KONANGAL: 5th Aug 2012; Thamizh Studio screens Amshan Kumar's Subramania Bharathi & Oruthi

Jul 31, 2012

5th Aug 2012; Thamizh Studio screens Amshan Kumar's Subramania Bharathi & Oruthi

THAMIZH STUDIO
Presents
Lenin Award winner
Amshan Kumar’s two films
SUBRAMANIA BHARATHI
&
ORUTHI
5th August 2012; 5 pm
Perks Mini Theater

Thamizh Studio is a frontline film movement in Chennai. Their 2012 Lenin award for best filmmaker goes to Amshan Kumar. Prior to the awards function which will be held at Chennai on 15th August 2012 , Amshan Kumar’s two films are being shown in major cities of Tamilnadu.

Subramania Bharati:

Documentary.1999. Script .Indira Parthasarathy. Camera.P.S.Dharan. Music.L.Vaidyanathan.Editing.Gautam.Produced by N.Muruganandam.
Direction.Amshan Kumar.

Subramania Bharati (1882-1921), the renaissance figure of modern Tamil Litreature was born in Ettayapuram, South India.As asingle major force he revolutionized Tamil poetry with great lyrical beauty and brought it closer to people as never before.He was drawn early in his life towards mainstream nationalism and his journalistic writings incensed the British government. Bharati was a true modern championing the cause of nationalism, casteless society and equality for women. He was a unique spiritualist and expressed profound compassion for all living beings.

This is the first full length documentary on Bharati that gives an account of his life and the turbulent times he lived in. Filming is done in Chennai, Madurai, Ettayapuram, Tirunelveli, Pondicherry and Benares, the places associated with his life. Two elderly persons who had acquaintance with him have recounted their memories in this.The documentary has won several awards.

Oruthi2003/91minutes

Story.Ki.Rajanarayanan. Camera.P.S.Dharan. Editing.Satish-Harsha. Music.L.Vaidyanathan.
Produced by. Thara and Gopal Rajaram. Screenplay, dialogues and direction. Amshan Kumar
Cast:Poorvaja, Bharati Mani, Thomas Ober and Ganesh Babu.

The story is set in the late nineteenth century. Sevani, a dalit girl is in love with an upper caste boy Ellappan.Both are shepherds. Plans are afoot to get Ellappan married within his own caste.

John Williams, an English Revenue Divisional Officer arrives in the village to probe into the claim of the Zamindar that people do not pay tax. He comes to know through Sevani that the season was good , people pay tax regularly which the Zamindar has misappropriated for his pleasurable ends.
John Williams effectively intervens and brings permanent relief to villagers through tax reforms.The villagers know that this has become possible due to Sevani but they are helpless to fulfill her single wish of uniting her with her lover.Sevani is finally left with the quill pen that changed the destiny of her people.

The film was shown in Indian Panorma and thereafter in several International film festivals. It won the Best film award from Government of Puduchery and Tamil Association of New Jersey, USA.
(Screenings supported and arranged in Coimbatore by Konangal Film Society )

Amshan Kumar

Amshan Kumar is a film maker and writer. His first book EHUTHUM PREGNIYUM published in 1980 deals with topics on writing and philosophy. His book ‘Cinema Rasanai’ written in 1990 in Tamil on film appreciation is the first book of its kind. It is prescribed as a text in many universities in Tamilnadu, Puducherry and Batticaloa in Sri Lanka.

He has conducted film appreciation courses to various age groups and gives lectures to visual communication and Mass Media students in Tamilnadu. Also he co-edited Salanam, a film magazine that was devoted to the study of serious efforts in world cinema. As one who is fond of developing film culture since his college days, he has been associating with and founding film societies like Trichy Cine Forum which was one of the earliest in Tamilnadu and Darshana in Coimbatore. In 2005 he participated in a seminar on ‘Parallel Film Movement in India’ in Kuala Lumpur.
He has directed more than 25 documentaries. His documentary Subramania Bharati the great Tamil poet that won various awards including the Best Documentary Award from Cinesangam, London, Nobel Laureate C.V.Raman, Third Theatre of Bengali Playwright and director Badal Sircar, Ashokamitran, Modern Art in Tamilnadu and Reaching the Unreached are some of his documentaries that have been widely appreciated. His most recent documentary is `Manakkal S.Rangarajan: Carnatic Musician of the Era`
‘Oruthi’ his feature film based on a story written by Sahitya Akademi award winner Ki.Rajanarayanan, was shown in Indian Panorama of International Film Festival of India in 2003 and won the Puducherry State Award for the Best Film and award from Tamil Association of New Jersey, USA.
‘Pesum Porchithram’ his anthology of articles on films was published in October 2007. It was released by Phalke Award winner Adoor Gopalakrishnan at the Chennai International Film Festival in December 2007.
He headed the panel of juries for the Vimbam International Short Film Festival held in London in November 2010.
Amshan Kumar is a post graduate in English Literature and regularly writes on film and other subjects in various Tamil and English magazines. He lives in Chennai.

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ART EXHIBITION

Ramakrishana Behera, "Deepak Tal", 2008; Oil on linen;56" X 66" (142 X 168 cms)

Contemplate Art Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition organized by New Delhi's prestigious Gallery Nature Morte showcasing the works of six emerging artists, evidence of the exciting diversity that is available to Indian artists today.

CONTEMPLATE ART GALLERY
and
NATURE MORTE
present
"Anthology of Styles"
by
Archana Hande
Bassist Kumar
Dileep Sharma
Jayanta Roy
Nidhi Agarwal
Ramakrishna Behera

Exhibition: 10th March - 19th March, 2011
at
contemplate:
# 338, 1st floor, Above Rajshree Ford showroom,
Avanashi Road, Peelamedu,
Coimbatore

FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE . . . .

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE BOOK

Ozu and the

Poetics of Cinema

By David Bordwell,

with a new introduction by the author

Read about the book from Amazon

View of List of All Pages.

Download entire book
(pdf format ) -Click fere

Download new introduction to the Michigan Electronic Reprint- Click here

We are grateful to David Bordwell and The Center for Japanese Studies for this great gift of a classic work on one of the greatest masters of our times , Yasujiro Ozu

From David Bordwell :

Some cuts I have known and loved

Watching movies very, very slowly

From Alberto Toscano :

Money, Militancy, Pedagogy: Godard 1967-72

Thank you for smoking !

Where is her cigarette ? This stamp honoring Bette Davis was issued by the U. S. Postal Service on Sept. 18 th. The portrait by Michael Deas was inspired by a still photo from "All About Eve." Notice anything missing? Before you even read this far, you were thinking" Where's her cigarette? Yes reader, the cigarette in the original photo has been eliminated. We are all familiar, I am sure, with the countless children and teenagers who have been lured into the clutches of tobacco by stamp collecting, which seems so innocent, yet can have such tragic outcomes. But isn't this is carrying the anti-smoking campaign one step over the line? - ------------- From Roger Ebert's journal ------ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com ------------------ Anbumani Ramados will be happy to hear this . . .

Indian Parallel Cinema & Indian New Wave

Through his first film Pather Panchali (1955) Satyajit Ray became the pioneer of a genre of films latter known as the 'Indian Parallel Cinema'. Even though Ritwik Ghatak made his first film Nagarik in 1952, he became well known by his film Ajantrik (1958) and became a strong presence in parallel cinema. Mrinal Sen made his first film Raatbhor in 1955. The first film society was founded in Bombay in 1943 and Satyajit Ray founded a film society in Calcutta in 1947. By the beginning of 1970s there existed above 150 film societies all over India. Through these societies people could see the best of Indian cinema and also they got access to the best of foreign cinema. The first International Film Festival of India was held in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta by the Films Division in 1952. Western classics like De Sica's Bicycle Thieves shown in the film festival created waves among young filmmakers who were frustrated with the mindless song-dance dramas made in India. The Film Training Institute of India (FTII - presently Film and Television Institute of India) was set up in Pune in 1961 and the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) was established in 1964. The Film Finance Corporation (FFC) was set up by the Government in 1960, with the objective of giving loans to directors who wanted to make feature films outside the commercial circuit. All these factors lead Indian Cinema to a revolutionary change, a new genre of Indian films arrived, which are often termed as the 'New Wave Indian Cinema' or the 'New Indian Cinema'.

Bangalore Film Society

3^rd International Film Festival on Water

We are very happy to let you know that the 3^rd International Film Festival on Water titled Voices from the Waters is getting tremendous responses from across the globe. We are also happy to invite you to this festival at the Jnana Jyothi auditorium, Central college campus, Palace Road from the 13^th to 18^thSeptember 2008. This is world's biggest water film festival dedicated to the rivers and streams of the universe .

Georgekutty

Festival Coordinator

Contact

Siddharth

Associate Festival Coordinator

Tel: 91-80-25493705/ 91-9886213516

E-mail: bangalorefilmsociety@gmail.com

www.voicesfromthewaters.com

Links for you

Kathleen Murphy on Last Year at Marienbad

Dan in a post about Nakahira, Vadim, and composition:

"When I watch a movie and think, “These images are intrinsically beautiful – this director really knows how to compose,” and then try to analyze the visual style, I often conclude that the compositions are balanced between two functions: showing the figure in the foreground, and showing the world. The balance is always managed in such a way that the shot can still function in the mind of the viewer as a depiction of the foreground figure; and yet the room or landscape is presented with some spatial integrity.

(Thanks to Girish for the links)

Hindu write up on Kieslowski Film Festival by K.Jeshi

Three colours capture the beauty and mystery of life at a retrospective of Polish film-maker Krzysztof Kieslowski. K. Jeshi reports

Photos: M. Periasamy

Power packed Performances Juliette Binoche in Blue. “There is a visual fluidity in his films, a way of moving lyrically through space that connects the audience with the characters…” says a film critic about Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski. His characters say little, but express more and are extraordinary in intensity.
Read complete report -CLICK HERE.

