HITCHCOCK FILM FESTIVAL ON 15 th April 2007.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK
Born: August 13, 1899, Leytonstone, England Died: April 28, 1980

The acknowledged master of the thriller genre he virtually invented, Alfred Hitchcock was also a brilliant technician who deftly blended sex, suspense and humor. He began his filmmaking career in 1919 illustrating title cards for silent films at Paramount's Famous Players-Lasky studio in London. There he learned scripting, editing and art direction, and rose to assistant director in 1922. That year he directed an unfinished film, No. 13 or Mrs. Peabody . His first completed film as director was The Pleasure Garden (1925), an Anglo-German production filmed in Munich. This experience, plus a stint at Germany's UFA studios as an assistant director, help account for the Expressionistic character of his films, both in their visual schemes and thematic concerns. Hitchcock directed 66 films till 1976. He produced many evergreen classics that are being repeatedly viewed by his die-hard fans till today.

Alfred Hitchcock and his family led a quiet and unostentatious life, preferring the comforts of home to the Hollywood milieu around them. In the last year of his life, Hitchcock received the American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award and was knighted in England. He died in 1980 in Los Angeles.

Hitchcock's legacy is vast: books, tributes, film festivals, and imitators abound. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, the monthly publication that bears his name, and other "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" anthologies, are still going strong.

THREE FILMS
OF HITCHCOCK

We will be screening PSYCHO, VERTIGO , REAR WINDOW and selected interviews with Hitchcock on 15th April .

Vertigo (1958)

Vertigo is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most powerful, deep, and stunningly beautiful films - it is a film noir that functions on multiple levels. The work is a mesmerizing romantic suspense/thriller about a macabre, doomed romance - a desperate love for an illusion. Hitchcock's intensely personal, self-revealing picture, Vertigo, is the story of a man who is possessed by the image of a lost love and becomes increasingly compulsive in his desire to re-create that image. John "Scottie" Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia and Madeleine is the lady who leads him to high places. A wealthy shipbuilder who is an acquaintance from college days approaches Scottie and asks him to follow his beautiful wife, Madeleine. He fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide, because she believes she is possessed by a dead ancestor. Scottie is skeptical, but agrees after he sees the beautiful Madeleine.

Click here for trailer of Vertigo.

Vertigo is now generally recognised as one of Hitchcock's greatest films, considered by many to be his masterpiece. It is also a masterpiece of filmmaking technique, including one of cinema's most important innovations-the dolly-out, zoom-in shot that visually represents Scottie's sensation of vertigo. Runtime : 128 minutes

Psycho ( 1960)

" Psycho has a very interesting construction and that game with the audience was fascinating. I was directing the viewers. You might say I was playing them, like an organ." - Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock's powerful, complex psychological thriller, Psycho (1960) is the "mother" of all modern horror suspense films - it single-handedly ushered in an era of inferior screen 'slashers' with blood-letting and graphic, shocking killings

Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother. And here , in this motel , most unexpected things happen.

PSYCHO : CLICK HERE FOR THE GUIDED TOUR BY THE MASTER HIMSELF !

The nightmarish, disturbing film's themes of corruptibility, confused identities, voyeurism, human vulnerabilities and victimization, the deadly effects of money, Oedipal murder, and dark past histories are realistically revealed. Its themes were revealed through repeated uses of motifs, such as birds, eyes, hands, and mirrors. Hitchcock's murder set-pieces are so potent, they can galvanize (and frighten) even a viewer who's seen them before! Bernard Herrmann's legendary (and endlessly imitated) score adds much to the excitement. Runtime 128 minutes.

