KIFF- Days 4, 5 and 6

        Yeah I was tired and I didn't feel like typing. Days 4-6 of KIFF were good enough with two highlights. I saw Interstellar and The Guest in between too. One I liked, one I really liked- guess which is which? I also walked out one screening but that doesn't count because they were playing a different movie than the one I had intended to watch and I barely sat for like half a minute.


Day 4:
1) Kaafiron ki Namaz (Ram Ramesh Sharma, 2013)- This movie belongs on a stage. So theatrical and wordy. It was like the worst of humanity gathered for a pointless discussion that was nevertheless fascinating. Sometimes it was too much to handle but it was also acerbically hilarious. The songs in it were kinda awful though.

2) Nymphomaniac vol. 1(Lars von Trier, 2014)- I kind of love this film. I don't know what kind of pervert that makes me but it is what it is. Most of all, I love its humour. We saw this in the biggest theatre and just like in Blue is the Warmest Colour, an audience that is otherwise more than ready to break out into fights watched all the sex scenes with complete silence and an almost reverence. It was hilarious to see some people shift in their seats in certain scenes. Btw, this was the "uncensored" director's cut and I'm super glad we didn't go for vol. 2 because we've heard some horror stories about what happens in that. LVT is a wackjob.


Day 5:
1) Refugiado (Diego Lerman, 2014)- This was a nice movie. It's about a kid and his mother who are on the run from his abusive father. It is a real human drama and it's filmed like that. There's no sentimentality but there is a gentleness about the characters which I really liked. The kid was v. good.

2) Omar (Hany Abu Assad, 2013)- I thought it was an excellent film. I thought I had it figured out but I was constantly surprised by it. Also, I am in love with it's lead actor now. Adam Bakri is fucking gorgeous and he was really, really, REALLY good! My friend and I were totally fawning over him the entire time. I don't understand how he can like walk anywhere without people trying to kiss him all the time. This was also one of the funniest/most annoying experiences as far as audiences go. The first 10 minutes people was just hurling hilarious insults at each other across the hall.

3) Two Faces of January (Hossein Amini, 2014)- It was okay. It certainly looked v. pretty and I was attracted to both Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac at different points in the movie. But I don't understand anyone who's comparing it to The Talented Mr. Ripley except in the looks department. It was almost too straightforward if that's a thing, like annoyingly so. It lacked any complexity whatsoever and Ripley is complex as fuck.


Day 6:
1) Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)- I think I first saw this film 6 years ago and I hadn't rewatched it since. I forgot just how great its satire is. Also, I don't think I had recognized George C. Scott's brilliance in this the first time 'round. Peter Sellers is obviously to die for as always. I did remember its ending clearly and god, I love it! Most of my friends went to watch some movie about a dog instead but I much prefer nuclear war and violence in the name of peace to that :)

2) Mommy (Xavier Dolan, 2014)- This was the movie I had shrieked so loudly about when I found out it is screening in the film festival, that I woke my grandma up in a fright. So yeah, it was kinda my #1 movie to watch in the fest and holy shit, it did not disappoint. Like I am so glad I watched it on a big screen because a movie THIS big needed that. I can't call it a perfect film mostly because it's more of a living, breathing, dynamic force than a film. It was so intense that after it got over, my friends and I barely spoke a word to each other and just sat silently throughout our bus journey. I felt like every emotion at the end and I didn't/still don't know how to fully react to it. Speaking in technical terms, it was fucking stunning to begin with. There is this thing that happens with its aspect ratio that made me go "Oh fuck" out loud. It's still giving me shivers thinking about it. The soundtrack is freaking perfect. The performances were out of this world. It's a blshame that Anne Dorval will almost definitely be overlooked during awards season. She's SOOOOO GOOD!!! And I don't know where Dolan found Antoine-Olivier Pilon but that kid has one of the most beautiful and cinematic faces ever. I could keep looking at it, at him, all day long, especially through Dolan's lense. Dolan himself continues to baffle me with his talent. How the fuck is a 25 year old this good? I have loved all 5 of his films and I can't wait for what he does next.


          We were supposed to watch Clouds of Sils Maria but there was a huge line + it was screening way past its allotted time + we were too full of Mommy emotions and so we skipped it.

          Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. Whiplash is another biggy that I hope to catch. I'm also going to go watch John Wick 'cuz why not. 

KIFF- Days 1 and 2

      

          Hallooo my amigos! (I don't know why I wrote that... I'm really sleepy) Since there is something film-related going on in my life right now, I have decided to blog about it like all good bloggers do. So KIFF, or the Kolkata International Film Festival has begun. It's the 20th year of the festival and this is the 3rd one I'm attending. My first year, I saw 3 movies. Last year, I managed to watch 26 films over the week. I don't know how many I will watch this year because I kinda keep walking out of them, as I have elucidated below.