Poetry on celluloid

Satyajit Ray’s genius cast its spell at a recent retrospective of some of his best films. K. Jeshi reports

Photos: S. Siva Saravanan

Intense moments In Pather Panchali and Charulata When visuals speak poetry, there is silence. And, introspection. Such films are timeless. There is no conventional narration, no melodrama; just a subtle blend of emotions immortalised by master storyteller Satyajit Ray.

It is thumbs up for Konangal Film Society which screened three classics — Pather Panchali (Song of the little road), Charulata (The lonely wife) and Shatranj Ke Khilari (The chess players). Pather Panchali introduces you to life in Bengal in the early 20th century. Harihar, a priest, his wife Sarbajaya, daughter Durga, son Apu and a cousin, Indir Thakur, struggle to make ends meet. But, Durga and Apu share innocent pleasures, such as following a candy seller (though they can’t afford to buy candies), enjoying theatre, racing a train and participating in a cousin’s wedding.

Documenting change

Durga falls ill after a joyous dance in the rains, and dies. The family leaves their ancestral village in search of a new life in Benares, an indication of change in the then stagnant Bengal society.

The film got debut cinematographer Subrata Mitra an award at Cannes. The train is used as a motif, symbolising power and industrialisation. Referring to the visuals, film buff D Anandan observed: “Durga is ecstatic when dancing in the rain, and the visuals convey the emotion. So do the shots that capture the arrival of the monsoons”. Pandit Ravishankar’s music highlights the changes taking place at various points.

Charulata, an adaptation of Rabindrantah Tagore’s ‘The ruined nest’, is the director’s favourite. He had once said: “Well, the one film that I would make the same way, if I had to do it again, is Charulata.” Every frame in the movie tells a story.

The location is Calcutta in the 1880s. Bhupathi is the editor and publisher of a political magazine The Sentinel. His wife Charulata lives in her own world of books, and loves poetry and literature, especially that of ‘Bankim babu’. She yearns for intellectual company. Bhupathi asks his cousin Amol who comes to live with them, to encourage Charu’s love for art and literature. He does, and their shared artistic interests and love for writing draws them close.

Meanwhile, a family member betrays Bhupati’s trust when he embezzles funds from the newspaper. This is juxtaposed with another apparent breach of trust by Charulata and Amol and their feelings for each other. Charulata’s angst, captured in close-up shots through the movie, lingers long after the movie is over.

A breathtaking play of light and shadow, beautiful upper middle class Bengali homes, songs (composed by Ray) and power-packed performances make this a classic. Charu conveys her deep love and emotional attachment, without saying ‘I love you’. But the intense looks and the liberties she takes with Amol (liking making paan for him) speak volumes. Yet, Ray was criticised for making the relationship too explicit. But he defended himself saying, “… When you transfer poetic language to cinematic language, changes are inevitable...”

Ray believed women were more honest, more direct, and by and large, the stronger of the sexes. And, it was this type of woman which fascinated him. And, Charulata is the archetypal Ray woman.

In the final shot, he freezes the frames of Bhupathi and Charulata as they reach out to clasp each other’s hands. A light shines on them. “That is the silver lining and their relationship will survive,” observed a film buff.

Shatranj Ke Khilari… opens with two friends playing chess. Amitabh Bachchan’s magnificent voice narrates the story. The film, based on a short story by Munshi Premchand, draws a parallel between chess games of feudal lords Mirza Sajjad Ali (Sanjeev Kumar) and Mir Roshan Ali (Saeed Jaffrey), and the crafty moves of the British to capture Awadh. General Outram is on a mission to revoke an existing treaty, and demand the abdication of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (Amjad Ali Khan). The detailed visuals, elaborate costumes and sets, the script and the performances brought the Lucknow of 1856 alive.

Konangal’s determination to take film appreciation to the next level has worked. Many turned up for the screening at the Cosmopolitan Club and stayed on to discuss Satyajit Ray and his art.

Courtesy : Hindu Metroplus

ViBGYOR celebrates different identities and the rich diversity of people, expressed in a festival of short and documentary films held every year in Thrissur, Kerala.

In collaboration with: Thirussur Chalachitrakendram, Janasamakara, Chaturam (Chalakudy), Screen (Vatanapilly), Frame (Tirur), Montage (Manjery), Konangal Film Society (Coimbatore) and other film societies

The four-day Film festival is not only a treat of brilliant films but an interface with filmmakers, activists, people’s movement leaders, academicians, youth and common people from as divergent streams of life and activities. It includes talks, discussions, cultural programmes and informal exchanges.

Global Concerns: Fourteen Short and documentary films based on `Human Rights', `Health & HIV/AIDS', `Migration' and other significant themes produced in contemporary times will be screened.

Retrospectives: As part of honoring the filmmakers who have made great contributions to the short and documentary filmmaking, fifteen films by three great filmmakers will be screened in this section.Animation, Music Videos and Spots: Both national and international entries will be selected, keeping in mind the general theme of ViBGYOR. Open Forum: On all three days Open Forum will be held on topics related to film making and social issues in which special guests from film, academic and activist circles will be invited as panelists. Media Exhibition: Documentary filmmakers will have an opportunity to interact with various film distributing ventures in the country. Also NGOs in South India can acquire films for their programs at this festival market.

For accommodation at Tirussur for the Film festival and other details call : 94430 39630

Hindu write up by K.Jeshi on screening of Visions Of Light

Light and life
Legendary cinematographers talk about their art

Lyrical expressionFrom Visions of Light

Sheer poetry — when cinematographer Sven Nykvist illuminated Ingmar Bergman’s greatest films with his lyrical use of light. He pioneered the use of naturalistic light in filmmaking and won two Academy awards. Best cinematography for Bergm an’s Cries and Whispers and Fanny and Alexander.

For Vittorio Storaro, a living legend in cinematography, Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist was an exercise in shadow and light. To convey the sense of claustrophobia, he used light to show consciousness and darkness to portray unconsciousness. His photography attained lyrical heights and won him the Oscars for Apocalypse Now, Reds and The Last Emperor. Closer home, Subrata Mitra worked magic in Satyajit Ray’s films starting with Pather Panchali.

Cinematographers are considered the director’s second pair of eyes. It is they who interpret and capture his vision. And, to illustrate the importance of lighting in cinema, Konangal screened ‘Light and shadow’, a film on the making of The Conformist, and ‘Visions of Light’, a film about cinematography, that had great shots and sequences and comments by those who photographed them.

Masters speak

Great cinematographers speak of their relationships with directors. They talk of shots, and the light; from photography in the black and white era to the colour and, dramatic and expressionistic lighting techniques.

“It’s like a book for us,” say the cinematographers referring to the influence of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, photographed by Gregg Toland. “They broke all the rules and tried different things, in texture and contrasts,” they say about the magnitude of photographic innovations in the film.

Ace cinematographer Gordon Willis talks about the Godfather films, which earned him the nickname ‘Prince of Darkness.’ Willis says he was criticised for the use of deep shadows when lighting Marlon Brando, but many contemporaries also felt he had mastered the art of underexposure.

Gone with the Wind set the trend for colour films. Clippings from movies such as Annie Hall, Jaws, Blue Velvet, and Goodfellas detailed various techniques use In Cold Blood, photographed by Conrad Hall, a sad scene finds actor Robert Blake’s character talking to a priest about his father. Hall discovered that the light through the window caught the shadows of raindrops as they trickled down the glass. He projected them against Blake’s face, creating the illusion of ghostly tears. “The visuals were crying for him….it was truly a visual accident…” the cinematographer says.

William Fraker, cinematographer of Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, says that in the scene in which the character played by Ruth Gordon is on the telephone, Polanski wanted him not to show the face of the actress. He didn’t, but when that shot played, everyone in the theatre unconsciously shifted to one side, trying to see around that door. As Fraker simply says, ‘That’s Roman Polanski!’

K.JESHI

Blood, gore and more
Have filmmakers developed a taste for glorifying violence, asks K. Jeshi

Portrayal of violence A cause for concern It is no longer only about the pain, but how it is inflicted, and how gory it can get. Be it a human head rolling on the floor, a carpet of corpses or blood dripping from a sickle, violence is made to look spectacular for the audience. Swift camera m ovements, eye-popping graphics, lighting and sound effects make violence look ‘beautiful’ on screen. Thootukudi, Pudupettai, Naalai, Thalainagaram, Arindhum Ariyamalum….the list of movies based on violence is long. And, it sells. Battles and bloodshed

Says director Mysskin of Chithiram Pesuthadi fame: “Violence is not a new trend; it has always been part of our lives. Even the Ramayana and the Mahabharata had their share of battles and bloodshed. You need bullets and blood to show how serious the repercussions of violence are.”

Film buffs say that as long as it is realistic, violence is acceptable. “Out of every 100 movies, 20 are based on gangster themes. In movies such as Thotti Jaya and Pudupettai, personal vendetta is the reason for violence. But in Vettaiyadu Vilayadu, violence is glorified for no reason. There is no justification for the characters in the film taking pleasure in chopping fingers off and murdering people,” says S. Kamala Kannan, president, Cinema Club of Coimbatore. He has worked as an assistant director for filmmaker Seenu Ramasamy, who made Koodal Nagar.

The time factor

According to Mysskin, while in real time, stabbing or roughing up someone lasts only a few minutes, in movies, the time is stretched and it gets exaggerated.

Violence in mass appeal movies, such as Sami or Pokkiri, tends to have a limited impact on the audience.

“Because, there is no element of realism in such movies. Everyone knows it is impossible for a man to beat up 50 people,” he adds.

Not just the portrayal of violence, justifying it is also a cause for concern. If movies such as Thulluvatho Ilamai portray sexual violence and target teenagers, Kaakha Kaakha and Vettaiyadu… justify encounter-based violence. Exaggerated physical violence also promotes the trend of verbal violence.

Highlight emotions

There are fine human emotions and societal values, why aren’t these highlighted, asks filmmaker R.R.Srinivasan, who is involved in the film appreciation movement in South India.

