k_28 Reviews

The Signal (2014)

And movies by Home Stupidos Stupidos

[1/10 · 28 November 2015]

I normally wont bother writing review of a title which i didn't like but this was such an exercise in stupidity that I feel like I must not be so selfish and share my pain with other so as warn them about dangers of watching this movie ! Imagine a porn movie without nudity.;well this is such a science -fiction movie without any science ...and fiction is not well either!..A Bruce Willis die hard genre seems like an intellectual art work in front of this garbage.

Its filled with plot holes, in accurateness ...absolute stupidities but thats okay , whats worse is its neither had a good story nor even good acting by main characters. Expect Laurence , all other teenagers acts like over smart show-offs with little understanding of themselves or others. And so is the viewers are also taken for granted by equally stupid. The story of being abducted by alien is as old as slice bread. And with no CGI to speak off and story written by school graders least should be expected.

I don't know what went through my mind when i started watching it ; maybe my mind too was abducted by alien so I lost of sense of thinking. Oh yeah..it said something about hacking and MIT labs ...well let me save your soul..its about neither...you neither see MIT nor hacking nor any nerd stuff..thats just a plot line to attract you to a sleep-buster.! And btw those who liked the movie can explain to me ; why a super advanced aliens don't have anything simple like CCTV or GPS tracking devices in their "military" facilities ? Of course then director wont have had 2 hrs to kill !!

Einstein and Eddington (2008 TV Movie)

Most inane movie on the work of geniuses ...and wrong too!!

[5/10 · 27 July 2015]

The stupidity of this movie is equivalent to the genius of the great men on which it is based ..in fact it as a whole a complete contrast to the lives of those two men lived...its boring while their lives was interesting..its shallow while they had a deep philosophy in life and its so arbitrary in approach while they were perfectionist. One more point that need to be added that this is neither scientifically nor historically accurate.

For example ..Eddignton was not the only who wanted to observe solar eclipse to prove Einstein theory in fact a previous attempt was made by other scientists in Russia but due to WWI it didn't succeed . Also the dramatic impact it tries to create is wrong as Einsteines theory was popular even before Eddignton laid his hands.True he was not a celebrity but was not an unknown scientist either. Anyways a movie can take a poetic license for converting story into a drama , but this movie fails in that aspect as well ; it doesn't not create any characters we can sympathize with. Eddignton comes as shy , diffident but at times stubborn who believes in some God, but his character lacks the depth of scientist and he comes as school student ..shallow n incoherent. Einstein on other comes as weird , confused person who acts like a quirky fellow by having sex in classroom or jumping of ship explaining relativity who is seemingly lost touch with reality. His love affair , we cant determine if a fling or deep love as neither characters expresses its emotions . Neither is his relation with wife properly portrayed as we don't know why he tries to avoid her. Even at his best Einstenie comes not as likable character but someone you will avoid. And this is sad as by every account he was a kind and gentle person. Nevertheless if you are watching a movie and both main characters are non likable whats the point of having a movie? It could very well be a documentary and not a movie. But it can not even be a documentary as its had gaping historical holes. And for scientific understanding ....better not watch it as it childish and plain wrong. It never really explains relativity even in its simplest form. So its something that one should avoid as a mediocre attempt on the great lives. I still feel there is a some movie out there which will do justice to their struggles , passions and genius.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

And it makes perfect sense as a Love Story Or as Last Dream of Broken Soul !!

[10/10 · 13 July 2015]

Like everybody else i didn't understand he movie when i saw it first time...and i wasn't sure what it really meant. But there was something else that mattered more to me than literal meaning what the film is about . And it was that experience...it was scary..surreal ...dreamlike ...n haunting...like having a lucid dream..you cant get this feeling out of your head even after you finished watching it. And that's pure cinema ...its about affecting people at deepest corner of their emotional core...at their desires n subconscious mind something with they themselves can not explain or articulate but still feel it and feel it very intensely. This movie was was like that..expressly effective though i must say i found it scary first time around. I normally never find any "ghost movies" or "gory movies" scary ; what really scares me psycho thrillers ..and this was perhaps best psycho thriller since "The shining".