      These posts will be like a bigger version of my end-of-the-month posts and smaller than my mini reviews. I am/will be writing these after a full day spent going from theatre to theatre and attending college lectures so I am/will be obviously very tired. The downside of this is that I probably won't write these posts every day of the week and I will club the days together like in this post. The plus side of my sleepy self writing is that my thoughts will come uncensored and I'm probably not even going to edit the post before posting it so yeah, HAVE FUN WITH THAT! TYPOS FOREVER BITCHES!!!!!

Day 1:

1) Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)- Yaay great start! KIFF focuses on a master filmmaker every year. Last year, it was Billy Wilder and this year, it's Kubrick, both of whom I adore. Coming to Lolita, I had forgotten just how funny it was. I did remember being blown away by Peter Sellers, and he *really* is incredible in this, but this time 'round I was also struck by Shelley Winters. She's so tragic and so brave in this. 

2) Charlie's Country (Rolf de Heer, 2014)- This was really v. slow. I don't know why but I am already really tired during this year's fest, probably due to last year of college or old age or whatever. So anyways, it was extremely hard to stay awake at points but it is a quietly powerful film at times. The lead performance by David Gulpilil is really wonderful. There was this point in the film where he makes eye contact with the camera for about a minute, maybe even more, and it will haunt me for a long time. There were issues about aboriginals in Australia that I was not aware of at all that the film explored and I really liked that. I just wish the pace was slightly faster.

2.5) Thanga Meenkal (Ram, 2013)- So, after watching a film which seemed devoid of any drama, we went for this which was overly dramatic. There was a sweet story at its core about a misunderstood pair of father and daughter but my friends and I were far too hungry to sit for the whole thing while also being bombarded with ALL OF THE FEELS! So yeah, we walked out halfway which was smart of us, sorta, 'cuz we ate some really good sandwiches and then stood in the line for the next film which, and this is not an exaggeration, had about 200+ people already in front of us. I know what you're thinking, India needs to sort out its population problem -.- -.-

3) Geronimo (Tony Gatlif, 2014)- As I wrote above, we had walked out of a film for being too dramatic. Little did we know that the film we were walking into next made the previous one seem like a subtle, solemn affair. The movie started out well enough, with lots of spunk and cool music and whatnot. But god, then it just went nuts. It was a bit like West Side Story + City of God + Short Term 12 - ALL of their brilliance. At times, I really did feel that it will turn into a musical but then it got serious with this really committed social worker trying to save these two teenage lovers from their insane families. And god, the couple in this were total idiotic assholes. Not worth ANY of the drama at all.

Day 2:

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)- So in this entire film festival, there are 3 films that I HAVE to watch no matter what. Two are yet to come but this is definitely one of them. Watching 2001 on a 70mm screen has been on my bucket list ever since I saw it for the first time and I guess I can die partly happy now :) Yaay?! Gosh, it was so stunning! It's not my favourite Kubrick movie by a mile but it has to be one of the greatest cinema theatre movies ever.

1.5) Tsili (Amos Gitai, 2014)- This has to be one of the most boring movies ever made. I fell asleep 15 minutes into the film and woke up half an hour later. Upon asking my friend what had happened, she said nothing. Good fucking lord! I tried watching some more but it wasn't gonna happen. Also, there were constantly bombs being dropped in this (apparently it was set during World War 2 or something) and the sound of that gave me headache. So we left this too. According to a friend of a friend, nothing happens till the end. Good call on our part.

1.5) Force of Destiny (Paul Cox, 2014)- For this film, there was 6 of us and we got good seats right in the middle. Btw, this hall is a big one with a seating capacity of 931 persons according to its Wikipedia page. This is important information because by the time the director had stopped introducing it, there were people sitting on the stairs and standing on the sides- basically, the place was overflowing with people and they were getting pissed. Again, this is crucial because once the film started, we immediately understood that it is not a good one. It had the guy who played Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movies and spoiler alert: he has not aged well. Also, I don't think he can act, like everyone else in this film. The script was poor too. It was about a man with liver cancer awaiting organ transplant who falls in love with this Indian woman. The whole image of an Indian woman in this, at least till the point we watched (spoiler alert again!), was so, ugh, colonial? She was like an exotic manic pixie girl just waiting to give the white male a fresh outlook in whatever life he has left. Anyways, we HAD to leave, and that was one of the most awkward things I have ever done. There is this belief about Bengali people being really sweet but the fact is that they are quite bitchy when they want to be. Walking between people sitting on stairs who refused to budge an inch even though I'm here trying to not step on their hands and feet and getting cursed at by women who were oh so engrossed in this ahmazingly awful movie was a real highlight of the festival for me.