“Be it Veyil, Pithamagan or Paruththi Veeran, the films use violence as a tool to lure the youth. When physical violence is exaggerated on screen, it increases violence in society. Some movies promote caste-based violence too,” he adds. So, the onus is on the filmmakers to choose the right theme. “They choose violence because it sells,” says Srinivasan.

Resolving conflicts

Films promote violence as a tool to resolve conflicts, says Rakesh S. Katarey of the Amrita Institute of Communication, who is also a documentary filmmaker. “In Ram Gopal Varma’s films, a pistol is not just an inanimate object of violence, it is called a ghoda or horse, a creature of supreme grace,” he points out.

Alternative cinema

If alternative cinema works towards removing violence from society, commercial cinema promotes it.

“In Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya, the filmmaker delves deep into the psyche of the protagonist (the violent policeman played by Om Puri), and analyses the unorganised police system that breeds such policemen. His film Aaghat handled violence in labour union politics. Shyam Benegal’s Ankur is another example. Such films deal with structural and systematic differences in society that give birth to violence,” says Katarey. Death and violence arise out of a systematic denial of land, food, health and education on the basis of caste, class, gender and governance or the lack of it, and this remains largely unexplored, he says.

Promote peace

But, there is hope. “Lage Raho Munnabhai is a shining example. Unless commercial films popularise peace as a tool to resolve conflict, people will continue to believe only in violence,” he adds. “As long as the creator gives a sincere presentation, it is acceptable,” says T.S. Prabhu, programme producer, Sun TV, who made Kathiyinri Rathaminri Oru Thirai Kalam, a short film on the growing violence in Tamil films.

In Mysskin’s words, everything depends on the creator’s ability. “Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai portrays violence in a subtle way and Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List leaves a direct stamp of violence. I refrained from showing blood in my film. I projected vanmurai as menmurai.”

Hindu write up on 'The Chorus' Screening by Pankaja Srinivasan

Striking a chord
Les Choristes highlights uncomfortable truths about how adults treat children
Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

A beautiful symphony The chorus “It was inadvertent”, says Pon Chandran of Konangal, when asked if Christophe Barratier’s Les Choristes was chosen as a Children’s Day special.

Nevertheless, it made one think — about the large chunk of humanity called kids, and the institutions we send them to, called schools.

The story Les Choristes is set in a boarding school for ‘delinquents’. The school authorities believe in swift retribution to the slightest contrariness.

New teacher Clement Mathieu is told he can look forward to a class of thieves, inveterate liars and souls beyond reach. Mathieu is clueless has taken the job only because he doesn’t know what else to do.

The kids are everything the authorities said they would be. And, Mathieu faces his share of obscene graffiti and practical jokes. Still, his decent soul revolts at treatment meted out to the children.

One day, Mathieu overhears the children singing a rude song about him, and he has an idea. A musician, albeit an unsuccessful one, he decides to teach his ‘savages’ music. He divides his class into baritones, altos, sopranos, and forms a choir. The children respond beautifully, and turn out to be angelic singers. While the film is hardly original, (there have been many with the ‘teacher-meets-impossible-students’, ‘teacher-reforms-impossible-students’ theme; To Sir with Love, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Dangerous Minds, The Freedom Writers’ Diary, etc.), there are bits that are telling.

Their dreams

When Mathieu asks the children what they want to become, not one wants to be a teacher. For them, a cowboy, a pilot or a hot air balloonist is a hero. Teachers are despicable.

Is that how children view teachers?

Is that why no one is beating down the doors to apply for a teacher’s job?

Are the authorities taking note?

The metaphor in The Chorus is obvious. The school system is constantly straight-jacketing kids in the name of discipline.

Everyone is tarred with the same brush. There is no place for individuality or creativity.

“Les Choristes” sends a message that having different voices doesn’t amount to indiscipline.

With care, even discordant notes can be unified into a beautiful symphony; a good teacher can make a profound difference in a child’s life (one of the delinquents goes on to become a world famous music conductor).

PANKAJA SRINIVASAN

SATYAJIT RAY
Pesrsonal Awards
1958 - Padmashree, India
1965 - Padmabhushan, India
1967 - Magasaysay Award, Manila
1971 - Star of Yugoslavia
1973 - Doctor of Letters, Delhi University
1974 - D. Litt., Royal College of Arts, London
1976 - Padmabibhushan, India
1978 - D. Litt., Oxford University
Special Award, Berlin Film Festival
Deshikottam, Visva-Bharati University, India
1979 - Special Award, Moscow Film Festival
1980 - D. Litt., Burdwan University, India
D. Litt., Jadavpur University, India
1981 Doctorate, Benaras Hindu University, India
D. Litt. , North Bengal University, India
1982 Hommage à Satyajit Ray, Canes Film Festival
Special Golden Lion of St. Mark, Venice Film Festival
Vidyasagar Award, Govt. of West Bengal
1983 Fellowship, The British Film Institute
1985 D. Litt., Calcutta University, India
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India
Soviet Land Nehru Award
1986 Fellowship, Sangeet Natak Academy, India
1987 Légion d'Honneur, France
D. Litt., Rabindra Bharati University, India
1992 Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, USA
Bharatratna, India

Ray receiving the Oscar in
Calcatta in a satellite telecast

Hindu write up by Subha J Rao

PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO
Reality check
The real and the imaginary merge in The Purple Rose of Cairo

A choice two many For Cecilia

Her country is in depression, and she is saddled with a jobless husband and a job as a waitress where the cutlery finds a way to slip off her hands. And so, Cecilia (a fragile Mia Farrow) of Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo, loses herself in the world of movies.

Magic in the air

Suddenly, there’s magic in the air. Tom Baxter (Jeff Bridges), the swashbuckling adventurer from the film ‘The Purple Rose of Cairo’ steps out of the screen, bored with repeat performances and impressed that Cecilia has watched the film five times.

Cecilia is torn between the imaginary character who loves her (“even kisses perfectly”), and her husband Monk (Danny Aiello), who gambles and cheats on her, and even beats her (“but, only after warning”).
Meanwhile, Tom tries to escape from other theatres as well, and the producers are in panic. So are the actors on screen, who wait impatiently for the show to continue.

Completing the triangle is actor Gil Shepherd who plays Tom’s character. He is afraid for his career, and tries to get Tom to return. He meets Cecilia, and promises her a wonderful life together.

Convinced, Cecilia (“A week ago I was unloved, now two people love me. Only, they are the same two people”) convinces a heartbroken Tom to return to the screen, and goes home to pack her bags.

On reaching the theatre, their meeting spot, she realises the Hollywood team has left, and that Gil had used her. But, another movie is playing, and she surrenders to that magic again.

Konangal Film Society recently screened the film, placed in TIME magazines list of 100 best films, where Woody Allen’s humour is a constant presence.

When Tom is invited to a brothel, he charms all the inmates with his gentlemanly behaviour, and convinces them that ‘being in love’ and ‘making love’ are not different.

And, the waitress in Cecilia comes alive when she is taken into the screen, and to a club by Tom – “I don’t know how much you are paying, but the champagne bottle is filled with ginger-ale.”

Gautaman, who makes short films, said the film conveyed a simple idea beautifully, and showed that we can all get away from reality, but only for a while.

SUBHA J RAO

Why are Hollywood movies so bad?

( What is written here goes without saying for our own Kollywood & Bollywood film industries. )

Why are Hollywood movies so bad?

Ray Carney

A Speech to High School Students

Why are Hollywood movies so bad? The best way to answer the question is simply to take you behind the scenes on a quick cook's tour of how movies are really made. I warn you. It's not a pretty picture.

The first thing you never want to forget about the movies in that–first , last and always–they are business deals put together to make a quick buck. To say the obvious, the goal is to take $7.50 out of as many pockets as possible. Everything is directed to that interest.

There was an interview in the last Saturday's Globe with Sydney Lumet that more or less sums up the current state of the art.

Lumet's comments are all the more telling in that they don't come from some wild-eyed radical, but from the ultimate Hollywood insider. Lumet has been making successful, money-making Hollywood movies for more than 40 years.

On the other hand, of course a Stalin movie would never really be made precisely because it would be controversial and would alienate blocks of viewers, and jeopardize profits.

What Hollywood is in favor of is not controversy, but pseudo-controversy. On the one hand, you want people to think that your movie is really new and different and controversial; but on the other, you don't want to actually create a disturbance. You don't want to force viewers really to have to think or to learn something. If you are dealing with politics in particular, the formula involves taking a topical issue–Watergate, Vietnam, the Holocaust–but making sure that it is situated at a certain distance from the average viewer's experience or knowledge.

Hollywood movies take our common-sense understandings and sell them back to us, with a slight change of clothes. It's a little like one of those MacDonald's Happy Meal promotions. You add a new spice or condiment or action figure to deep people's interest, but basically you give them the same fast food over and over again.

In terms of the production of these films, timidity is built into the system at every level. Movies originate as "deals"–business arrangements hashed out between producers, directors, writers, and a group of stars, in which the movie itself becomes an almost incidental after-thought: The real goal of each of the parties is to protect his or her financial interest, and to maximize the final product's "bankability."

In the service of doing that, the overriding goal is to secure a name star at any cost. When I talk to beginning directors, it's usually the first story they tell me: How they took their first script to a studio–sometimes a marvelous script–and were told the project could only get a green light if a particular "name" actor plays the lead–if Johnny Depp or Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise can be persuaded to do it–no matter how ludicrously inappropriate that particular choice might be for the role.

Then once a real "star" signs on to a production, the dynamics of the deal allow the star to demand as many rewrites as he or she wants until they are happy with the script.