But when i saw the movie second time my views were changed. The scariness was gone and you feel like watching a tragic love story. The sweetest love story of young girl filled with innocence and dreams in her who is broken in her soul...who is wants to love and be loved but instead gets cheated n hurt . Who is desperate to have a moment of happiness in her life but not sure is she will ever get it. Thats as tragic as it can get but just like eerie and surreal atmosphere affects you ..the sad tragedy of her life (which is using "Hollywood " as atmosphere here) affects you. At some level it is story of all of us ...big dreams shattered by harsh realities of unknown harsh materialistic entities of "big world"which we never really understand as its always faceless ..(represented by the mafia shown in movie as formless , shapeless , incomprehensible but still affecting everything that she did). The mafia doesn't go out to hurt Betty ...they don't even know her ...but her life , her dreams , her love is shattered as unintended or indirect consequences of their actions. Doesn't that sound familiar to our life? some random act somewhere done by someone have a far reaching impact on our life which we were not even responsible for. This is what the song "Na He banda" perhaps means...no one one is playing the music ...its all going on ; while we live in an illusion that we control our life , in reality we being there or not being there doesn't really matter...music goes on. We control nothing about it ..we are as helpless and inconsequential about our own life like puppets in a show. Someone somewhere else is plotting our life and we have no clue who is doing it.

The second aspect of this broken soul is loss of love. She wants to love and be loved back and what hurts her is not just that she lost her love but also got betrayed and person who cheated her doesn't even care about hurting her. Its like she takes some ghoulish pleasure is rubbing her wounds by kissing others inf front of her . That is as painful as it can get for someone who loses her love. Its not just feeling of losing love but anger at oneself for being with someone who never cared about you. Who doesn't care if you are hurt but instead enjoys it, the guilt , shame , frustration , agony of being with such a person is unbearable. It makes u hate yourself ..and see yourself as not being treated a human but a toy..a sex toy at worse...used n thrown. It is that despair n pain that prompts the ultimate desire to ease suffering by freeing the broken soul from this body. And that's what she does.

What would any person think of just moment before they kill themselves? That I wish I had another life..A beautiful life ...where all my dreams had come true..in a parallel universe i am happy AND satisfied !! Where person i like is so dependent on me that he/she loves me unconditionally. (and hence altered reality lover Rita who is totally in love with her) That everybody loves me for my talent. That all my dreams are withing reach ( so successful auditions) , that anyone who hurts me gets punished for their karma (so director getting beaten up, being cheated n bullied) and everyone cares about you, likes you (so all nice people meeting Betty while they r rude to Diane). The movie is about the last dream of a broken soul. Its a sweet tragedy of broken dreams n broken hearts that ultimately makes you cry since you know this can be story of any one of us.

To me this movie makes perfect sense, every single shot of it as this is exactly how I would feel about the life I wished I had, had I been killing myself. First time as i saw it as a mystery but when i saw it again as love story in a dream, it made a satisfying viewing! Something which cant be captured in words but only be felt ..and be felt right at our subconscious level.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

This turned me into an Addict !!

[10/10 · 7 May 2015]

