fr]*) is a remarkable FRENCH / DUTCH / GERMAN docudrama-tic / documentary-esque co-production originally commissioned by the Curators of the Louvre Museum in Paris of the renowned RUSSIAN director, already famous for this kind of work, to tell the story of The Louvre during the period of Nazi Occupation (from June 1940 - August 1944).   The film premiered to both acclaim and controversy (some of the Russian critics cited above _gleefully noted_ that the Louvre's curators didn't necesssarily like the final product ;-) at the 2015 (72nd) Venice Int'l Film Festival.

The film recently played in Chicago at the 2016 (19th Annual) European Union Film Festival (a submission to the Festival by FRANCE) and subsequently returned to Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center for a two week run.  (The film, whose distribution rights are owned in the United States by Music Box Films is currently making a run of similar "Film Centers" and "art houses" across the U.S.)

Again, the Louvre's enlistment of Sukorov [IMDb] [KP.ru]*[KT.ru]*[AC.fr]* for this project was NOT "a random one" as he was already famous for a remarkable docudrama-tic cinematic reflection -- entitled Russian Ark (orig. Русский ковчег / Russkiy Kovcheg) [2002] [IMDb] [KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* -- about the similarly world renowned Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  (Though not necessary to appreciate the current film, it's certainly worth the effort to find / view this film as well.  It's available for streaming via Netflix / Fandor as well as for rental in DVD format via mail rental service offered by Facets.org).

The story that Sukorov was enlisted to present here -- how ever one looks at it -- is TRULY an INTRIGUING ONE: Here was The Louvre, both then and now, ONE OF THE FAMOUS MUSEUMS IN THE WORLD one whose collections were/are considered PRICELESS many times over (containing among other things Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa...), UNDER FOUR YEARS OF NAZI OCCUPATION, that is under a Regime whose leaders were INFAMOUS for LOOTING art (from museums, private citizens, etc) ALL OVER EUROPE.  And YET ... the Louvre's collections SURVIVED the War INTACT.

The big question, of course, is WHY?

To the Russian director Sukorov, it was clear as day that the (French) Director of the Louvre at the time Jacques Jaujard [fr-wikip]*[IMDb] (played in the film by Louis-Do de Lencquesaing [IMDb] [AC.fr]*) and Nazi Era German Cultural Attache to (Occupied) France Count Franz Wolff-Metternich [de-wikip]*[IMDb] (played in the film by Benjamin Utzerath [IMDb] [AC.fr]*) CONSPIRED indeed CONSPIRED TOGETHER to protect The Louvre's Collections from the prying hands of the Nazi leadership.

And the Historical Record does largely bear this out.  In 1938-39, The Louvre's collections had already been evacuated from Paris as a precaution in preparation for War.  When Occupation came, Count Metternich [de-wikip]* just made it "really hard" for the top Nazi leadership to get their hands on them, assuring them simply that the Collections are 'safe'..."

What however bruised / scandalized the Russian director of the current film's sensibilities was that while the Nazis seemed to treat the French art treasures with such respect, they certainly _didn't_ treat the treasures of other nations, NOTABLY of those of the East (... those of the RUSSIANS) with anything EVEN REMOTELY APPROACHING that kind of respect as well

Indeed, in the later part of the film Sukorov narrates (and shows documentary footage of) what happened to the Hermitage Museum (and Leningrad as St. Petersburg was called during the Soviet Era) during the War.  Yes, the Hermitage's art treasures ALSO were evacuated prior to the Nazi two year long siege of Leningrad.  But the Hermitage Museum itself was bombed repeatedly during said siege a siege in which more than a million residents died often of starvation, and many survivors doing so by resorting to cannibalism (at times) to make it through.

The question that Sukorov asks again is: Why?  Why were the French (and THEIR art) respected while the Russians (and theirs) not.

And this is where his film gets controversial: His answer was that the Germans always respected the French MORE than the Russians suggesting that EVEN THE NAZIS were ultimately looking for a "French-German" alliance against ... the Russians.

