Finding love in 15 days...

Quick beautiful relationships happen only in the movies. The Holiday was depressing, in a really nice way.

Two women who are in a sad place in their respective lives swap places for a couple of weeks, and end up finding lurrve. I started watching the movie because it had Jude Law and Kate Winslet. If i were gay, Jude Law is someone i'd lust after. And you cannot not like Kate Winslet if you'd seen 'Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind'.

I liked the idea. Swapping homes with a random stranger from a random geography in an attempt to deal with misery. Loved the openness with which Cameron Diaz and Jude Law go about their relationship. Bizzarely enough, they start out by having sex. Diaz floats the idea with these lines to a drunk Jude - "You know Graham, I just broke up with someone and considering you just showed up and you're insanely good-looking and probably won't remember me anyway... I'm thinking we should have sex... If you want"...A friend once told me a theory she read somewhere. If two people start sleeping with each other, after a point an emotional connect is inevitable, though there might've been none to start with. Much like how things usually work the other way round, minus the anxiety and the awkward moments. Animals are probably much smarter than we think. When a Barking deer fancies another Barking deer, i guess it probably doesn't start with a 'Hey i know a beautiful slope there that has really good grass, do you want to come along and graze there?'. Humans have complicated things beyond repair.

Loved the sensitivity with which they dealt with the Kate Winslet - Jack Black segment. But my favourite was the 'Kate - 90 yr old screen writer' equation. Very nicely done. But i wish they didn't make Jude's daughters 5 spoonfulls of sugar sweet.

The movie ends on a happy note with everybody dancing to a happy song on New years' eve. All that is nice, but I can't seem to take happiness at face value. Don't we all manage to find unhappiness in our own unique way?. Now, that sounds terrible. I need to get out and shop for positive vibes. Mountains shall be climbed and seas shall be swum in. Literally, i mean, those were'nt corny metaphors. When you are a few hundred metres inside the sea, floating on your back, being tossed around by the waves, with a view of the evening sky and the Thiruvanmiyur skyline (which is a bunch of old yellow flats), the world does seem perfect. Until a plastic cover that has lost it's way brushes against you, and you think it is a great white shark, lose your balance, and take in a mouthful of sea water...

Also, i learnt a new word from the movie. Gumption - Fortitude and determination; Sound practical judgement. I like the sound the word makes. Gumption...

Taare Zameen Par..

I wish Aamir's entry had been less dramatic. And it reminded me of Robin William's entry into the cancer ward in 'Patch Adams'. Calvin's 'Spaceman spiff' avatar must've influenced Ishan's '9 X 3' solution (am glad that scene was there though). And the movie should've probably ended at the point where Ishaan leaves the hostel early on the day of the contest, to take in the scene for his painting, Aamir's voice in the background. Leaving loose ends gives things a beauty mundane completeness doesn't. It is good when movies, like life, end with us wanting more of it. But we did love to see Ishaan win the contest. We did love the look on the kid's face and the lump on our throats when he sees that Aamir has drawn a portrait of him. Who are we kidding! I am glad the movie did not end earlier than it actually did. We want to see it all. We are incorrigible. It was a beautiful movie. Loved it.

Of Doing the right things...

Eddie Willers, in 'Atlas Shrugged' would've been asked as a kid, what he wants to do when he grows up. And he says "To do the right thing". That, for me, was one of the most telling statements of the book. He is not in the same league as John Galt or Francisco De Anconio. But he gives his best shot and leads an honest life and always, always does the right thing.

Saw 'Evano oruvan' a couple of days back. Loved it for it's intent. 'Evano Oruvan's' Sridhar Vasudevan reminded me of Eddie Willers for some reason (there are no striking similarities, just that i thought 'Sridhar Vasudevan' lived by that 'Eddie Willers' statement). He is not a hot shot super competent genius. A regular bank employee leading a run-of-the-mill life. But, with unshakeable integrity. Someone who keeps the rights right and the wrongs wrong and does not compromise just because that is the more convenient thing to do. He is pushed to a wall. He snaps, breaks free, and goes berserk. The movie had some profound moments. The scenes with the street-dweller/artist, the Madhavan monologue in the middle of the night, the police-officer's monologue at the end, to name a few. The police-officer's monologue, in particular, was quite hard hitting.

I wish Madhavan had revisited and modified some of the dialogues he penned. While some of them were good, some of them were quite cliched. But a theme like this, i'll gladly ignore all the flaws and lap up the movie.

I am not naive enough to think that movies are going to transform a society. Most people prefer being pragmatic to being honest and right. Parents want to get to the Gods quicker. They bribe the priest. The kids are watching. A generation of kids is infected. A bunch of freshers join a company. They see the seniors busily filling out fake 'Rent receipts' and fake 'Medical bills'. A generation of tax payers is infected. You can make umpteen 'Anniyans' (which is a lousy movie by the way, stay away) or 'Evano Oruvans', nothing will change. Our folks are not that stupid or that impressionable. Nevertheless i am glad 'Evano Oruvan' was made....

Parallell realities...

When someone spells out the same thoughts that you thought, it has an endearing effect. I've never felt the need to

sympathise with autistic kids or mentally underdeveloped people. They do not belong to the realm that we perceive as

real, normal and fully functional. They have their own realities. But then, we do not belong there. So we're even. At times, i even

envy them (but quickly reason out thinking their worlds would have problems too). Anu (Shabana Azmi) in a scene in '15 Park

avenue' questions our right to try and get these people back to our perceived reality. Meethi's (Konkona Sen) psychiatrist offers

a logical explanation for that, but logic is never convincing enough on such issues. That scene struck a chord, and after that i got into a state

where i could find nothing wrong with the movie (rightly, or not rightly, so). It was an intriguing movie...some strings were let loose, and

the incompleteness added to the beauty...well, it wasnt incomplete in the real sense...one person gets a closure and the rest begin

their search for something that doesnt exist...

quite a few in the theatre were laughing out for the wrong scenes...i cudnt relate to that...they wouldnt relate to my perception of the

movie...not that it matters...nor wat i think about them matters...parallell realities...subjective....