I interviewed a director a few years ago who told an all too typical story that summarizes the situation. He had written a serious treatment of Black-White race relations in the fifties in the Deep South, and approached a studio to get it financed. To protect their interest, they said they would only take it on if Whoopi Goldberg played the lead. He thought that was the end of it, and that the film would never be made: Not only was she wildly inappropriate for the part, but he figured she would never agree to it. Well, for whatever reason, she did sign onto it. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. The only problem was that a few weeks before the shooting began she insisted that all of her scenes be rewritten. Seems she thought her character was too hard. It would ruin her image. She wanted her role made sweeter. Since she was a condition of the financing, of course he had to agree. I don't need to tell you the end of the story. One more sentimental Hollywood movie.

Even after a studio film has been scripted, cast, and shot, it's not immune from further mutilation. Virtually every Hollywood movie is audience-tested before it is released. If the preview audiences don't respond loudly and obviously enough, the film is reshot and re-edited until they do. As an example, Fatal Attraction actually had a fairly nuanced ending when it was first shot, but after audience testing, the ending was rewritten and re-filmed so that the Glen Close character was murdered in a horror movie gore fest.

In short, the goal is to make sure that the audience never has to work very hard, or be seriously challenged in any way. A movie you have to think about for a few day; or one you have to go back a see again to understand flunks the preview test by definition. That's why most Hollywood movies end up having morality-play plots, characters who can be divided into good or bad guys, and slam-bang happy endings where justice triumphs and all the problems are solved in the final five minutes.

These movies are the best roller-coaster rides ever made. You strap yourself into them. You undergo a few thrills and chills, a fake scare or two. And then it's all over and everything is OK again. You leave the theater no different from the way you went in.

* * *

Hindu write up on screening of KES

The bird he lost

The English movie Kes captures a slice of happiness and sorrow

A tiny bird enters his life, changes it dramatically, only to leave. Kes is the story of a ‘hopeless boy’, beautifully told. Thanks to Konangal Film Society, Coimbatoreans got to watch this English film.

Ignored by his mother, and bullied by both his brother Jud and peers at school, Billy Casper is not the happiest of children. Very distracted, Casper finds life utterly grim. Of course, he has his share of mischief too: he steals milk and books, fights with other boys, and smokes. And, then he discovers a kestrel.

Casper finds a new purpose in life now as he trains Kes (the bird).

This is a far cry from the moments at school, reeling under the taunts of his sports teacher. He even shares his experience with his classmates. Life goes on well for Casper, till one day when he is asked to place a bet on a horse for Jud. Casper decides the horse is not likely to win, and keeps the money. Unfortunately for him, the horse wins, and an enraged Jud gets his revenge and kills Kes.

Director Ken Loach could not have chosen a better person to play Casper.

Poker-faced and with none of the theatrics or cutesy ways, David Bradley as Casper has played his part to perfection. When he tells his master “I think she (Kes) has done me a favour, letting me watch her” or when he gives Kes a silent burial, you want to put a comforting arm around him.

The film portrays life in the mining areas of Yorkshire, and ah, the delightful Yorkshire dialect!

Every time you hear some one say shoot up for shut up and glooves for gloves, you can’t but help think of Geoffrey Boycott saying ‘my moother cin bat better’!

Ken Loach wins applause for his natural scene presentation with no exaggerated tones. A few of the lines laced with humour stand out. For instance, when Casper says “I haven’t been in trouble since the last time” or when the headmaster chides a student: “A regular little cigarette factory, aren’t you?”

Says a homoeopathic doctor Sivakumar: “The film is an example of how real education should be, how a teacher should learn, and how a student should be allowed to teach.”

* * * Trivia

On being applauded at Beverly Hills, David Bradley said: “I walked into a charity reception at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and a thousand people were all standing up applauding. I thought, oh-oh, someone’s coming. I thought Burt Lancaster or Tony Curtis had walked in behind me so I made way for this big star I thought had followed me into the room. I felt incredibly embarrassed.”

W. SREELALITHA

A story nobody knew

The Russian film, Ballad of a Soldier, is a poignant tale

Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

Celebrating love In times of war The film begins and ends on a long dusty road. It seems fitting, for it is about a young soldier’s action-packed journey to meet his mother. And, the narrator tells us the soldier’s story, which ‘not even his mother knows’.

Nineteen-year-old Alyosha Skvortsov (played by the oh-so-cute Vladimir Ivashov) gets a six-day break from the front after he destroys two Nazi tanks, ‘out of fright’. He sets off to see his mother, loaded with canned beef, and two cakes of soap from another soldier, a luxurious gift to his ‘beloved’ wife!

Myriad experiences

By the time he meets his mother, Alyosha has missed many a train, seen the unconditional bond between a handicapped man and his wife, infidelity (he snatches back the soap from the soldier’s ‘beloved’ wife!), the brutality of the war on civilians, and above all, he has fallen hopelessly in love with a refugee, Shura. The encounter with his mother is ridiculously brief. He leaves, never to return.

Ballad of a Soldier, screened by Konangal Film Society, sums up the lives of soldiers in war-ravaged Russia during the Second World War. However, much to director Grigori Chukhrai’s credit, there hardly are any scenes on the front.

In addition to a poignant tale, Chukhrai packs in plenty of beautiful moments. Such as when Shura (a lovely Zhanna Prokhorenko) wants to know for whom Alyosha had bought a handkerchief or the scene where one child plays with soap bubbles and another with an alarm salvaged from rubble.

Chukhrai fills the scenes lavishly with messages, almost always shrewdly. For instance, when Alyosha travels with another soldier Vasya, the compartment is bursting with soldiers, war veterans, smoke, laughter, amicable jibes and bawdy man-talk. But, behind every face is a saga of sorrow, yearning and hope, waiting to be told.

A good music director is one that knows best when to stop the music. The only thing that is loud when Alyosha meets his mother is the silence, marred not even by the two rivulets of tears streaming down her joyous eyes.

Film buff D. Anandan says the film is a subtle propaganda against war. “With the magical use of black and white, the director has juxtaposed poetry with the intensity of war”. The film tells you that when there is destruction all around, the only thing that remains is love, says Pon Chandran, president of Konangal.

TRIVIA

After changing his mind on using professional actors, director Chukhrai picked two very young, unknown acting students (Vladimir Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko) for the lead roles

W. SREELALITHA

Courtesy - The Hindu : Metroplus

A story of hope

Three girls embark on an adventure along the Rabbit Proof Fence to find their mothers
Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

Moving tale Evelyn Sampi as Molly gives a power packed performance It is the longest fence in the world — the Rabbit-Proof Fence in Western Australia. It bisects the continent and runs approximately 2000 miles. And, it is the lifeline for three Aboriginal girls to find their mothers in Jigalong and return to t heir community.

Molly, her sister Daisy and cousin Gracie (Evelyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury and Laura Monaghan) are forcibly removed from their families in Western Australia to a camp at Moore River in north of Perth, 1500 miles away, to be trained as domestic servants. Molly leads the girls on a daring escape following on foot — the rabbit proof fence that cuts across the Gibson Desert and towards Jigalong. In the 1930s, as part of Government policy (active till 1970), special detention centres were set up across the continent to prevent mixed race children from ‘contaminating’ the rest of Australian society. After the training, they were integrated as domestic workers into white society.

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) by Australian film-maker Philip Noyce records the history of racial prejudices based on true events. Adapted from the book, ‘Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence’ by Doris Pilkington Garimara, it traces the nine-week journey of the author’s mother (Molly), and the other two girls, who ran away from the settlement in 1931 to return to their families.

The chief protector of Aborigines, A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), who has the right to remove any half-caste from their families, does his best to recapture them, with help from black tracker David Moodoo (David Gulpilil). But the endurance and the undying spirit of the children wins.

“The film deals with power dynamics of the whites and the absolute lack of sensitivity in them,” says D. Anandan, film buff. The scene in which Neville checks the children’s skin colour by lifting their shirts is an example. The fairer the skin, the better the prospects of a good education. “The girls love freedom and their resilience brings in a psychological transformation in the minds of the audience,” he adds.

Noyce, known for his swift narrative style, resorts to poetry here. Sample this: When the girls touch the steel fence with the hope of re-uniting with their mother, the mother on the other side is able to feel the vibration. The spirit bird is used as a motif in the movie. A film lover cited the example of an aboriginal athlete, who lit the Sydney Olympic torch in 2000, as an indication of the changing times. “But, racism still continues. It is vehement in Australia, especially against Asians and Aborigines,” observed Pon. Chandran.

K. JESHI

Snapshots from reality

Rehabilitated street children document their lives in Coimbatore Sandhippu, writes K. Jeshi

A slice of life Dedicated to street children

It is their story. And, the camera follows the characters to record the truth. Coimbatore Sandhippu, a documentary on street children directed by the children of Don Bosco Anbu Illam is a slice of their life, their struggles, their dreams and aspirations.

Ray of hope
When G. Krishnamoorthi from Krishnagiri says he was ill-treated by his parents, it leaves you unsettled.

“My father used to spend his daily wage on liquor, and harass me to seek alms. I ended up on the streets,” he says.

But, there is a glimmer of hope when he says: “Now, I am studying in Class V, and I want to make it big in life.”

The documentary was screened at Nirmala College to a packed audience of children from such homes.

“‘Our life is a story’ is what the students had to say when we asked them to make a film as part of their development activities project,” says Fr. C. Jayaraj, director of Don Bosco Anbu Illam Social Service Society, a centre for street and working children.

Understanding cinema

“Though, in most cases, it is poverty and harassment that drives the children to run away, some of them also end up on the streets because of their aspiration to become film stars. The film gave them an opportunity to understand cinema, and also get their minutes of fame as actors,” he adds.

The film was edited at Alaihal Media, Tiruchi.

Be it R. Gopal from Madhya Pradesh, who took up menial jobs in trains for months together or Sonu from Mumbai who used to live on trains, their stories end on a positive note. But, raise a few questions on the need for societal change.

Abandoned by parents

S. Essakki Muthu from Tirunelveli, S. Shyam from Assam and S. John Peter from Salem ended up on the streets because of lack of parental care. “Though I was harassed at work from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. in Bangalore, they wanted me to stay there for the money. I took a train to Kerala, and reached Coimbatore,” says Esakki.