AND ONE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE BEEN LIVING IN A CAVE for the last several years to NOT understand the Putin era propagandistic messaging being proclaimed here: Russia "once again" is being "punished" / separated from Europe because "Europe has always thought" that it is "better than Russia."

So this was a film about The Louvre that Sukorov somehow made about The Louvre" vs "The Hermitage" and thus even about "The French / Western Europe" vs "The Russians / Eastern Europe."

What I can say is that at least Sukorov did this with some humor ... something that _I do appreciate_ (because often enough Russian films that make it to the West are simply deathly serious and actually perpetuate negative stereotypes that many Westerners would hold against Russians).

Still, the whole episode reminded me of the incident in which Mexican muralist (and leftist) Diego Rivera, commissioned to paint a mural for the then new Rockefeller Center in New York, took the opportunity to paint a mural he entitled Man at the Crossroads that "called on the working man to overthrow the capitalists" ;-).  The Rockefellers refused to allow the mural to be displayed in THEIR BUILDING ;-) and ordered it DESTROYED.  So today, a copy of said mural is PROMINENTLY / PROUDLY displayed in the Palacio de Belles Artes in Mexico City and to this day a fair number of residents of Mexico City still smile-from-ear-to-ear retelling this story of how "one of them" Diego Rivera "stuck it" to the "Gringo Rockefellers" ;-)

So here Sukorov kinda stuck it to the French.  "Za Putina ...!" (OMG, have we come to _that_? ;-)

Still this is a very interesting, surprisingly entertaining, ever thoughtful and ultimately quite provocative film ;-)  Honestly, _if you love movies_, what more can you ask for? ;-)

Great, great job! ;-)


* Foreign language webpages are most easily translated using Google's Chrome Browser. 

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Baahubali: The Beginning [2015]

MPAA (Would be PG-13)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
FilmiBeat.com listing

Forbes (R. Cain) interview w. writer / director S.S. Rajamouli

Hindustan Times (M. Fadnavis) review
The Hindu (S. Devi Dundoo) review
Indian Express (S. Gupta) review
Times of India (R. Vyavahare) review

The Guardian (M. McCahill) review

FilmiBeat.com (P. Anjuri) review
The Hollywood Reporter (S. Tsering) review

Baahubali: The Beginning [2015] [IMDb] [FiBt] (directed and screenplay by S.S. Rajamouli [IMDb] [FiBt], story by Vijayendra Prasad [IMDb]) is the first part of a planned two part Telegu /Tamil (South Indian) historical adventure saga based on the revered Jainist religious figure Baahubali.  The film became THE MOST EXPENSIVE INDIAN MOVIE EVER MADE (with a budget of about $40 million USD) but it also became the 2nd highest grossing Indian film in 2015 and the 3rd highest grossing Indian film ever.  (The film is available in the United States on various internet streaming platforms for a reasonable price).


I decided to view/review this film TO BEGIN my 2016 Indian Film Tour which like my 2015 Russian Film Tour I've decided to undertake for similar reasons -- I'M TIRED OF SEEING ONLY CERTAIN KINDS OF RUSSIAN / INDIAN FILMS BEING CONSIDERED by American Film Critics -- ponderous and PONDEROUSLY BORING Russian "epics" like Alexey German's Hard to be a God [2013] or Aleksandr Sokurov's Faust [2012] or Indian / India themed films that focus _only_ on "India's backwardness / poverty" like Slumdog Millionaire [2008] or Lunch Box [2013] (lovely even poignant movies, BUT ....)

Hence my 2015 Russian Film Tour included a Russian MOTHER'S DAY MOVIE Mamy [2012], a RUSSIAN RomCom My Boyfriend is an Angel [2012], and a spectacular RUSSIAN "Twilight Saga-like" movie called Dark World [2010] two of which produced multiple sequels in Russia / Russian television series spin-offs and ALL OF WHICH were FAR MORE COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL IN RUSSIA than the BORING EVEN TO RUSSIANS "epics" that pose as "Russian cinema" to Westerners here.