Oh yeah...thats true ...I was never an addict before watching this but this TV series made me an addict ...of a TV serial :) For the first time in life i found myself compulsively addicted to watch a season continuously. I just could not get it off my head, could not resist watching it ..found drawn , pulled or sucked by Breaking Bad into itself n I was not able help myself , totally out of my own control. I had seen entire 5 (or 6 ?) seasons of Breaking Bad ; all 62 episodes in over weekend . I started watching Friday night as a friends suggested me this series, ; but I told him "well I am not a big fan of TV series but am more of a movies guy" ; But when it started it turned out to be one big hell of a movie ...60 hours long !!just started as timepass I started with First episode to get a sleep but this literally took away all the sleep And all this time i watching it continuously obsessively without moving , without bath , just eating chips n junk food all the while . And by the time I finished it and woke up next morning ...I didn't even knew what day it was? Is it Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday? This may seem an extreme reaction to Breaking Bad but i guess it was worthy of what this is ..Truly Awesome !!! I guess i was behaving like a junkie ...lingering in my couch ...shabby , unclean ...just watching it and feeling myself a part of parallel universe where Breaking Bad isn't a TV series and I am not a viewer but a part of it ...or where I am the who knocks :) Its a trip down your innermost fears , desires , ambitions , conflicts and confusion in all of it.

I had always been fan of Stanely Kubrick like "Grey Matter" movies which are both nerdy and also shows humans not in brackets of good vs evil but in a more nuanced thousand shades of grey . This movie is all about transformation of a human from white into grey to dark grey to black ; slowly methodically just like chemistry and once done you cant even determine who is black or who is white . Its all then becomes a single compound of humans ...Greedy n selfish ,filled with frustration, anger ,confusion and more subtle desire to be respected , to feel important , to feel love and to care for the family. All of them when mixed with right ingredients of cancer hopelessness gives a high of power from where there is no point of return. Once you get it there are no more moral or ethical boundaries left. No judgements to be made. Its all dark but sadly its closest to real world we live in.

If Kubrick has ever made a TV series i bet that would be something like Breaking Bad. Its epitome of what TV series can do and raises a bar for other great series like BBC's Sherlock. It mixes human emotions in a cocktail so never seen before. It metamorphosis a human from white into black with erosion of its soul and rusting of its moral compass. Its all that who all wish to be on the inside. Its a chemical formula to give us a high into our deepest desires ...just like meth :) I was little disappointed by end though, felt very typical Hollywood style and little out of touch. A darker end where either Jesse & Walt dies in captivity or oblivion would have more satisfying .

Nevertheless this is a TV series which gives a better high than snorting meth :)

Changeling (2008)

Great Movie but only in pieces

[6/10 · 10 April 2015]

I am not really sure why Eastwood would ruin a perfectly great script. This is an incredible script ; great acting and a superb cast and still it fails to leave a lasting impact. This is a great movie but only in pieces ; there are some scenes where you can actually get a lump in your throat or a rage against system or utter shock but after that emotions director doesn't build upon it but cut abruptly. Its like snapping a perfectly romantic & emotional scene with a fart. I felt sad because this movie could have been so much great; its an unbelievable story of courage , love & compassion . But the artificial attempts to "de-melodramatise" had an adverse impact of missing continuity and broken bonding with the characters of the movie.

I think someone like Steven Spielberg could have done more justice to this story ; as in parts it reminded me that this could have been like his "Schiendler List" .

The Fifth Estate (2013)

Don't Watch ..This is not the "Movie"

[4/10 · 10 April 2015]

A movie is suppose to be different from a news reel; it meant to have characters and a plot ; this does not qualify. It does not even qualify as documentary as its completely lacking major details (and now a days even documentaries have "characters") There is no central character in this movie ; not even Assange ; its just like watching a news footage for 2 hrs ; he moves n talks in third person and so everybody else ; there is no central observer to movie and no neutral views ; even the character of Assange is very poorly developed; Its not question of justifying or opposing a character of Assange but the director completely failed to show him as a living being and he remains what he was always ; a object ; not a character . Take for example "Last King of Scotland" ; the character of brutal dictator Amin was so well developed ; with nuances n eccentricities that you can relate to it (even if not sympathize) . The director forgot that basic tenant that movie needs something which audience can relate to ; either like or dislike or awe or inspire ; something ; not a bland dish with news reels which they had already seen.

Love Crimes of Kabul (2011)

Not a story of crying helpless oppressed woman but of strong willed woman who knew how to get back to men!