2) These Are the Rules (Ognjen Svilicic, 2014)- After walking out of two movies in one day, my friends and I were beginning to despair about this entire festival experience. Were we being too critical? Everyone else seemed happy :/ So a lot was hanging on this film to improve our moods and strengthen our faith. Thankfully, it delivered. Oh god, it delivered. For fans of Buffy out there, this is the best fictional portrayal of death that I have seen since "The Body". This film was simple, shatteringly realistic and powerful. Great performances too. I really liked it.

     And that's it for now. Tomorrow they will screen A Clockwork Orange but I will be attending a lecture on something called Legal Awareness because my life is a burning bag of shit. There are a few other movies planned too (which I might or might not walk out of) and I will hopefully update y'all if I am awake enough.

My Favourite Directors

        Well my blog is almost three now and I am celebrating this milestone with various lists. In this, I look at 15 of my most favourite directors, since I am simply incapable of stopping at just 10. Even though I might have not seen all the films that they have made, these filmmakers are my role models and people I admire the most in this world. Cinema is a gift and no one makes me more thankful for it than the following visionaries-

15.

Tim Burton

In spite of the unfortunate choices Burton has been making of late, he was one of the first directors to make me crazy about films. His eccentric characters, dark humour, unique settings, but all with a romantic touch to it are usually a joy to watch. Not to mention he uses my favourite actor in everything ( that should stop for now though).

Favourite films- Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Ed Wood

14.

Steven Spielberg

One of the few Hollywood directors introduced to me through my dad, I was instantly swept away in Spielberg's close encounters with adorable yet heart-breaking aliens. And after that came the ultimate hero in the form of a daredevil archaeologist. I began thinking of him as the coolest action director, only to then stumble upon Schindler's List and be stunned. Very few directors can do equal justice to childlike wonder and the worst of humanity.

Favourite films- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Schindler's List, Close Encounters of the Third Kind

13.

John Hughes

I have had nothing resembling an American teenage, but I almost feel like I have because of Hughes's evergreen films (and yes, I know how depressing that sounds). No one understood young people like him. His films are as funny as they are perceptive and smart. Also, Kevin McCallister was every kid's role model.

Favourite films- The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone

12.

Martin Scorsese

It was very recently when I actually started watching Scorsese's films. I started with Taxi Driver, and needless to say, I was completely bowled over. A true devotee of cinema, most of the films that I have seen of his are violent and edgy, with troubled characters and a lot of Rolling Stones. Then of course, there is Hugo, which is one of the most beautiful love-letters to films I have ever seen and kind of helped me turn my life around, something I am very thankful to Scorsese for.

Favourite films- Taxi Driver, Hugo, The Aviator

11.

Pedro Almodóvar

When I first sat down to watch Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, it was more for that outrageous name than anything else. Instead, I got this hilarious, colourful, slightly crazy tale of wonderfully real women and I was instantly hooked on to Almodóvar. Every film I see of his turns out to be beyond anything I could have imagined. Complicated narratives that seamlessly mix melodrama and humour (in most cases), memorable characters and vibrant look have made him quite a favourite of mine, in spite of having watched only five of his films.

Favourite films- Talk to Her, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Skin I Live In.

10.

Alfred Hitchcock

The master of suspense himself. It is not only the terror and the thrill of his films that is so engaging, but also the exploration of the human psyche that he did better than anyone before or after him. His storyboard precision and complete domination over his work is more than inspiring.  His films can be darkly funny, romantic, tragic, horrific and exciting. The way he crafted his scenes has caused some of them to be imprinted in our minds forever, from a crop-cutter to the birds in a playground to an unbelievably passionate kiss to of course, a murder in a shower.

Favourite films- Psycho, Notorious, Rear Window

9.

Paul Thomas Anderson

I have seen five out of the six films that PTA has made and among them, I was indifferent towards one and hated another because of huge amphibians falling from the sky. Which leaves me with only three films and god, what mighty films they are in their own ways. He is prodigiously gifted in his craft. One of my favourite things about his films is how they have a momentum to them- they keep building up and they have the power to just leave you rapt. Added to that characters that have never been more broken, excellent single-takes, gorgeous cinematography and scores. Also, the existence of Boogie Nights never fails to baffle me- how did he do it?

Favourite films- Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Punch-Drunk Love

8.

Billy Wilder

He possibly has the greatest range as a director that I have ever seen. I refused to believe that the man who made Some Like It Hot also made Double Indemnity. Same for The Apartment and Sunset Boulevard. His comedies and his noirs are equally fantastic and his characters unforgettable.