Rear Window (1954)

Rear Window is an intriguing, brilliant, macabre Hitchcockian visual study of obsessive human curiosity and voyeurism. The film is universally regarded as a classic, and a strong cadre of critics, scholars, and fans considers this to be the director's best feature. Not only does the movie generate an intensely suspenseful and fascinating situation, but it develops a compelling and memorable character: L.B. Jefferies (James Stewart), a top-flight photographer who, as the result of an accident that left him in a leg cast, is confined to his upper-story Manhattan apartment.He spends his time looking out of the rear window observing the neighbours. He begins to suspect that the man opposite may have murdered his wife. Jeff enlists the help of his society model girlfriend Lisa Freemont and his nurse Stella to investigate. This level of danger and suspense is so far elevated above the cheap thrills of the modern slasher films that "Rear Window," intended as entertainment in 1954, is now revealed as art.

Cl ick here for trailer of Rear Window.

This film masterpiece was made entirely on one confined set. built at Paramount Studios - a realistic courtyard composed of 32 apartments . Remarkably, the camera angles are largely from the protagonist's own apartment, so the film viewer (in a dark theatre) sees the inhabitants of the other apartments almost entirely from his point of view - to share in his voyeuristic surveillance. Runtime 112 minutes

Viewing age limit 18 and above.

VENUE : PPG NURSING COLLEGE AUDITORIUM , SARAVANAMPATTI.
Eight kilometers from Gandhipuram bus stand.
1.Bus routes 63 or 13 from Gandhipuram to Keeranatham - alight at Kandaswamy Nagar bus stop.
2. Route 45 from Gandhipuram,to Annur - Koilplayam, alight at Visuvasapuram stop.
Contribution towards lunch and tea -Rs.50
Please confirm your participation to enable us to make food arrangements. Call :9894871105

For more details call : 94430 39630

Next screening on 18th March 2007 Battle Of Algiers

Battle of Algiers trailer

Battle Of Algiers.

Although nearly forty years have passed since its creation, Battle of Algiers is more timely than ever – especially for Americans, given the American involvement in a contemporary colonial war in the Middle East.
The film depicts an episode in the war of independence in the then French Algeria, in the capital city of Algiers. It reconstructs the events of November 1954 to December 1960 in Algiers during the Algerian War of Independence, beginning with the organization of revolutionary cells in the Casbah. From there, it depicts the conflict between native Algerians and European settlers (pied-noirs) in which the two sides exchange acts of increasing violence, leading to the introduction of French paratroopers, under the direction of General Massu and then Colonel Bigeard, to root out the National Liberation Front (FLN). The paratroops are depicted as "winning" the battle by neutralizing the whole FLN leadership through assassination or capture. However, the film ends with a coda, depicting demonstrations and rioting by native Algerians for independence, in which it is suggested that though the French have won the Battle of Algiers, they have lost the war.

The narrative is composed mostly of illustrations of the tactics of both the FLN insurgency and the French counter insurgency, as well as the uglier incidents in the national liberation struggle. It unflinchingly shows atrocities being committed by both sides against civilians. The FLN is shown taking over the Casbah through summary execution of native Algierian criminals and others considered traitors, as well as using terrorism to harass civilian French colonials. The French colonialists are shown using lynch mobs and indiscriminate violence against natives. Paratroops are shown employing torture, intimidation and murder to combat the FLN and MNA insurgents.

Refraining from the conventions of the historical epic, Pontecorvo and Solinas chose not to have a protagonist but several characters based on figures in the conflict. The film begins and ends from the point of view of Ali la Pointe, played by Brahim Hagiag, who corresponds to the historical figure of the same name. He is a criminal radicalized while in prison and is recruited to the FLN by military commander El-hadi Jafar, a fictional version of Saadi Yacef played by himself.

Other characters include the young boy Petit Omar, a street urchin who serves as a messenger for the FLN; Larbi Ben M'hidi, one of the top leaders of the FLN, who is used in the film mainly to give the political rationale for the insurgency; Djamila, Zohra and Hassiba, a trio of female FLN militants called to carry out a revenge attack. In addition, The Battle of Algiers used thousands of Algerian extras in bit parts and crowd shots; the effect Pontecorvo intended was to create the impression of the Casbah's residents as a "chorus", communicating to the viewer through chanting, wailing and physical affect.