[8/10 · 2 February 2015]

This movie was quite a shock as I was expecting a typical story of how woman are oppressed , helpless and at mercy of men in a Taliban style Islamist society. But in reality what i found was quite different , story of strong willed woman who knew what they were doing, who knew how to use Sharia Islamic law and who most importantly chose to do take decisions of life despite the odds. That is ground breaking , courageous and really unexpected.

It chronicles story of three woman who are in jail for "moral crimes" i.e. doing things which a "good Islamic woman" should not do. First is the girl who had per-martial sex with her boy friend. When the boy refuses to marry her ; she herself surrenders to police and ask herself to put in jail (since sex before marriage is a crime in Islamic Law) . Why she did it? Coz sex before marriage is a crime for a man too and so she is also arrested and then in order to get release from jail he is forced to marry her. Even during marriage as per Sharia law she is entitled to fix her "divorce price" and she asks him as $30000 alimony in case of divorce (which is like a 30 million in Afgan economy) only to make sure that he can not divorce her after marriage . This she does against the wishes of her parents. This is quite remarkable story of courage who know how to twist and manipulate sharia law to advantage of woman! Never knew woman could do this in Islamic world.

The second story is of woman who is in jail coz she left her husband home. Again a crime in Islamic law and is arrested with a elderly woman where she seek refuge. This seems harsh at first but later we found that she is arrested by first wife of son of that elderly woman who caught this absconding woman and her husband kissing each other. So she got her husband , her mother in law and this "other woman" arrested . Quite a way to get revenge from husband for cheating :). Now again the easiest route of their release of if the man and this woman with whom she has affair marry each other ; but despite repeated pressure , pleading and coarsening from the landlady this absconding woman stood her ground and refuse to marry the man she was caught kissing. This is even more remarkable that first story as woman chose to be all alone in a man's world , despite knowing she cant return to her parents and have nowhere to go. That idea of a "single woman" in Afagan Taliban society was surprise for me.

The third story is even more interesting. A boy and girl , not married to each other is caught by their parents in "compramising situation" . Again since sex before marriage is crime she is arrested but then a medical test confirms that she is still virgin (how do they really do it ? I mean how they make sure? Just curious ) . So she should be set free but then she is charged with sodomy (Anal sex is even bigger taboo in Islam than anything else ) . And in her case since the boy is minor he can't marry her . But despite all this she is unfazed , happy and confidant of her future. She is relaxed coz she know she will find someone else. I was shocked that a young girl in Afagan Taliban society can be so bold about her sexuality and be so casual about it specially with regards to sodomy.

As a whole most interesting aspect of this movie was even though they were supposedly criminal , no one saw their moral crimes as serious , woman could openly smoke inside jail, wear tight dresses and discuss about sex. This is not a picture you expect in a society where woman have no freedom. This shows underbelly of Afgan society where woman are aware of their choices , their life and ready to chose their man. This of course will not be true for every Afghan woman but shows the true side of society. Quite an eye-opener and I will say must watch for everyone !!

Vice (2013–2021)

The other side , of those who cant speak !

[9/10 · 27 January 2015]

This is rare gem of true journalism. What we see mostly on daily news is not news but propaganda of either govt or corporatist where every story has views of so called experts who has vested interests in giving the opinion they do. Some will accuse this series of being biased against big govt or big corporates but funnily they don't think anything biased in big corporate sponsored news shows as paid opinions. The journalism by definition involves showing two sides of story with neutral eye , but most news channels shows only one side of story, the story which they want us to see. This program speaks for those who cant speak themselves; the common people, oppressed ordinary folks who are victims and whose stories no one is interested in. As for big corporates and govt they always have a media to rest their case but for a change it is nice to have a show which shows other side of coin. You don't have to agree with it , you can still oppose it but how can you truly make your mind unless you see both sides of the story? Those who oppose this series as biased , i will say, see it and make your mind, its unpolished gem with mostly views of ordinary people and tats a big thing which is missing in today's TV media.