Favourite films- The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot

7.

Wes Anderson

It really speaks to me when a director puts effort into making his film completely his own, so much so that even a single shot of his movies can make the viewer figure out that it is that specific director's movie. Basically, auteurs are the shizz and Anderson is one such singularity in today's world of cinema. His use of colours and music, with efficient yet troubled characters in the centre of it all is a joy to watch, even though his films usually have a dark undercurrent to them. The Bill Murray presence is also appreciated.

Favourite films- Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox

6.

Edgar Wright

Now Wright has made only three films, but all of them are so full of awesomeness that I happen to love the shit out of him! He has a sort of Midas-like touch with which he takes over-used genres like zombie movie or buddy-cop movie or a video-game/graphic-novel inspired movie, and turns them into hilarious, smart, heroic tales about love and friendship and a girl with hair like this. 

Favorite films- Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Hot Fuzz (and The World's End 'cuz duh)

5.

Stanley Kubrick

Like in the case of Wes Anderson, a Kubrick film is always distinctly-Kubrick. The camera angles, settings, music, movie adaptations of questionable books, sometimes nudity are what makes them so Kubrick. But the reason why he gets a higher ranking is, well, balls. I think his films are ballsy and bold and he is completely unafraid to show futility of war or glorification of violence or a sci-fi adventure that shows human evolution or a dream-like odyssey of self-discovery and so on. There is nothing I love more than ambition, and all his films were extremely, ballsily, ambitious, which is magnificent.

Favourite films- A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 2001: A Space Odyssey

4.

Sofia Coppola

Yes I do realise that this list has a dearth of female directors, but if its any consolation, I happen to be in love with one. Ever since I saw The Virgin Suicides, Coppola's way of story-telling has enticed me. Her films are very feminine, with usually a beautiful and lonely girl at the centre. Still, it's not just flowers and clothes with her films, even though something like Marie Antoinette can make you believe that. Her later films all tackle with growing up around wealth and fame, and how lonely it makes a person. The atmosphere and lighting in her films, with a soft, lovely scores accompanying them, make her films uniquely dreamy and romantic.

Favourite films- Marie Antoinette, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation

3.

David Fincher

The thing I love about Fincher is that he makes good, clean, practically perfect movies. While many of the other directors in this list are chosen for their particular quirks and trademarks, which Fincher has as well, he is here because of how well made his films are. Notorious for his incessant takes to get the perfect shot, it is evident from the end products why he does so. Probably because of his music video-director roots, Fincher's film are impeccably paced and his dark and gritty thrillers are a lot of fun to watch with their special brand of uncomfortably dry wit so (see: the Enya song in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when a man is about to be raped and killed).

Favourite films- Fight Club, The Social Network, Se7en

2.

Quentin Tarantino

I am tempted to write "BECAUSE HE IS AWESOME!!!!" and be done with it, but we all know it is more than just that. Tarantino lives and breathes films, and he uses this love for them to make an amalgam of the many, many, many things he has watched and give us his movies. His movies are gorgeously violent and incredibly funny, with some doomed romances on the side. His characters talk like no other, fight like no other and definitely dance like nothing I have ever seen before. The man even has his own filmography planned, which even though sounds nothing short of apocalyptic for us QT-worshippers, is infinitely cool because he is just that interested in movies, including those he makes himself.

Favourite films- Kill Bill Vol. 1, Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds

1.

Woody Allen

While Hugo in many ways helped me get my film-loving back on track, it was Woody's The Purple Rose of Cairo that made me first realise how much I loved and lived cinema. I owe whatever life I am going to have to this man. And it's not just because of Cairo, but almost every film that I have seen of his. Woody Allen's movies have a knack of curing me of whatever mood is ailing me at a point of time and making me feel calm and happy because I have watched something I loved, and also incredibly wistful because I could never make anything like that. Woody does dramedies better than anyone else, which my favourite genre. His films can be deadly funny and still have a lot of poignancy in them. I laugh, I cry, I feel inspired by all the cultural aspects of his films, and even frightened by the bleakness in his dramas. 

Woody makes his films because he makes his films, and there is no other reason to it. He tells a story and moves on to the next, and though that makes it harder to catch-up, it is something magical when I stumble upon a Woody film that I know I will love forever (which thankfully happens often enough). 

His muses are as legendary as they are beautiful and his love for New York is contagious, even though I have never been there myself. The use of music, of arts and culture, lately the beauty of European cities are some of the things that make his movies so special. In the end though, it is all about the stories and relationships that he can show so masterfully.

Favoruite films- The Purple Rose of Cairo, Interiors, Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen is my film god and my greatest wish is to meet him once and to thank him (and then break down crying etc.).