Lunana : A Yak in the Classroom
Directed by : Pawo Choyning Dorji
Like water in a vase, the heart is clear.
So clear that infinite beauty is reflected in its depth.
Ugyen Dorji (Sherab Dorji) has a 5 year contract with the school where he works as a teacher in capital of Bhutan. He aspires to be a singer and is eager to get his visa for Australia. In his final year of contract, owing to his past teaching behavior, the principal assigns him job at a very remote place of the world, Lunana. Its a place that even requires a 8 day trek to reach and is at a very high altitude covered by Himalayas. Ugyen is told he can return before the winter hits. He reaches there only to find its a place with a population of 56, a dirty looking classroom, no blackboard, no supplies to teach, no electricity, use of yak dung to start fire and a very average looking room to sleep in with a very dirty looking toilet.
Its basically a Minari meets Panchayat, the former's sweet simplicity and the latter's city guy suddenly has to compromise and adjust to the village setting. One of my most fav scene is when Ugyen reaches the village and immediately tells the head of the village Kencho (Sangay Lham) that there's no way he can stay and teach here. Kencho reacts with a disappointed look and yet instantly tells Ugyen he would arrange his return back to city. I mean the behavior of Kencho is so calm and polite when you have every right to show anger/shout or maybe even use bad words. Also, think of the timing as it happens when Kencho would had been happy and waiting for arrival of Ugyen and already building hopes of how the village may develop a bit and the kids will get some education. I like how we see slow development of Ugyen's love for this new environment and the people, it sure is predictable but still a joy to watch how he becomes willing to be part of them to an extent he wants to learn the song one lady often sings in there that has a history with the Yak.
The climax is tricky, because after the kind of change Ugyen has and the closeness he has with almost everyone in this small village, you feel maybe he shouldn't leave and change his decision by staying the winters but then the ending we get feels much more real because how would it be if Ugyen stayed back despite getting visa and not go to Australia for his singing career where he feels his passion lies. This way we get to see him being there, and the open end where we don't see the reaction of people who listens to his version of that song he learnt at Lunana, makes me believe chances are he will head back to Lunana because he rather would prefer to be among people who love him than to sing for people who can't seem to care to even listen to his song that he sang before it. Performances wise everyone are on same wavelength, equally enjoyable. For me, its a very sweet film that you don't just love but also have a smile on your face for most parts. I was really hoping it won the Oscars, anyways its definately my favourite foreign movie of the last year.
My Rating : 7.5/10
West Side Story
Directed by : Steven Spielberg
When love comes so strong, there is no right or wrong. Your love is your life.
Based on Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' (I haven't read it yet), story is about two gangs Jets lead by Riff (Mike Faist) and Sharks lead by Bernardo (David Alvarez). Tony (Ansel Elgort) who was a former leader of Jets is out on parole and falls in love at first sight with Bernardo's sister Maria (Rachel Zegler) when they meet at a high school dance. Funny how SRK's movies came to my mind while watching the opening two scenes, the one where we see the rivalry of Jets and Sharks introduced reminded of Josh, and the other where the high school dance place is set up reminded me of Mohabbatein. Okay enough of bollywood, the starting portion put me to sleep almost until Tony's first scene sets up the mood though I didn't like voice of Ansel Elgort in 'Something's Coming'. However, he worked very well in other tracks, specially loved 'Maria', other fav tracks for me were 'America', 'Tonight' and 'I Feel Pretty' which is masterly used at a moment when Maria is excited to meet Tony unaware of the murder of Bernardo. Ansel Elgort is a delight whenever his scenes comes, whether its with Jets or his attempts to stop Bernardo and the rumble, or the feeling he has having fallen in love with Maria. Rachel Zegler performance was nice, just the choices her character makes was tough to really like her.
The reason why the movie never touches or moves me is firstly I am not fond of these kind of musicals, and other is the time span of Tony and Maria love relation is just 2 days where they are already talking of 'forever love'. If thats how it was for Romeo and Juliet, then I fear this will be a story that will never click for me or atleast will require a screenplay that doesn't rush their romance. The scene where Tony comes to meet at window of Maria's home after death of Bernardo and she still wants to save him felt more silly rather than 'love' to me, again for the mentioned reasons above. Loved the performance of Mike Faist, a character that's not ready to listen to Tony, leading to dangerous death like situations. And then there's wonderful Ariana DeBose (playing Anita), who shines throughout the film, and I specially liked the way she displays the dilemna in the track 'I have a love' learning Maria loves Tony who killed her husband. There's some lovely moments expected in a Spielberg movie, but unlike others 'West Side Story' is just a watchable movie for me, never goes further than that.
My Rating : 5.5/10
No Time To Die
Directed by : Cary Joji Fukunaga
We all have our secrets. We just didn't get to yours yet.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) comes out of semi-retirement when his old friend from CIA, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) seeks help to rescue a kidnapped scientist. All roads eventually leads to the main villain behind all the new troubles, Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek). If you see this as a farewell Bond movie with a emotional finale to say goodbye to Daniel Craig then you won't be disappointed. For others, well there's lot that doesn't work here. You miss all the humor Bond films have (this comes from me who has only seen 2 Bond films before so I can imagine how much more this would be a factor for die-hard Bond fans). There are some lovely choreographed action sequences specially the opening Bond scene or for that matter the ice scene introduction of Lyutsifer is quite chilling one too. Ana de Armas (playing Paloma) is fantastic in a small cameo, oh I just kept wishing she will return with another scene.