“Why do elders ill-treat us?” asks John Peter and adds: “I will become a filmmaker, educate the public, and bring about a change in society through my films.”

The filmmaking experience has boosted their confidence levels immensely.

“We thought cinema was all about superstar Rajnikant and Vijay. But, we learnt that it can be used as a powerful tool to convey strong social messages,” says S. Siva from Tirunelveli.

Potential filmmakers

A total of 25 students (between 10 and 17 years) have put their heads and hearts together for the project.

The documentary has been shot at the Don Bosco Illam in Ukkadam and the Coimbatore Railway Station.

“I see potential filmmakers in them. They easily picked up the nuances of film-making, camera movements, lighting and editing,” says R.R. Srinivasan, documentary filmmaker, who guided them.

Honing the skills

As in any film education, he took them through film theory, and followed it with the screening of world classics, animation films and documentaries. To get acquainted with the camera, they went on an outdoor shoot to Vellakinaru.

Coimbatore junction is where the documentary, dedicated to street children, begins.

Facing the world

The real stories are captured in black and white, and their filming experience in colour. A moving train follows the story, a reminder that it is these trains that the abandoned children take shelter in to escape their situation.

“They have gone through so much pain in their lives, but are confident to face the world with a smile,” he adds.

As D. Rajasekar, who is now in Class VIII puts it. “When I was a daily labourer, my future was bleak. Now, it is a new beginning. Our success stories will give a ray of hope to lots of children out there on the streets.”

Courtesy : Hindu Metroplus.

The magic of Mahendran

Udhiri Pookkal’s timeless beauty lies in its touch of reality and subtlety

Photo: M. Periasamy

JUST RIGHT For the role

Director Mani Ratnam once famously remarked: “If I get anywhere near what Mahendran did in Udhiri Pookkal, I’ll be a happy man.” Watch the film, and you’ll know what he meant.

Thanks to Konangal Film Society, many who had missed out on the timeless film got an opportunity to watch it, and those who had viewed it a dozen times over were only too glad for a once-more!

Village despot

It is the story of a despotic village school head Sundara Vadivelu (Vijayan), who is forced to end his life.

From Vijayan and Ashwini as his wife, to the village hairdresser and the conniving sakuni of a music teacher, each actor has played his role to perfection.

There’s perpetual fear and despondency on Ashwini’s beautiful face, so much so that the smiles that play up occasionally seem reluctant.

Mahendran sprinkles subtlety throughout the film, in characterisation, dialogues and visuals. Vijayan never raises his voice: a soft smile is his bludgeon; you don’t see him hitting Sarath Babu, only a bleeding lower lip.

When Vijayan refuses to let go of his second wife, the calm woman says, “I could poison your food, don’t make me a murderess.” And, the river flows quietly, not telling us it will take the protagonist’s life.

The director throws in a few powerful lines too. When Vijayan wants to marry his wife’s sister too, his father-in-law Charu Hassan says: “I’ll be a father, not a pimp,” or when Ashwini mutely wonders if any woman has the courage to ask for another husband.

Still relevant

Someone from the audience claimed that the film, released in 1979, ran for 25 weeks in a Coimbatore theatre. Nearly three decades later, if the film still strikes a chord with the audience, it is because of its proximity to reality — the innocence of the villagers and the condition of rural women.

For the current generation overfed on a diet of outrageously hyperbolic movies, this should be a breath of fresh air. The lower middle class family does not live in a stately mansion with designer furniture, there are no song sequences tearing between Australia and the Alps, and no inch-thick coats of shocking pink lipstick or purple eye shadow!

Ilayaraja’s music speaks for itself. Film buff D. Anand summed up the brilliance of Azhagiya kanne in three words: Monalisa of music.

Eye for detail

Mahendran’s eye for detail adds to the charm of the score: a cute (baby) Anju (of Keladi Kanmani fame) smiling for no reason; Ashwini pulling out a chewing gum from a stubborn Anju’s mouth or a thorn from her son’s foot, or Anju drying out her paavaadai only to drench it again.

W. SREELALITHA

Courtesy : The Hindu , Metroplus dated 06 09 2007

12th August 2007 at 5.45 PM
Venue : Hotel Vijay Paradise, Srivalli Stop, Saibaba Colony, Coimbatore. Call :94430 39630

`Children of Heaven'' is very nearly a perfect movie for all ages. The film is about a boy, Ali , who loses his sister's shoes. Of course, his sister, named Zahra, wants to know how she is supposed to go to school without shoes. The answer is simple: Zahra will wear Ali's sneakers to school every morning, and then run home so that Ali can put them on for his school in the afternoon. And then there is a footrace for the poor children of the quarter. Ali wants to place third, because the prize is a new pair of sneakers, which he can give to his sister.

. "Children of Heaven" was shot in Tehran. It was attempted to keep the filming secret in order to capture a more realistic image of the city. The film has its roots planted firmly in the neorealist tradition. "Children of Heaven" brilliantly demonstrates that works of art often arise from the observation of the most seemingly mundane concerns of daily life and reminds us that this provides far more drama than all the exploding spaceships, car chases and hyperkinetic melodrama that flood the screen in the guise of entertainment.

Majid Majidi

Majid Majidi was born in Teheran in 1959 from a Iranian middle class family. He grew up in Teheran and at the age of 14 he started acting in amateur theater groups. He then studied at the Institute of Dramatic Art in Teheran. After the Islamic revolution in 1978, his interest in cinema brought him to act in various films,. Hisdebu as a director and screenwriter is marked by Baduk (1992), his first feature film that was presented at the Quinzaine of Cannes and won several awards nationwide. Since then, he has written and directed several films that won worldwide recognitions.

TODAY’S SCREENING IS SUPPORTED BY :
HOLLYWOOD DVD SHOPEE , Karpagam Complex, NSR Road, Saibaba Colony.

Michelangelo Antonioni, one of the most innovative and distinctive film-makers of the 20th century, has died at the age of 94. The Italian director died at his home in Rome on Monday evening, less than 24 hours after the death of Ingmar Bergman - that other great giant of European art-house cinema.Alongside his near contemporary Federico Fellini, Antonioni signalled a break with the "neorealist" style that flourished in Italy at the end of the second world war. In contrast to the working class parables of Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini, his films were cool and stylised, traditionally focusing on the experiences of an alienated bourgeoisie.

In a generation of rule-breakers, Mr. Antonioni was one of the most subversive and venerated. He challenged moviegoers with an intense focus on intentionally vague characters and a disdain for such mainstream conventions as plot, pacing and clarity. Mr. Antonioni broke other conventions, too. Many of his editing cuts, angles and camera movements were intentionally odd, and he frequently posed his characters in a highly formalized way. He employed point-of-view shots only rarely, a practice that helped erect an emotional shield between the audience and his puzzling characters.

Mr. Antonioni remained not only enigmatic, but also unreachable to the end.

One interviewer asked him to look back over his life. “In a world without film, what would you have made?” he was asked.

Mr. Antonioni replied: “Film.”

"With Antonioni dies not only one of the greatest directors but also a master of modernity," said Rome mayor Walter Veltroni this morning. A quiet funeral is planned in Ferrara, his birthplace in northern Italy, this Thursday.

Click here to view video clips of Antonioni's best scenes.

For the love of films

The setting is magical. A love-struck Shah Rukh Khan (Raj) waits amidst yellow flowers, his arms held out, and a troubled Kajol (Simran) in a pretty white salwar rushes across the field to declare her love …. Dilwale Dulhania Le J ayenge ( DDLJ) brings a smile to one’s face every time one watches it. So what if it’s the tenth time? Welcome to the world of film buffs, who go back to their favourite movies again and again, just for the experience. “For me, a film is the simplest form of art. All you need to do is simply sit back and enjoy it,” says S. Anand, retired bank officer and avid film lover. He started watching the films of Sivaji Ganesan and MGR and moved on to Laurel & Hardy, Ten Commandments and Cleopatra. “The films of Akira Kurosawa, Ingma r Bergman and Satyajit Ray exposed me to serious cinema,” he says. His collection of world movies stands at 1,500 and the latest is Satantango, a seven-and-a-half hour movie by Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr. It is a form of escapism, says D. Anandan, who has been associated with film studies for 25 years. “The human mind requires an outlet to evade pain and this becomes possible through films. People identify themselves with the hero. It helps in mending their core, and has a cathartic effect. And, they fulfil the desires they cannot otherwise do by watching such films repeatedly,” he adds. For him, a good film is invariably a cult film that is a classic too. Such as Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca and Orson Welle’s Citizen Kane. His favourite is Mahendran’s Udhiri Pookal. Film buff Jeena’s favourites are Goddard’s Weekend and Pedro Almodovar’s Tie me up tie me down. “I have watched these movies a number of times just to understand the theme and learn the camera angles. The sense of freedom and the thought of living it up in Motorcycle Diaries also makes you watch it again and again.” Cinema enthusiast Pon. Chandran describes his film-viewing as a transformation from sensuous to serious and socially committed cinema. The first world cinema that created an impact on him was Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. “Every time I watch it, I get a new message. Chemmeen (Malayalam) also leaves me with a sense of fulfilment, no matter if it’s the 10th or 11th time,” he explains. Sobha Rajagopal, director of gender studies at Massachusetts in the U.S., picks Gurinder Chaddha’s Bhaji on the Beach as her favourite. “I have watched it seven times. It is fascinating, empowering and a feminist film in the best sense of the word,” adds Sobha, who is currently working on a book on the Diasporic identity of South Asians as represented in Hollywood and Bollywood, versus reality. Movies with happy endings have a repeat audience, says N. K. Jarshad, a financial journalist. “It is the songs, the script, comedy scenes and well choreographed action scenes that bring people back to the theatres. Nobody wants to leave the theatre sad,” he says. Irrespective of the script, stars also bring in a repeat audience. “One way of getting familiar with one’s favourite stars is by watching their movies again and again,” he adds. - K.Jeshi.-Hindu Metroplus.