The Algerian revolution has been called by many the bloodiest revolution in history. Although the revolutionary forces in Algiers were defeated by the French Army, the long war throughout the country led to the French withdrawal from Algeria. As leftists, the theme of showing the inevitable demise of colonialism as an instrument of Western imperialism was central to Pontecorvo and Solinas's treatment of The Battle of Algiers.
Runtime 121 min. Language : French / English / Arabic . Subtitles : Tamil
Venue : Ashwin Hospital Auditorium ( 4th floor - lift provided), Across Sathy Road, Ganapathy, Coimbatore 12 .
(Part of this write up is from http://en.wikipedia.org )

Gillo Pontecorvo and Battle Of Algiers

The director of the Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo was born into an Italian-Jewish family of Pisa in 1919. Like the families of not a few Italian communists, Pontecorvo’s was well-to-do: his father, a cloth manufacturer, owned three factories and employed 1500 workers.The director was introduced to communism in the late ’30s by an older brother, Bruno, who worked as an atomic physicist in Paris, and by Bruno’s circle of anti-fascist friends. During WWII, Pontecorvo worked as a courier and journalist for the Italian Communist Party. But he became disillusioned with the party in 1956 as a result of its support of the Soviet invasion of Hungary: Like many other Italian communists who left the party in disgust at the Soviet invasion of Hungary, however, Pontecorvo did not abandon his communist convictions. Which brings us to Battle of Algiers. Algerian independence was declared and recognized in 1962. In 1965, the government of Algeria gave the director "not only all the necessary permits to shoot the film in Algiers, but put at his disposal – though not completely without charge – the Algerian army for the crowd scenes."

Pontecorvo wanted to shoot his film without using professional actors. Brahim Haggiag, who played Ali La Pointe, had a splendidly dramatic face, but he was a poor illiterate farmer whom Pontecorvo had found in a city market and who hadn’t the faintest idea what cinema was. If one has not seen this film, one cannot begin to imagine Pontecorvo’s extraordinary achievement. The acting is so natural and convincing that many viewers and even some critics assumed that the movie was a documentary. Only a master director could have taken this raw acting material and gotten such performances out of it. And despite his leftist viewpoint, Pontecorvo neither ridicules or demonizes the French.

(from http://www.lewrockwell.com/ )

Scenes from Jacques Tati's ' Mr. Hulot's Holiday '

Outreach programme at Kalaimagal Kalvi Nilayam , Erode.

It was a wonderful experience for Konangal being with one of the finest schools of Tamil Nadu.The outreach programme on 22.02.2007 at Erode Kalaimagal Kalvi Nilayam , an household name at Erode, has further enthused us to take up the screening of films, as a process of sensitisation, particularly among children. It is sad that we could screen the film "Children of Heaven" only to over 690 students in a school which has a total strength of over 6000 and 250 members of staff.

However, the teachers and the management of the school have acknowledged that this was an enthralling exposure to them and the students. Their resolve to see only good cinema and to nurture such values which will groom the children as humane and socially responsible, has humbled us.
The School Correspondent and Managing Trustee Mrs S. Mangalavathy, in her letter addressed to Konangal has stated that " This film is a real boon to the school children, to imbibe in them all divine qualities like love, helping elders and parents, tolerance and taking efforts to achieve their goal" She has further added that "We really appreciate the intention of those who are involved in this kind of service to Education".

Konangal submits our sincere thanks to the school, particularly Ms. Mangalavathi, the Correspondent of the school for giving us an opportunity to be in the midst of their historical school.

Bergman Retrospective - Dinamalar write up . . .

Dinamalar's write up on the recently conducted Ingmar Bergman retrospective is available here. To read the article, just click on the image of the page given here and you will get the enlarged version of this page.

Magic Moments

Ingmar Bergman's films question faith, mortality and loneliness, writes K.JESHI

"The magic of movements is fascinating... those moving shadows on my screen... whenever I make a film, I have the same difficulty, same unhappiness that I'm not able to express it the way I want it," says legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman in an interview.