At another level watching this series is a humbling experience. It shows complexities , absurdities and sheer vastness of the the world we live in. Makes us empathize with them and helps comes out of this little bubble called as America. Its truly eye opening , in most literal sense coz most of the stories shown here are beyond our wildest imagination and if anyone has told that such things are happening in the same world , it would have been hard to believe . ( like Nigeria story or Kazakhstan story ) so thanks for an inspiring and humanizing experience.

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

A tragedy which will make you feel better!

[8/10 · 19 November 2014]

Its rare to come across a tragedy which in the end still leaves you something absolutely positive and make you believe in life...that there maybe just maybe true love that exists in this world! Its a story of despair and hopelessness and pain...But its also story of hope , of love and of those beautiful moments which adds meaning to life. Its only when you see death hovering around you ; you end up discovering Life Is Beautiful. Its a paradox and hence a tragedy but beyond that its a pure love. A love so pure that both people say that they want other person for their selfish reasons ; to get over their own loneliness & emptiness and still they manage to make each other truly happy.

Its hard not to be touched by this movie and not have a tear in your eyes. At many moments you stare at the characters on the screen and may see even your own vivid reflection. You can feel for Nicolas Cage because he is good soul who is tired of his life...who nobody really understood or cared for when he needed them most. Someone who has been left to die alone in vast desert. And he conceded to his fate and embracing his death with open arms that he meet someone where two people love each other as they always should have. Without any conditions , without any expectations , without any social or peer pressure ; without wearing any masks on their faces. Bare , honest and tranquil love . Where two people feel other person can feel his pain without speaking ; where two people can cry with each other without being judged and where they can feel each other beyond the skin ..deep underneath the heart...right at their soul.

If anyone ever doubted the existence of soul ; i wish they tell us how else can they describe the two characters in this movie. They nothing but two broken souls who become soulmates to heal each other !!

Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar ...a disappointment of Galactic proportions!!!

[5/10 · 16 November 2014]

Interstellar is not a bad movie by Hollywood standard but its a terrible movie by the standard Nolan has set for himself . It's also nothing great compared to any other Hollywood movie ...not even in special effects ...the whole movie experience comes to being an average viewing .But for the fans of Nolan this could be huge disappointment!! This movie at least confirms that Nolan is no 'son of Kubrick' and compared to "2001 A Space Odyssey" this is a massive failure . I did not expect the movie to make sense in every scientific terms but at least it should make logical sense within the parameters set by story itself ; for example 'Inception' was the movie which made perfect satisfying sense in this regards. 'Intersteller' is a gigantic failure; sadly with so many open plot holes (or potholes?) it looks a like Bruce Willis movie viz. why exactly human race shunned technology , what's that dust cloud all about , who done all this and why & how he came back from black hole etc. ; But even if one leave them apart ; as a movie there is no strong story to connect audience to , the father daughter relationship simply fades away in between , and all the action sequences has irritating jarring music in background which instead of increasing tension makes u feel dizzy with nausea...and some totally underdeveloped characters like spaceship crew members and many others unnecessary characters like Doctor Mann .

The biggest drawback of this movie is its hardly original at all , the story is something you have already read thousand times in any comic book or seen as a child in any space series or other such shows and of course shown so many times earlier in different format too. One may even call it a poor adaptation of Inception itself as main story line of coming back to family from abyss resonates to Inception but while you feel for Copp in inception you don't feel same way for Cooper!! The absolute lack of creativity even in special effects is biggest disappointment of this movie and coming this from Nolan makes it even sadder. Anyone could have directed this script and with somewhat similar result and such a typical Hollywood endings. Where is the Nolan stamp in this movie? I don't know if this is 'end of Nolan ' as we knew it but both TDKR and Intersteller seemed like a cut paste job of directing with many sequences of juxtaposition simply did not work . The movie fails to deliver as a singular object of artistic vision and fails to make any impact. This may be case of Hollywood studios overriding vision of director but if Nolan too has conceded to studio pressures it then it's the biggest disappointment of all .