A journey called life

The Man on the Train is about two people who wish they could exchange lives. Poetry or a thriller? The last 10 minutes of the French film Man on the Train is a heady mix of both. All you need to do is ponder a while, and the real picture emerges. Filmmaker Patrice Leconte (his film Ridicule opened the 1996 Cannes festival, and went on to win four César Awards) prefers to give the audience that extra space to interpret, and may be that's one of the reasons this film is so poetic. Screened by Konangal Film Society, the film's storyline is simple, and runs for 90 minutes Two strangers — retired English literature teacher Manesquier in his 70s (played by Jean Rochefort) and bank robber Milan (played by Johnny Halliday, the legendary rock-n-roller, sometimes called 'French Elvis') meet. By chance, Milan gets to stay at the teacher's house. He is in town for a robbery, and the old man is to undergo a triple bypass surgery. They become good friends, discuss paintings, poetry and music, and each begins to wish he could have lived the other's life. The old man envies Milan's life on the move while Milan craves stability. The scene in which Mansequier asks Milan to show him how to fire a gun, and Milan, in turn, asks him to teach him a poem, is delightful. Believable characters, minimal dialogues, and the autumnal beauty of the French provincial town are the other highlights "What poetry!" exclaims film buff D. Anandan. "Suspense and poetry run parallel in the last 10 minutes." The professor is taken inside the operation theatre, and Milan gets ready to rob. The director merges the scenes (the medical instrument and the guns; the white mask and the black mask), and runs them as parallel shots until the robber is shot by the police, and the old man's heart stops. But, the movie doesn't end there.There is absolute silence in the sequence that follows. The old man imagines himself coming out of prison as Milan, and taking the train to explore the Wild West. Milan appears as the professor, and plays the piano at his house. The background score perfectly complements the scenes. "It is something like 'mental projection'. So they don't speak," Anandan explains. Sreenivasan, a lecturer in English, says one should just let the feeling sink in. "The charm goes when you dissect it."The film is seen by some as a reflection of the evolution of France, its culture and technology. "When life becomes predictable, boredom creeps in. It also gives the message that the wisdom of age helps one live those unfulfilled dreams. The beauty of friendship is also highlighted." The characters are easy to identify with, says Pon Chandran "For instance, at one point when Manesquier sneaks into Milan's room, and tries on his leather jacket, our alter ego comes into play. And, it also asks the question — why do we always suppress our feelings?" - K.Jeshi ( Hindu Metroplus 21 07 07 )

K.Hariharan on our Ghatak Retrospective

Text of the Email received by Pon.Chandran from K.Hariharan, noted film director who gave us memorable films like GHASHIRAMKOTWAL (1976), EZHAVATHU MANITHAN (1982) , CURRENT (1992) and erstwhile president of Chennai Film Society. K.Hariharan was student at FTII, Pune while Ritwik Ghatak was teaching there as Vice Principal :

It warms my heart to note that you will be conducting a Ritwick Ghatak Film Festival.

At the outset, I will unabashedly admit that 'Meghe Daka Tara' is the greatest Indian Film ever made.

For all his anarchism Ritwick had his roots deep in an Asian culture enriched by a variety of myths, legends and folktales. And all his films resonated his understanding of our complex culture in many ways. Above all he was a melodramatist of the highest order. He gave the concept of melodrama its due honor and formalized its performative strategies in extremely indigenous ways. Unfortunately it was this melodrama which blockaded his recognition overseas and instead allowed his contemporary Satyajit Ray full reign over the western audience. Adding salt to his injured soul was the attitude of the Indian cinema intellectuals of that period who dismissed his works with equal force as the westerners. None of his films ever won national awards nor were they sent to any festival abroad! The condemnation of his works at that time is in fact a deep revelation of the bogus roots of our Indian New Wave origins which reflected nothing else but a sick post-colonial 'brown saheb' culture!

Recognition to this master truly came only after his tragic demise after years of alcoholic abuse. If he was really recognized as a master I would not have had the misfortune of seeing him drunk like a vagabond in the FTII campus in 1974, when I was student. So I am happy that you are ultimately giving this great master his due. All the best

Indian New Wave : Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome (1969) and Mani Kaul's Uski Roti (1969), both sponsored by State owned Film Finance Corporation (FFC), inspired by the French nouvelle vague, set new film sensibility and cinematic language in India. This movement was labelled as the 'New Indian Cinema' or the 'New Wave Indian Cinema'. FTII graduates Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Saeed Mirza, Shyam Benegal and Ketan Mehta were the important names of New Wave Indian Cinema in Hindi. Mani Kaul's Ashad Ka Ek Din (1971) and Duvidha (1973), Kumar Shahni's Maya Darpan (1972) and Shyam Benegal's Ankur (1973) played important role in this new movement in Hindi during the 1970s. M S Sathyu's Garam Hawa (1973) Govind Nihilani who entered film industry as Shyam Benegal's cameraman made his directorial debut through Aakrosh (1980) he continued making socio-political films like Party (1984), Tamas (1987) and Drishti (1990). Saeed Mizra made notable political films like Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Dastan (1978), Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1980), Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho! (1984) and Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989). Adoor Gopalakrishnan through his first film Swayamvaram (1972) extended the New Wave Cinema to Malayalam cinema. Aravindan through his first film Uttarayanam (1974) strengthened the movement. John Abraham, K R Mohanan and P A Backer were strong presence of the new Malayalam cinema. Kannada was the other film industry in South India, which took over the cinema movement in South India. B V Karanth, Girish Karnad and Girish Kasaravalli spearheaded the Kannada parallel cinema. Girish Kasaravalli, graduated from the Pune Film Institute, directed his first film, Ghata Shradha in 1977, which won the National award for best film. In Assamise, Janu Barua made his first film Aparoopa (1982). His Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Kali (1987), which achieved international recognition, dealt with social problems of rural Assam. Bhubendra Nath Sikia made his first film Sandhyarag (1977) followed by Agnisnaan (1985), Kolahal (1988), Sarothi (1991) and Abarthan (1993). Articles from : Cinema malayalam http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/index.html

From Thrissur

Pon.Chandran attended the International Film Festival on Documentaries and Short Films in Thrissur in May, organised by VIBGYOR. This festival was mentioned in Hindu article - The magic of moving images ( posted in our blog also) .Here is a response from Rev. Father Benedict varghese Chiramel of VIBGYOR :

Dear Chandran,

Thanks for sending me the whole article...u know sometimes this type of reports, however small, comes back to us and tell us `what you are trying to do is something beautiful and meaningful'...sometimes in the tense moments of organizing an event we forget to relate to people, who are the most important than any event....at this VIBGYOR, your group, u THREE, were my special inspiration, though we didn't talk much.

It shows that we will connect again...if not sooner, surely later!

Regards,

Benny

K. JESHI

Good films can teach us a few things. Check these out.

The smiles and sorrows of Ali and Zohra in “Children of Heaven” speak volumes about the beauty of their brother-sister bonding. The selflessness and kindness of the blind boy Mohammed in “Color of Paradise” teaches you what unconditional love is all about. And, the nightmarish realities faced by a handful of orphaned children in “Turtles Can Fly”, set in a Kurdish refugee camp, immerse you in a flood of emotions.

Children are the centre of action in these Iranian films and they connect with their counterparts in Coimbatore through their electrifying performances. The moving images work magic and film appreciation is the key to introduce young minds to the world of meaningful cinema.

Though film societies in Coimbatore are showing the way by screening these films regularly, you can make a beginning with Iranian films, known for their sensitive portrayal of the emotions of children.

From Iraq

Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi’s “Turtles Can Fly” is the first film to be made in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Set in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border just before the U.S. invasion period, it traces the lives of orphaned children, the entrepreneurial Satellite (Soran Ebrahim), the armless clairvoyant Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal), and his traumatised sister Agrin (Avaz Latif) and their efforts to survive the appalling conditions. There’s no running water or electricity, the fear of gas attacks is palpable, and kids use their bare-hands to defuse land mines in the surrounding fields, which they then trade for machine guns at a market.

The film has won the Glass Bear and Peace Film Award at Berlin International Film Festival and Golden Shell at San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Iranian film maker Majid Majidi’s “Children of Heaven is a simple story. While at market shopping, Ali loses his sister Zohre’s school shoes. After desperately trying in vain to find them, he decides that he and his sister will share his sneakers.

Later in the film, the loving brother enters a race in order to win a pair of brand new sneakers for his sister. Every frame in the movie sends across a message to the children. For instance, extra-curricular activities. It is not just about playing chess or cricket, but also helping out parents.

In “Color of Paradise”, Majidi again deals with children, this time focusing on Mohammed (Mohsen Ramezani), a young blind boy. The lad is a loving student of nature and longs for village life with his family.

Courtesy : The Hindu - Young World dated 01 06 2007

It is celebration time for film buffs in the city, with film societies bringing meaningful cinema to them, writes K. Jeshi

"The magic of movements is fascinating," master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman says in a recorded interview. A packed audience in Coimbatore listens spellbound, as he introduces them to his magical world of filmmaking. The screen ing of his The Hour of the Wolf, Cries and Whispers and The Seventh Seal follows.

Next is the turn of Born into Brothels, the 77th Academy award-winning documentary feature written and directed by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski on the children in Sonagachi. If this was not enough, promising directors such as Simbhu Devan (Imsai Arasan 23 aam Pulikesi), Seeman (Thambi), Sivakumar (Ayesha), Radha Mohan (Mozhi) and Vasantha Balan (Veyil), and ace editor B. Lenin and film critic Yamuna Rajendran enlighten them regularly on what meaningful cinema is all about.

Bonanza for film lovers

Film buffs in Coimbatore couldn't ask for more. A handful of societies, many of which have become more active in the last couple of years, have been working overtime to draw the attention of the public to parallel cinema. The results are beginning to show. The increasing membership base is proof enough of the growing excitement in this movement.