My intention here is to do exactly the same now with Indian films.  I wish to present in my 2016 Indian Film Tour to Readers here the recent INDIAN films that have found both popular / commercial success and critical acclaim IN INDIA.


What better way to start this 2016 Indian Film Tour than to view / review a critically acclaimed and successful 2015 Indian film that could be called India's answer to Thor [2012]? :-).  Indeed, BOTH the Nordic God Thor and India's Jainist hero Baahubali have previously become inspiration for comic books (Thor in the U.S. thanks to Marvel Comics) and Baahubali [AChK] [Indj] thanks to Amar Chitra Katha [Amzn] AND Indrajal [Amzn] comics in India).

Baahubali: The Beginning [2015] [IMDb] [FiBt], the first of a two part Indian historical adventure saga (Part II, Baahubali: The Conclusion is set to be released in 2017) is largely an "Origins Story" -- How did Baahubali (played in the film by Prabhas [wikip] [IMDb] [FiBt]) come onto the scene and become the stuff of legend?

So in the opening sequence of the film, we see the infant destined to become Baahubali being carried by a fleeing woman (his mother? a caretaker?) to a river at the base of an enormous waterfall from where he, the infant, is carried presumably by the hand of the Hindu God Shiva across the river to safety and into the care of a humble family residing at the base of the waterfall (whose power is somehow representative of the (destructive) power of Shiva).  The sequence carries obvious resonances to the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus in the Bible even though the similar "helpless infant destined for greatness carried on the waters to safety" motif can be found elsewhere in Ancient Near Eastern Literature including in the Legend of Sargon the Great.

So the future Baahubali, named by his adoptive parents Shividu (a derivative Shiva), grows up _strong_ ("the favor of the Gods were upon him...") and ever looking-upwards to the top of that impossible waterfall (named after Shiva) wondering what exists "up there," while his adoptive-mother (played by Ramya Krishnan [IMDb] [FiBt]) would really prefer him to "stop dreaming" (stop looking for his destiny at the top of that waterfall, which no one had climbed to anyway) and focus on the here-and-now.

Well, one day, Shividu, in heroic indeed Herculean fashion, fulfills a seemingly impossible oath that his adoptive mother had made to Shiva (hoping actually that her adopted son would once-and-for-all STOP "looking upward to the top of the waterfall") and ... Then, after he finds a mysterious MASK at the foot of the impossible cliff / waterfall that he had SPENT HIS LIFE gazing upwards toward, GUIDED BY DESIRE (in the form of A BEAUTIFUL MUSE) he finally manages to miraculously CLIMB the said cliff to reach the world of THE HIGHER PLAIN that he always knew EXISTED but HAD NEVER BEEN ABLE TO REACH BEFORE.

There he quickly meets (and falls in love with) a young female warrior named Avanthika (played marvelously by Tamanna Bhatia [IMDb] [FiBt]) who, along with her guerilla band was trying to free her Queen Devasana (played by Anushka Shetty [IMDb] [FiBt]) chained for 25 years in the Capital of a kingdom ruled by a quite Evil and as quite possibly usurper King (Rana Daggubati [IMDb] [FiBt]) who had been grooming his son (played also by Rana Daggubati [IMDb] [FiBt]) for the throne.

Obviously, this terrible state of affairs existing in this new world that Shividu has discovered is tied to his own orphaned "dropped out of the sky" ("dropped down a seemingly an impossible waterfall") past and his future destiny as (the Returning and presumably Regal) Baahubali.  But how?  And why?  The rest of the story ensues ...   

And yet, Readers remember, that Baahubali's destiny isn't simply to "Return / become a King."  If you've read the Wikipedia article about this Jainist hero, it becomes much more more than that ... ;-)  And much of that will probably play out in Part II of this Saga.

So this becomes one heck of a story and the cinematography, art & set design / wardrobe, battlefield choreography, etc, just plain general _direction_ meets the challenge of telling it right.  One really feels, repeatedly, that one's entered into another spectacular and beautiful world. 
 
The result is a truly spectacular film, worthy of its praise!


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