The problem with this movie isn't really that it does not make any logical sense but that it doesn't connect you emotionally to any of the characters in the movie. Its a very shallow movie experience which makes you feel somewhat jaded at the end. But the worst part about the movie is despite being the movie about space ; this doesn't really make you feel inside a space even if you are watching it in IMAX 70mm !! watching a documentary on space travel may make you feel more awe or just watch 'Gravity' or '2001 Space Odyssey' again !

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)

The most anti-erotica movie one can ever see

[5/10 · 13 August 2014]

There are war movies and there are anti-war movies; similarly despite having lots of nudity , graphic sex and X rated content which one can only find in porn movies ; this is remarkably anti-sexual movie ; which may belong to some genre called as "anti-erotica" !!. There is of course nothing wrong in director making a statement against something and showing a disturbing view of sex ; but at times it gets gory , filthy and disgusting and that's what unfortunately keeps floating in your mind after you are finished watching the movie . This reminded me of "Salo 120 days of sodomy" - another sick flick , though this is much serious movie. There are scenes of group sex , bondage , as* whipping and you name it. It seems director wanted to outdo Catherine of "Romance" in how much viewer can tolerate but where "Romance" had a central theme this movie is lost midway just like its characters. So anyone looking to enjoy nudity then this movie is not for you as it will make you feel sick rather than excited (unless you are some pervert!) . But then this claims an art film and not a porn and unfortunately it fails to become a movie and ends up something like a documentary on nymphomania. The story doesn't touch you because its so contrived , long , confusing and self contradictory. At the end you end up with nothing and you don't feel anything for main character either.

The Nymphomaniac vol I and II are essentially one movie but if one were to only watch first part probably they will have a better exp. This is a story a depressed girl who becomes sex addict. But like any other addiction , despite having too much of it , one can never get enough of it; so despite having sex 10 times a day she remains unsatisfied and sad. This movie chronicles her sexual experiences and life . It is juxtaposed quite abruptly with philosophy , history and some religious innuendos . The director must be commanded for taking a very difficult subject like depression. You surely cant create a melodrama on such a subject; and he pushed an envelope of viewer at times. But then it seems director loses track of himself and takes it too far like justifying the use of word "Ne*ro" and even sympathizing with pedophiles. This is totally unacceptable and at best shameful for director. It is understandably any movie about depression will have a darker tone and disturbing visuals or stroppy but it will have at least some of its moments; coz only then depression is visible as a contrast to something good; this movie completely fails to create any moments between its characters even though its tries hard. The only memorable scene in the movie is claimed not by lead actors but by Uma Thurman in guest appearance.

The worse part of movie must be its ending. In fact the whole movie could have been salvaged with a better ending since it had good performances of lead actors and impressive background score . But the ending is stupid , incoherent and incompressible. It ruins whatever is left of it.

Despite all this I think this movie can be watched once for trying to understand a very difficult subject of depression. How the depressed person often chooses an easy thing vs tough one i.e. controlling desires vs indulging in desires and then walks down the spiral of destruction and ends up into abyss of self pity and pain. This is acted beautifully and some sequences have amazing cinematography and drives the point of how not to let depression destroy you.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Seriously , who directed this movie?

[1/10 · 18 November 2012]

I am not even trying to compare this movie to first two of the serious coz thats a futile attempt but seriously who directed this movie? Is he the same man who direct TDK and movies like Inception & Mememto ? I cant believe it? This is way toooooo stupid & too shallow to belong to any sensible director!!! I think Nolan must had taken paycheck while some second unit was doing its shooddy job ...in 18/19century some well known writers including Alexander Dumas at times used to employ army of "assistant writers" who will write while they publish in their name ; are we seeing something like that? This movie , its story ..its annoying music ..hollow characters n stupid story sequences are way too irritating n too much insulting to even a donkey faced audience. If The Dark Knight was highest point in the superhero movie history , this gotta be the lowest ebb since it came from someone whom the world saw as Kubrick's Son !!!! Still cant believe those who adore the movie .....are the sarah palin types growing at such a phenomenal rates in USA? Do they even ustand what a movie is?