Film buffs in Coimbatore got a taste of his magical filmmaking at the Bergman Film Festival held recently at Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust Auditorium.

This is the first in the retrospective series of world masters organised by Konangal Film Society. A 30-minute film about the filmmaker, who retired at the age of 83 and now lives in Sweden, was an added bonanza.

Mystical transition

If The Hour of the Wolf (horror) traces the agony of an artist, the emotionally packed Cries and Whispers converts reality into fiction with one happy moment in the coda (penultimate) scene.

The award winning The Seventh Seal, set in 14th century Sweden, speaks about a man in search of the meaning of life. Death is personified as a character here.

"The transition from fantasy to reality is muted in his films," says D. Anandan of Konangal. In The Hour... the director narrates the story through the eyes of the artist's wife (Liv Ullmann). Through her husband's diary, she takes you into flashback mode to their life in a lonely castle on an island to her insomniac husband haunted by darkness, demons and other creatures of his imagination and to the full-blooded horror that eventually destroys him.

"Every film is a journey from the unconscious to the conscious. His theory is that endurance is possible through art," adds Anandan.

When someone in the audience wanted to deconstruct the movie to understand its depths, Paul Simon, a final year engineering student, said its beauty lay in its ambiguous ending.

"Bergman is not forcing his ideas on us; instead he creates an opportunity to think and interpret," he adds. In Cries and Whispers, four women get together in a manor house. The unmarried sister, Agnes (Harriet Andersson) is dying of cancer and her two sisters come to ease her pain.

For Karin (Ingrid Thulin), the wife of diplomat and a mother of five, life is nothing but a tissue of lies.

She mutilates herself to show her hostility towards her husband and life. The flirtatious Maria (Ullmann) is taken up with her own beauty; morals don't matter. The fourth woman, maid Anna (Kari Sylwan), shares a relationship with Agnes.

Endurance of women

While female critics say the film projects the fears and desires of men, Anandan says it brings out the endurance of women. "Though Agnes takes us through the painful experience of death, that happy moment when all the characters have a nice time in a garden gives it a fictional twist. There is a dream sequence where the body talks, leaving us wondering if Agnes is dead or alive. And, Anna becomes a mother in her relationship with Agnes," he adds.

Some felt the film analysed sexual instincts in a person who was unwell (an issue that current day filmmakers are just learning to deal with) and spoke about how physical pleasures become important to escape pain. "In love, you need to feel and the beautiful relationship between Anna and Agnes is about this feeling," Paul adds.

The blood red backgrounds and the picturesque landscapes captured by Sven Nykvist were other highlights.

Probing death

To understand the religious criticism in The Seventh Seal, the audience was requested to watch it with an `intellectual blanket'. In this, Bergman, an atheist, probes death and makes a subtle commentary on religion. A knight (Max Von Sydow), hoping to gain knowledge about life, challenges Death (Beng Ekerot) to a game of chess.

"Man is perishable but society lives. Bergman shows humanity is the future by saving three people from death in this film," comments Pon. Chandran of Konangal.

The fear factor

"Fear is the core theme in the three films — of death, of relationships and of the unknown. Bergman describes cinema as an `exciting mistress' and theatre as a `faithful wife'. He uses drama-based narration with a lot of satire. Even his stylised narration was a subject of criticism," he adds.

But, as a film buff put it: "Just let the movies sink in. Don't get into the details."