Moovees

A list of movies that i thoroughly enjoyed, or atleast remember having enjoyed...
i keep updating this list whenever i see a good movie or whenever the names of amazing movies
seen in the past pop up in my mind...

1. Scent of a woman (Al Pacino, Chris O Donell)
2. As good as it gets (Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt)
3. Six degrees of separation (Will Smith)
4. Remains of the day (Anthony Hopkins)
5. Dead poets' society (Robin Williams)
6. Gia (Angelina Jolie)
7. Before sunrise (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
8. Reality bites (Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder)
9. Girl interrupted (Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie)
10. Gattacca (Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman)
11.Legends of the fall (Anthony hopkins, Bradd Pitt, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormand)
12. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (Jim Carey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst)
13. The truman show (Jim Carey)
14. Little women (Susan sarandon, Winona ryder)
15. Ghost world.
16. When harry met sally (Meg ryan, Billy crystal)
17. Vanilla sky (Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Camerone diaz, Curt Russel)
18. Chocolat (Johnny Depp)
19. Life is beautiful (Roberto Benigni)
20. Indecent proposal (Demi Moore)
21. At first sight (Val Kilmer)
22. Life of David Gail. (Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet)
23. Pay it forward. (Kevin Spacey, Helen hunt)
24. The Shawshunk redemption. (Morgan Freeman)
25.. The negotiator. (Kevin Spacey, Samuel Jackson)
26. A few good men. (Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon)
27. Top gun. (Tom Cruise, ValKilmer)
28. Enemy at the gates (Jude Law, Ed Harris, Rachel Weisz)
29. The perfect storm. (George Clooney)
30. This boy's Life (Leonardo Decaprio - as a kid).
31. Meet Joe Black (Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt).
32. Fools rush in (Mathew Perry, Salma Hayek)
33. Vertical limit. (Chris O Donell) (set in K2, one of the most notorious mountains in the world)
34. Blue crush. (an amazing surf video at the least!)
35. Cocktail (Tom Cruise)
36. Troy (Brad Pitt)
37. The Lion King.
38. Bug's life.
39. One fine day (George clooney, Michelle pfeiffer)
40. Bend it like Beckham.
41. Jerry Mcguire (Tom Cruise, Renee Zelweger, Cuba Gooding Jr)
42. Notting hill (Hu Grant, Julia Roberts)
43. The Last Castle (James Gondolfini, Robert Redford)
44. Sweet home Alabama (Reese Witherspoon).
45. The castaway (Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt).
46. E.T (Drew Barrymore - as kid).
47. Chicago (Richard Gere, Renee Zelwegar, Catherene Zeta Jones)
48. Mystic river (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon).
49. Breaking up (Russell Crowe, Salma Hayek)
50. The cider house rules (Toby Mcguire)
51. Joan of Arc
52. Music from another room (Jude Law, Gretchen Mol)
53. Talented Mr.Ripley (Matt Daemon)
54. Philadelphia (Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington)
55. Proof of life (Russel Crowe, Meg Ryan)
56. Anna and the King (Chow Yun Fat, Jodie Foster)
57. Rainman (Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman)
58. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
59. Avalon (Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins)
60. Before Sunset (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
61. Gone with the wind. (Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh)
62. Under the Tuscan Sun (Diane Lane)
63. Life stinks

Art and Anguish:

Saw 'Salangai oli' today. I've seen it once as a kid, did'nt find it interesting then cos it did not have any action sequences! I kept saying it was a great movie back then just so that i was not left out.

Seeing it as a grown up was ofcourse an altogether different experience. It traces the life of an extremely gifted and passionate dancer-Balakrishnan(played brilliantly by 'Kamal Hasan'), who dreams of learning all indian dance forms and evolve a collaborativedance form. It is a story of unfulfilled love, shattered dreams, lofty ambitions broughtdown to earth and drowned in alcohol. It ends with Bala getting some solace. He passes on his art-baton to the daughter of the love of his life and seeks his redemption. Jayapradha as 'Madhavi', the love of 'Bala's' life and his redeemer, looked ethereal, and acted amazingly well.While there were certain aspects of the movie i could not relate to, it had me totally involved.

Now, in a movie with a similar setting, if Bala had achieved whatever he set out to achieve in Dance, and also found Madhavi's love, the movie would'nt have been half as moving, and no one would be talking about it 22 years after its release.

Anguish, pain, sadness and suffering offer themselves to art in a way happiness and fulfilment can never dream of. They are simply much more potent realms of expression. A happy story about simple simon cannot create the kindof impact that a 'Of human bondage' or a 'Golden gate' would. A painter born in a rich aristocratic family cannot generate the kindof curiosity and interest that a penniless painter, who painted a self-portrait with a ear cut off(Vincent Van Gogh), can.

I've tried to remain a happiness-seeking optimist most of my life (re-forged at some points, thanks to influences from 'Atlas shrugged', 'Fountain head' and 'We, the living'), but, to be honest, grief is a much stronger and more persistent emotion than happiness-which is sporadic and almost always fleeting. If you aggree with this, then this is probably why art-expressions tempered with anguish seep in more easily and impact people in a very telling way. I dont say that this is universal, but i guess this would apply to a sizeable populace.