"Thanks to technology, serious cinema is now easily accessible," says Pon. Chandran of Konangal, which screens world cinema twice a month. He says running a film society has become easier now because of the availability of DVDs and VCDs. "Technology has made film-making easier. This, and the growing popularity of visual communication courses are the other major contributors," he adds. Earlier, filmmakers and social activists functioned as different entities. Now, a new breed of film activists, who make films and fight for social change, is emerging. Chandran quotes the recently concluded International Film Festival on Documentaries and Short Films in Thrissur as an example. "The theme this year is 'Earth' and more than 150 films which raised their voices against burning issues such as Plachimada, Nandigram and the Chhattisgarh environmental movement, were screened," he adds. Film societies, he says, have come to play a vital role in weaning away people 'lost' in commercial films and introducing them to good cinema. The impact will be significant if it begins at the school level. "The experience and exposure will kindle the required imagination and sensibilities, which will ultimately shape children's values and vision. Taking such films to smaller towns with Tamil subtitles will work magic," he adds.

"Ours is an elementary school," says writer Pamaran of Naaivaal. "We want to give people in the grassroots the basics; they can explore higher levels using this knowledge." Preparing the mind to appreciate films that portray issues that concern people is what Naaivaal is trying to achieve. "There is no admission for intellectuals here. For any social change to happen, people should be aware of issues. In the process, if they get inspired to become filmmakers, we are happy," he adds.

Naaivaal has screened Tamil short films such as Ayesha, Oormaatram (it won the Kalam award for the best environment film) and Acchupizhai, on the lives of transgenders. Priya Babu of the Sudar Foundation for Transgenders, Villupuram, was also invited for a discussion. He says film societies, with their distinct approach, have managed to draw the attention of the common man "polluted by the commercial mass media." For the Cinema Club of Coimbatore, the objective is to create awareness on films and to help budding filmmakers understand technology and aesthetics.

Their children's festival brought together an eclectic mix of movies on children such as Children of Heaven (Iranian), Way Home (Korean), Shwaas (Marathi) and Kutty (Tamil). "Now, people are able to differentiate good movies from bad," says S. Savitha, an active member.

Kalam Film Society, where membership comes at Re. 1, wants to focus on budding filmmakers. "They are the future. We want to guide them to come out with meaningful creations," says Anand of Kalam.

Despite all these, is there still a long way to go? "Once we start reaching out to people other than those who know, we can expect significant societal change. Of course, to sustain, we also require a projector, regular members and a permanent hall for screening," sums up Chandran.

Courtesy : The Hindu dated 19 05 2007.

Ingmar Bergman was born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden. His father was a pastor, and thus ingrained in him concepts that would later surface in his films: sin, confession, punishment, forgiveness and grace. Bergman became a student of art history and literature at the University of Stockholm. The Swedish master has directed nearly 62 films and TV serials. He retired from film making in 1984 and drama and Tv seriels in 2003 at the age of 83 .

As a director, Bergman favored intuition over intellect, and chose to be unaggressive in dealing with actors. He states that a director must be both honest and supportive to allow others their best work.

His films usually deal with existential questions of mortality, loneliness, and faith; they also tend to be direct and not overtly stylized. Bergman usually wrote his own scripts, thinking about them for months or years before starting the actual process of writing, which he views as somewhat tedious. Bergman began working with Sven Nykvist, his cinematographer, in 1953 who became a legend.

Konangal presented a retrospective of Ingmar Bergman in February 2007.

Click here for more on Bergman from our Blog archives.

Who wins them all?

(Hindu Metroplus write up on screening of 'CHARACTER' ) Dutch film Character is a moving tale Without as much as a twitching vein, can a six-year-old show such ruthlessness on his mother being called a whore? Well, it's not without reason that Dutch film Character won an Oscar in 1998.

Konangal Film Society recently screened the film, which traces the tacit mind games between a young man and his father.

The movie begins with the death of Dreverhaven. The police suspect his son Jacob, as he is seen leaving Dreverhaven's office last. They finally learn that he was not murdered, after all.

Set in a series of flashbacks, the movie unfolds the life of Jacob, his struggles and success.

Stony-faced and indifferent, bailiff Dreverhaven's attempts to marry pregnant housekeeper Joba Katadreuffe fail. A reticent Joba brings up Jacob alone. However, self-taught Jacob's path is to cross his father's. Almost always close to losing, Jacob just about gets the better of his father in their incessant one-upmanship.

At one point, Jacob says: "He (Dreverhaven) just wanted to show me who is boss." Dreverhaven (Jan Decleir) comes across as a man with `motiveless malignity'. Nevertheless, when he signs the will as Vader (father), we see the human behind that cold face. Joba (Betty Schuurman) has a perpetual indignant silence to her; so you pay more attention every time she speaks. And it is worth it. The best line is her last: "You've been a big ass," she tells Jacob who fails to express his interest in a woman. De Gankelaar, as Jacob's boss, is a perfect entertainer with his deadpan humour.

Sample this: He tells Jacob: "You have managed to fascinate me but not to convince me". On the film's treatment, Rajkumar, cinematographer for the second half of Tamil flick Periyar, said "it only has shades of grey, middle grey and black, which bring out the conflict between the father and the son".

Director's cut

After he received the Oscar for Character, the director walked with it on the streets of Los Angeles, and said cheekily in an interview: "I guess you're not to supposed to carry the Oscar around with you, but, hey, I'm Dutch, I don't know the rules."

W. SREELALITHA

Courtesy :The Hindu

CHARACTER 1997

Directed by Mike van Diem. Winner of Oscar award ,another 10 wins and 4 nominations. A ruthless court bailiff is found dead, and a young lawyer is the prime suspect. Told in a series of flashbacks, Jacob Katadreuffe tells the tale leading to the events of his final confrontation with bailiff Dreverhaven. What unfolds is the man's life story ... of his strained relationship with his mother, of his strong desire to make a better life for himself , of his obsession and the bizarre battle of wills with his father, Dreverhaven. Time : 122 min. Dutch with English sub titles. Mike van Diem (born 1959, in Sittard, Limburg) is a Dutch film director. In 1990 his short film Alaska won a Golden Calf for best short film and the Student Academy Award for best foreign student film in the drama category. In 1998 he received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the film Character based on the 1938 novel Karakter by Ferdinand Bordewijk. Screening at ASHWIN HOSPITAL AUDITORIUM 4^th Floor (Lift Provided) , off Sathy Road, Ganapathy, Coimbatore -12. Call: 94430 39630

Of war, and conflict . . . The Hindu reports on screening of "Turtles Can Fly"

Children are the centre of action in Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi's Turtles Can Fly, and they bring an electrifying authenticity to their roles. Set in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border just before the U.S. invasion in 2003, the movie captures the lives of a handful of orphaned children.

Dangerous liaisons

The enterprising Satellite (played by Soran Ebrahim) installs dishes and antennae for local villages looking for news of Saddam Hussain. He organises the dangerous but necessary task of sweeping and clearing the minefields, and arranges to trade unexploded mines for machine guns. He falls for an orphan Agrin (Avaz Latif), a sad-faced girl travelling with her disabled brother Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal), who has the gift of clairvoyance. The siblings take care of a three-year-old (Later revealed as Agrin's child, born out of a gang rape by soldiers). The predictions of Henkov are used as magical realism in the movie.

"Multiple readings are possible in the movie — the implications of attack using chemical weapons, the sufferings of the Kurds, the `psychic wreckage' in children shown through Agrin who has suicidal tendencies, the transformation of the community from a nomadic to a post-modern one, and the concept of profit over people. But there is a ray of hope as a leader is born in Satellite," says D. Anandan, member of Konangal, which screened the film.

Ray of hope

In the last frame, when the U.S. forces enter, Satellite walks in the opposite direction, an indication of hope for peace. This is the moment of relief in a film that shows the futility of war. "Because it is a resources war, the problems will never end for the Kurdish people," adds Anandan. "In countries like the U.S., war is a sport now," says Rakesh. S. Katarey, a film buff.

Devastating

Be it an Iran-Iraq conflict or the war in another 275 days as predicted by Henkov in the movie, it damages a society physically and mentally, says Pon. Chandran of Konangal. The movie has won 13 International awards and is the first film to be made in Iraq since Saddam Hussain's fall.

K. jeshi

Interpreting time

The screening of Lifeline, a short film by Spanish filmmaker Victor Erice, was a pleasant surprise. Fifteen directors were asked to create 10-minute films on the interpretation of time. Lifeline, shot in luminous black and white, is one of them. People, time and history come together on a quiet afternoon in a Spanish countryside.

A young boy draws a watch on his arm, an elderly woman kneads, children play in the park, men scythe grass and a mother sleeps beside her newborn. Suddenly, a bloodstain appears on the baby's blanket (which later is shown as oozing from the umbilical cord) and the mother cries for help. Everyone rushes to save the child.

In between these visuals, the director brings in nostalgic family photographs from Cuba and a menacing newspaper article about the Nazis in Spain.

Courtesy :The Hindu , Metro Plus Dated 07 04 2007

Lifeline -- short film by master of modern Spanish cinema , Victor Erice (2002)

Victor Erice, the poetic Spanish filmmaker whose only features to date are The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), El Sur (1983), and Dream of Light (The Quince Tree Sun, 1992). He has made just 3 feature films and 2 documentaries in 30 years. This short film, shot in luminous black-and-white, offers only the barest narrative situation through evocative dissolves connecting people and objects on a quiet afternoon in the Spanish countryside.Lifeline unfolds in sublimely poetic fashion, soft dissolves connect its beautifully-lit interiors and strong exterior compositions. Its visual and aural textures are lovingly merged and it's clearly the work of someone who has lived this life and remembers it vividly. Runtime : 12 minutes.

TURTLES CAN FLY ________ Winner of 13 International awards.