Courtesy : The Hindu - Metro Plus 17 02 2007

Fellini's LA STRADA ( 1954 ) - screening on Sunday , 18th Feb 2007

Winner of Oscar award and another 8 wins & 4 nominations. La Strada is Federico Fellini's moving masterpiece. As defined by the title, La strada, or The Road, is an episodic journey in the lives of three outcasts. Zampano travels from village to village with his motorcycle and three-wheeled trailer performing a strongman's feat of breaking an iron chain by expanding his muscular chest. His act requires a helpmate so he purchases Gelsomina from her destitute mother for 10,000 lire. (Zampano's former helpmate had been Gelsomina's sister who had died on the road.) Gelsomina becomes Zampano's slave. With much difficulty she learns to beat a drum, announce his act—"Zam-pan-o is here"—, play the trumpet, and fulfill his sexual needs. Zampano lives in a world of physical appetites, while Gelsomina communicates with the sea, the birds, the flowers. For a while they join a travelling circus where Il Matto, the equilibrist, taunts the brutish Zampano, and counsels Gelsomina in the spiritual. After leaving the circus, their paths once again cross with that of Il Matto. Fellini closes his film with a chilling scene by the sea where Gelsomina had always felt at home.

The impact of the film is the result of Fellini's poetic imagery and not any cinematic tricks. The most apparent cinematic device is the moving camera and beautiful photography of Otello Martelli. Nino Rota's enchanting musical score has since become an international classic. Most important to the effectiveness of the film is the acting. Quinn's performance as Zampano is superb and brought him long overdue acclaim as an actor of stature, and Basehart is a commendable and mischievous Il Matto. Most outstanding of all is the wonderful face and pantomime of Giulietta Masina whose comedic abilities were compared to those of Chaplin and Harry Langdon. - from www.filmreference.com
Language - Italian, Sub Titles - Tamil, Run time - 107 minutes.

You can visit IMDB -Internet Movie Database for your queries.
' La Strada ' : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047528/

Screening at Ramu Dairy , (Behind Bharat Electronics) 100 Ft Road, Tatabad , Coimbatore.

FREDERICO FELLINI (1920 -1993) is the dirctor of ' La Strada ' . This Italian humanist director was among the most intensely autobiographical film directors the cinema has known. Fellini made 25 films. Won the first ever Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for La Strada in 1957. His four movies, Strada, La (1954), Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957), 8½ (1963) and Amarcord (1973) won Oscar awards. Fellini was voted the 10th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

TILT AND PAN - Shot 1

This column is exclusively for links to articles / news / reviews related to Cinema available on the net.
End justifying the means.......
'The film desires a completely unregulated utopian space — a dream every neo-liberal would buy '- A.Srivatsan in his commentary on GURU.
Maniratnam’s film Guru was released recently with such fanfare and hype. How original is the film and what does it convey? Can Maniratnam handle social issues or what does he want to say in this film? Just click on this write up info given below :
Read Neo-liberal icon -A. Srivatsan's excellent commentary on Maniratnam's 'Guru' in the Hindu magazine section.

Dinamalar reports . . . .

Courtesy : Dinamalar Epaper 12 02 2007

Much awaited Ingmar Bergman retrospective is over . . . . .

We are overwhelmed by your response.We thank all the film lovers who came and participated in the retrospective from far and near. We now know that you are all there to support us and that gives us more inspiration and strength to continue our pursuit in introducing good cinema to all. We plan to conduct such retrospectives once in two months apart from our regular bi monthly screenings and we are counting on you for your support.

Our heart felt thanks to the press for their continuous support.

Thank you all so much.

Retrospective of Ingmar Bergman Films on 11th Feb 2007

Konangal will be presenting it's first retrospective of films by masters on 11th February. The master chosen for our first retrospective is Ingmar Bergman and his three all time classics Seventh Seal, The Hour Of The Wolf and Cries and Whispers will be screened during this retrospective.

Ingmar Bergman

' Making films is my justification for existing. If I start playing fast and loose with ethics, I'll lose my inherent value as a human being, everything that gives me the feeling I've a right to make films. And this is why I must never forget that each film may be my last. '
Bergman on Bergman (1968)

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 .