Into the Wild (2007)

A Liberating Film

[10/10 · 15 February 2012]

"Into The Wild" is a truly beautiful & liberating film ; it liberates one,s soul from the mundane material excesses of life. Based on true story of Christopher Mccandless , a young at age of 23 leaves everything behind in his pursuit of happiness , happiness as he seek in truth , purity & freedom from society (or rather its lies & hypocrisies) . If there is one movie which one can watch a million times & still feel inspired every single time , then "Into the Wild" along with "The Shawshank Redemption" has to be there. Both are stories of eternal optimism of life & freedom of soul. The only difference between two is one if fictional while other true story.

What makes this movie so special is not just acting from Emile Hirsch which is simply superb , but also its director Sean Penn. He penned movie in narratives of his sister which are heart wrenching & are spoken with such bare essences that one could feel the pain of Chris. There are numerous others who had given memorable performances in their 5-10 mins screen time (Stuart & Hal Holbrook in particular) , which is essentially a director,s feat.

I always felt envy of those people who can live their dreams. It doesn't really matter what that dream is , as long as those who want it , have courage to go that path , not caring about anyone or anything ,are happiest people on this planet. Very few could do so. One of the most amazing lines in movie is ""career is a 20th century invention" , we increasingly define life in terms of material gains , gadgets , property , money etc. never realizing , money is a means to an end & not an end in itself . & in running after the means we lose our ends.

The movie is for you if you are the one who feels pain by the lies....if you are not a believer in "surviving life" and believe in "living life" or you really know there difference between these two; Chris did....he wanted a true life ...he was sad man when he had "all that " which he left behind and was much happier when he was penniless... Its a journey inside a soul with the vessel of nature to live a beautiful & positive life. A must watch.

Pinjra (1972)

An Incredibly emotional film

[10/10 · 19 February 2011]

This is one of greatest masterpiece by master of Cinema V Shantaram. Made in 70s it explores a complex web love, sex and relationships. Why and how people lose the respect in their own eyes, of choices or lack of choices people make in their life.

Its a rather simple story of educated , intellectual man who is regarded by everybody and himself perhaps as ideal man, but inside this image of himself he is still just a man, and that why his life turns upside down when he is seduced by a strip dancer , rather euphemism for being just short of a prostitute. He could not control his instinctive urge for her and falls for her charm but at same could not define what relationship he sought with her. He feels jealousy , anger when he sees her with other men but could not determine if what he had for her is just lust or love.

Then some turns of events took place where he has to choose between lust for this dancer and his respectful place as a ideal man in society. He chooses first but later find out that he cant live a life like a pimp , without respect and dignity. It raises some really thought provoking of whats meaning of human life without respect. Can a man live without dignity ? Is such life worth living or death with respect is better? In one of the most emotional scenes of movie actor sees dog eating besides him and wonders how is he different from dog and realizes this isn't life but a cage (pinjara). Losing all respect one had is worse than never having it at first place. Being brought to her level , she realizes this isn't what she wanted from this relationship but then no can turn back wheel of time and once lost can never be gained again. In end he chose to die as a image of person as he was rather than what really became of him so that people who believed in him doesn't lose faith in characters of men. A epitome of quote 'either you die a hero or live long to see yourself turn into villain'. This movie shows that journey though the corridors of lust & love.

Its a must watch movie for anyone who wants to explore complex web love , life and life with respect and love with meaning and how all of this can be turned upside down by a very basic human urge of sex. A masterpiece & classical Greek tragedy.