"It's a soaring achievement, without ever leaving the ground. " - Washington Post. TURTLES CAN FLY is the first film to be made in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the devastating Turtles Can Fly is set in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border just before the US invasion in spring 2003. Director Bahman Ghobadi concentrates on a handful of orphaned children and their efforts to survive the appalling conditions: there's the entrepreneurial Satellite (Soran Ebrahim), the armless clairvoyant Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal), and his traumatised sister Agrin (Avaz Latif), who herself is responsible for a blind toddler.Turtles Can Fly vividly immerses the viewer in the nightmarish realities of daily existence in this makeshift community that's located within a forbidding natural landscape. There's no running water or electricity, the fear of gas attacks is palpable, and kids use their bare-hands to defuse land mines in the surrounding fields, which they then trade for machine guns at a market.There is a gravitas to Ghobadi's juvenile characters that, as with all classic tragedy heroes, moves us to experience both pity and fear for them. In the end, our catharsis comes like a thud, not in response to the fall of the mighty from on high but of the weak from their already low vantage point.Turtles, of course, cannot fly (although one does seem to, very briefly, under Ghobadi's poetic camerawork). His film, on the other hand, takes to the air like a doomed but beautiful bird, tracing a flight, not of fancy, but of aching, poignant artlessness.Run time : 98 Mins. Language : Kurdish with English subtitles. Venue : Ashwin Hospital Auditorium ( 4th floor - lift provided), Across Sathy Road, Ganapathy, Coimbatore 12 . Call 94430 39630

Bahman Ghobadi

Bahman Ghobadi, the director of TURTLES CAN FLY , was born in Baneh, in northwestern Kurdistan Province of Iran. His family moved to Sanandaj in 1981. He received a Bachelor of Arts in film directing from the Iranian Broadcasting College. After a brief career in industrial photography, Ghobadi began making short 8 mm films. His documentary Life In Fog won numerous awards. Bahman Ghobadi was assistant director on Abbas Kiarostami's The Wind Will Carry Us. He was also one of the two main actors in Samira Makhmalbaf's The Blackboard (1999).Bahman Ghobadi founded Mij Film in 2000, a company with the aim of production of films in Iran about its different ethnic groups. His first feature film was A Time for Drunken Horses (2000), the first Kurdish film produced in Iran. The film won Caméra d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. His second feature was Marooned in Iraq (2002), which brought him the Gold Plaque from Chicago International Film Festival. His third feature, Turtles Can Fly, followed in 2004, winning the Glass Bear and Peace Film Award at Berlin International Film Festival and Golden Shell at San Sebastian International Film Festival.In 2006, Index on Censorship gave Ghobadi an Index Film Award for making a significant contribution to freedom of expression through his film "Turtles Can Fly."

Hindu on Konangal"s screening of Battle of Algiers

Konangal Film Society sure knows the art of screening films. From the comic Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday one week, they take you to the distressing La battaglia di Algeri (Battle of Algiers), a couple later. The movie traces the Algerian struggle for freedom from the French between 1954 and 1960. Set in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria, the movie has no protagonist. Detailing the fight of the National Liberation Front, it captures the single-minded devotion of the group towards a free Algeria. Unbiased in approach, Director Gillo Pontecorvo portrays flaws from both sides — be it French civilians being terrorised or Algerians tortured. It is not for nothing that Pontecorvo is celebrated. His compulsive need to portray reality is evident in every frame. His eye for detail is exemplary — if the little child feasting on ice cream blissfully ignorant of the imminent blast tugs at your heart; the expression on the face of the woman who plants the bomb, an evident mix of fear and discomfort, unsettles you. The casting, too, commands special mention. Poker-faced Ali La Pointe played by farmer Brahim Haggiag is representative of the angry young youth, and the charismatic Col. Mathieu played by Jean Martin, that of a sharp officer. Though poignant, a few dialogues border on sparkling wit — courtesy, director and scriptwriter Franco Solinas.A critic once said of Pontecorvo: "He is the most dangerous director. He kidnaps the audience". Those who watched the movie could not have agreed more. - W. SREELALITHA . Courtesy :The Hindu, Metro Plus dated 26 03 2007.

FILMOGRAPHY Jacques Tati (1909 - 1982) Jour de Fete, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Oscar nomination-for Best Screenplay), Mon Oncle (It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film), Playtime, Traffic and Parade. Monsieur Hulot reappears in other films as well including Truffaut's Stolen Kisses.

It is a comedy. But not the kind where you will burst your sides with laughter. Yet, it is funny. Director Jacques Tati made only six films in his career spanning 20 years. But, his genius is undisputed. And, film buffs in Coimbatore enjoyed that as Konangal screened his film Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot (Monsieur Hulot's Holiday) for them at Ashwin Hospital.

The tall, ungainly, Hulot (played by Jacques Tati himself) arrives a vacation at a seaside resort in an incongruous, noisy and battered rattletrap of a car that perches atop bicycle wheels!

There isn't a story line or a plot in the traditional sense. Actions of the holidaymakers, whether they are just eating, playing cards, swimming, strolling or working, become a reason for laughter, thanks to the bumbling, stumbling Mr Hulot. Unwittingly, he triggers off episodes that you can't help smiling at.

The holiday makers are the kinds you would meet in any vacation — the young attractive girl whom every young man in the vicinity is eyeing; the energetic campers, the `foreigner', the couple who don't move from their place by the window, the businessman with his family on holiday who keeps disappearing to attend to important telephone calls, the poker buddies, and so on. The hotel is typical too, with the annoying, creaking kitchen door, the bored waiter, the mischievous kids and stuck drawers. In the hustle and the bustle that fills every scene, the fact that there is barely any dialogue escapes notice. In the middle of all this, and yet apart, is Hulot, awkward, timid, unassertive and indecisive. His best intentions always go awry.

The movie also has its funny-sad moments. At the end of the vacation as everyone exchanges cards and goodbyes, only Hulot is ignored by all. He doesn't come up to scratch.

It is only an old man, the `foreigner' and some kids who come up to him to say goodbye.

One is used to comedies being exaggerated, in-your-face, anything-but-subtle affairs.

But, like a film critic said about this film, "It is not a comedy of hilarity but a comedy of memory, nostalgia, fondness and good cheer. There are some real laughs in it, but Mr. Hulot's Holiday gives us something rarer, an amused affection for human nature — so odd, so valuable, so particular... "

PANKAJA SRINIVASAN

Courtesy :The Hindu , Metro Plus

Mr. Hulot"s Holiday (1953 )

A classic French comedy from Jacques Tati . Monsieur. Hulot , Tati's onscreen alter ego, appeared for the first time in what has been called both a classic screen comedy and an important work of modernist cinema. His films have little audible dialogue, but instead are built around elaborate, tightly-choreographed visual gags and carefully integrated sound effects. Monsieur Hulot , with his trademark raincoat, umbrella and pipe, is among the most memorable comic characters in cinema. Tati's creative use of sound effects and minimal dialogue inspired French critic Andre Bazin to call it "an event in the history of sound film." Click here for details at Internet Movie Data Base. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN VENUE: ASHWIN HOSPITAL AUDITORIUM FOURTH FLOOR, ASHWIN HOSPITAL (Lift provided). 1, Alamelu Nagar Road, Coimbatore-12. Across Sathy Road, Near G P Theatre (Bus Stop GP Theatre) at 5.45 pm .

We are grateful...

Thanks to the initiative taken by Dr.Rajendran , as promised by him, and for the patronage extended by Dr.Thangavelu for providing us with a spacious new venue for screening our films in their Ashwin Hospital Auditorium. At this hour it is our duty to go on record to express our gratitude and indebtedness to our beloved Gopal Iyya for having accommodated us all along, particularly when we were struggling to have a space for our screenings and meetings. Well, Ramu Dairy will continue to be our home for the meetings and the proposed library of Konangal.

NEW YEAR GREETINGS!

We are pleased to announce the launching of Konangal's Blog as a New Year memento to all our members. We would like to place on record the wonderful work done by Mr. Anand, one of our committed and active members, in getting this done. We request all the film enthusiasts to make good use of the site in dissiminating the vision and mission of Konangal. We also look forward to your comments and suggestions which will enrich the site further. Best Regards to all - PON.CHANDRAN, President, Konangal.

Of adrenaline and emotion - The Hindu reports .....

Life changes every second in Run Lola Run Eighty-one minutes of action conveyed the message loud and clear — man exists; woman lives. The incredibly pacy German film Run Lola Run screened by Konangal makes you ponder about the purpose of life, especially that of a woman. The story : A beautiful Lola (Franka Potente), all burgundy hair and athletic body, gets a phone call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). He needs 100,000 German marks in 20 minutes to save his life. Lola screams, throws the receiver in the air, and is out by the time it lands safely in its cradle. "As film critics put it, it is a thinking person's action movie," explains Pon. Chandran. "The director uses three different endings to show how, depending on the decision Lola takes each time, as she runs past the same individuals (a series of rapid-fire snapshots show that person's fate), life changes for her and the others." The pulsating soundtrack by the director speeds up the narration.The movie plays with the notion of time and fate. In the `time-out' between the three episodes, Lola asks Manni, "How do you know you love me?" And, Manni wants to know, "What would you do if I died?" To which, Lola simply says: "I wouldn't let you". A scene in which the heartbeat of a dying man becomes normal when Lola takes his hand affirms her strength. The movie also talks about the power of positive thinking in changing a situation (for example, the scene in which Lola wins at the Casino). "In any movie, editing is used to shrink time, but when you use it to show the impact of a situation on two or four people, time extends like it does in Lola," explains a member. Time expansion Some film buffs describe the movie as a post-modern film, a genre in which distortion of time is the rule of the game. Closer home, movies like Virumaandi and 12 B handled time expansion. "But, the risk in such movies is that they make you believe in wishful thinking. So, maintaining a `critical distance' while watching them is important," concluded D. Anandan, a member. - K. JESHI Courtesy the Hindu. Metroplus - 08 02 07 http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/02/08/stories/2007020800850400.htm