'I came out of that movie house reeling like a drunkard, drugged speechless, with the film rushing through my bloodstream, pumping and thudding. '

Gunnel Lindblom, star of The Silence, describing
her first experience of a Bergman film in 1949

Ingmar Bergman's mature cinema provokes the viewer into an intimate engagement in which a range of uncomfortable feelings are opened up, shared and laid bare. And this often occurs, quite literally, face-to-face. The detail of this fine-focus dissection forces us to confront both the inscrutable materiality of the face, and its role as the communicative nerve centre of the individual subject's investments. The camera moves in uncomfortably, almost seeking to go inside – until a giant abstracted face fills the frame, stopping the zoom dead. The viewer is confronted with a close yet also alienating proximity to such a large expanse of human exterior, while we watch our enormous diegetic companion ask of itself 'what' it is, as it faces a very personal void. A dual gaze of inquiry takes place here, whereby the onscreen subject's gaze of self-conscious crisis meets the viewer's implicated looking upon – and participation in – that image. Both face and viewer seem to feel the intermixing and breaking down of diegetic and meta-diegetic space, and intensities of looking. This is sparked and enforced by Bergman's tight use of a 1.33:1 frame which often excludes any clear glimpses of the world beyond a face which finds no up, down, left or right in which to direct its gaze. - Excerpts from article on Ingmar Bergman by Senses Of Cinema -www.sensesofcinema.com



Cries and Whispers (1972): Ingmar Bergman's dream play is set in a manor house at the turn of the century where a spinster in her late 30s (Harriet Andersson) is dying. Her two sisters (Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann) have come to attend her, and they watch and wait, along with a peasant servant (Kari Sylwan). The movie is built out of a series of emotionally charged images that express inner stress, and Bergman handles them with the fluidity of a master. Superbly photographed by Sven Nykvist in a style suggesting Edvard Munch, and with blood-red backgrounds, the film is smooth and hypnotic; it has oracular power and the pull of a dream. Run time - 106 minutes. Language - Swedish . Subtitles - English


The Hour Of The Wolf ( 1968 ) : A brilliant Gothic fantasy about an artist who has disappeared, leaving only a diary; and through that diary we move into flashback to observe a classic case history of the Bergman hero haunted by darkness, demons and the creatures of his imagination until he is destroyed by them. The tentacular growth of this obsession is handled with typical virtuosity in a dazzling flow of surrealism and full-blooded Gothic horror
Run time - 90 minutes. Language - Swedish . Subtitles - English


The Seventh Seal (1957) : Ingmar Bergman's medieval morality play about man in search of the meaning of life is set in 14th-century Sweden. But it's a magically powerful film. The story seems to be playing itself out in a medieval present. A knight (Max von Sydow), tormented and doubting, returns from 10 wasted years in the Crusades, and Death (Bengt Ekerot) comes to claim him. Hoping to gain some revelation or obtain some knowledge before he dies, the knight challenges Death to a game of chess. Run time - 96 minutes. Language - Swedish . Subtitles - English

Retrospective screenings will be at
KASTHURI SREENIVASAN CULTURE CENTRE, AVANASHI ROAD, (NEAR ARVIND EYE HOSPITAL) COIMBATORE -641014; PHONE: 2574110.
Timings : Morning 9.30 AM to Evening 6.30 PM with one hour lunch break.
We request all to be in your seats in the auditorium by 9.30 am. The program will start at 9. 45 am . For More details please call 94430 39630 .

Power of visuals - The Hindu 'Young World' report. .

Movies are being used in schools to create awareness on moral values, patriotism, and health issues. "Children of Heaven " , an Iranian Film made waves at a Coimbatore school shortly.

When Ali in the movie "Children of Heaven" enters a race just to win a pair of brand new sneakers for his sister, every student in the audience cheers him up. "That explains the power of visuals," says Pon. Chandran of Konangal Film Society, which screened the Oscar nominated Iranian film to over 600 students at Sri. Ranganathar Matric H.S. School, Kalappanaickenpalayam in Vadavalli, as part of its outreach programme.

"The language is Persian, the setting is in Tehran and some of the kids in the audience, especially the pre-KG section, cannot read the English subtitles; yet the visuals communicated effectively," he adds.

The story is simple. While at market shopping, Ali loses his sister Zohre's school shoes. He decides that his sister and he will share his sneakers till he gets a new pair for her.

Every frame in the movie sends across a message to children. "Take for instance, extra-curricular activities. It is not just about playing chess or cricket, but also helping out parents. During weekends, Ali joins his father in gardening, so that they can make some extra money. So is the girl Zohre, who helps her mother with household chores and even takes care of the baby, the third child," Chandran adds.

A welcome change

The Film Society believes introducing such films to school students is the key to bringing about societal change.

"It exposes them to a new world of alternate cinema, a welcome change from the kind of commercial films they get to watch now. It initiates a search in their minds and moulds them as better individuals," he adds.

K. Thanalakshmi, member of Konangal, says that taking world-class cinema to children is important to instilling values of sensitivity in them.

"Now children get an overdose of fast-paced movies," she adds.

The concluding race scene in the movie is catchy.

"To win the pair of sneakers, Ali must come third, but he comes first. Instead of enjoying success, he cries because his sister will not get the shoes," Chandran adds.

Subtle end

However, a quick shot of their father's bicycle at the end of the movie shows what appears to be the pink shoes Zohre had wanted, implying she got the shoes after all.

"Our students and the faculty enjoyed the screening. We want to make it a regular extra-curricular activity and create awareness on moral values, patriotism, service, society and health issues among students," says V.M. Velayutham, secretary, Ranganathar School.

Surya Nagappan, librarian and a member of Konangal, says the screening has created interest among students to explore meaningful cinema in a big way.

Courtesy The Hindu - Young World dated 26.01.2007

MESSAGE FROM SRI. P.K .NAIR

We are happy to recieve the following message from the doyen of Film Society movement in India , Sri.P.K.Nair.

" Dear P.Chandran ,

I am glad to know you are showing UMBERTO D with Tamil subtitles . You 've done a great break through . This is exactly what I wanted to do at the Archive because I feel that's the only way to make the great classics of Cinema to our ordinary people and thereby improve their tastes . Pl keep me in touch with the feedback you've from the audience .

Warm regards

P.K.Nair "

P.K. Nair

P.K. Nair archivist, film scholar and film festival consultant, has headed the National Film Archive of India in Pune for nearly three decades. He built it up from scratch to its present international status as one of the leading film archives in Asia. He played a leading role in developing film studies in India, and is an authority on Indian cinema. He has taught extensively in India and abroad, and has guided several research scholars through their doctoral theses on various aspects of the art form. He has served as jury member of several national and international film festivals, and continues to be actively involved in film archiving, and the training of young archivists, filmmakers and film critics. A dedicated film historian and film scholar, he has made an in-depth study of Indian silent cinema and written extensively on various aspects of the evolution of cinema in India.

Screening On Sunday 21st Jan 2007

Vittoria De Sica's (Director of 'Bicycle Thief' ) classic UMBERTO D will be screened at 5.45 pm on Sunday,21st January 2007 at Ramu Dairy ( Behind Bharat Electronics) 7th Cross, 100 Ft Road, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore. Phone :94430 39630
Run Time :91 minutes. Colour - Black & White.
Language - Italian . Sub titles - Tamil.



UMBERTO D
The story is about a retired civil servant Umberto D. Ferrari and his dog Flick who are evicted from their Roman pension by a self-absorbed landlady because he has fallen behind with his rent. Forced into the streets, the elderly pensioner feigns illness in order to live rent-free in hospital, tries street begging but lacks the resolve, contemplates -- even tries -- suicide, but his beloved dog distracts him from the explosive passage of the express train. This powerful narrative in the classic social realist style has a universal application regardless of period or cultural setting. It's a monochromatic world of shadow and half-light, often evening and dawn locales rendered in the black and white film stock typical of the neo-realist period. This is Vittoria De Sica's masterpiece.