The main issue comes with the romantic plot of Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) and James Bond, its the central plot and all the while it felt like hinderance to what this film rather would had been otherwise. There's way too much focus on them, that it gets tiring at times to sit through. Then there's Nomi (Lashana Lynch) who is the new 007, first black woman even if its just temporary, but there is simply no character development here making her serve no major purpose at all. Expectations with Rami Malek were high, but he disappoints too though writing more to blame here too, its probably the weakest villain I have seen among Spectre and Skyfall, even that finale of Malek's poison garden was meh for me. I have a feeling once I am done watching all the past Bond films, I may find 'No Time To Die' even more less likable than I did right now. Special mention to Billie's rendition of title track, I did like that a lot more than the past 2 films versions. Overall, 'No Time To Die' feels more like a film that tries to give a good ending to Daniel Craig's version of James Bond, but the path taken to reach there is full of mess.
My Rating : 5/10
Drive My Car
Directed by : Ryusuke Hamaguchi
If you really want to look at someone, then your only option is to look at yourself squarely and deeply.
Two years since the demise of his wife Oto Kafuku (Reika Kirishima), Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) who is a renowned stage actor and director gets an offer to direct a production of 'Uncle Vanya' at a theatre festival of Hiroshima. Yusuke is still dealing with regret and grief concerning his wife, as he had found she was cheating on him and then her sudden death on a day when he decides to return home late for no reason makes him feel he could had saved her. The rules of Hiroshima festival team suggests Yusuke can't drive on his own which he doesn't like since he has the habit of reciting the dialogues using Oto's cassettes (that are actually recorded in a perfection way noting exactly how much pause and pace Yusuke will take to say his part) while he drives car. So, Yusuke against his will is given a female driver Misaki Watari (Toko Miura) who would daily drive him from the given place to live and the theatre place to practice the play. Rest movie shows their bonding while we learn Misaki herself is dealing with her own trauma, and also how Yusuke while taking auditions for the play casts Koshi Takatsuki (Masaki Okada) who was the guy he saw Oto cheating with when he once came home unannounced.
The opening prologue or 1st act whatever you wanna call it lasts more than 35 mins before the film title comes on screen. I think last time I saw a film taking that long was Dev.D though you may argue that there we had Paro and Chanda chapters shown before Dev chapter brought the title. I like how they setup the mood of the film, even the cheating part of Oto is something you ain't sure you wanna blame her for it. Because on one hand, she and Yusuke have been through a lost daughter in past which made Oto leave acting and become a screenwriter. And other is that Oto has this strange talent where her best creative ideas come out while she is having sex or after it. For some this would be funny, but that's how it works for some creative people. Also, I kept wondering if you can feel regret for a person's death even if that person has wronged you or betrayed you.. or you just always end up ignoring what they did because they are just too dear to you.
I totally enjoyed the part of Yusuke-Misaki, its really well build up.. both have very minimal talks initially playing more like typical boss-driver scenario before situation by situation Yusuke starts giving her importance and the fact that she drives brilliantly makes Yusuke happy who can keep on with his routine dialogue practicing while Misaki drives without once asking him anything about this habit. A reason why bonding with Misaki holds more importance is how she would had been Yusuke's daughter age, the one that died. And Misaki herself later on reveals where she is from and how in a tragedy her mother died with whom she didn't really have a healthy relation. Yusuke and Misaki both hold off their personal emotions and its at the very end when they finally let it all out.
I had two major issues though with the movie, one was expectedly the pace, a 3 hour film with a slow pace almost snail level at times that is based on grief and loss, is never easy to sit through.. if its for you then chances are you will totally enjoy the film. Other issue I had was with the 'Uncle Vanya' play, how Yusuke goes through all the methods, wants his cast to do as told, in a way it was fun watching it but after a while it felt repetitive and a bit too detailed to be shown to my liking. Also, I found this part very less engaging in comparison to the rest of the plots the film covers. I did though enjoy the dining scene when Yusuke learns how one of festival organizer had got his wife a part in the audition without letting him know about it. I also liked how the play involved many languages together, making it more complex. Also, special mention to that school girl story narrated by Oto which is where movies begins at, and very late in the final act, Koshi completes (or almost does) the next part of that story, felt very good one to me.
Even though I am rating 'Drive My Car' not highly, it was a very interesting film to watch, a reason why I ended up writing a bit too much. Give it a try if possible.
My Rating : 6.5/10
The Worst Person in the World
Directed by : Joachim Trier
I feel like a spectator in my own life. Like I am playing a supporting role in my own life.
Based in Oslo, we see the life of Julie (Renate Reinsve) as she is nearing 30s and isn't sure about what she wants. She has changed her profession numerous times and her love life with Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) isn't going smooth either. Just a life where you question yourself as if you are 'The Worst Person in the World'. The story is presented through a prologue, 12 chapters and an epilogue.
The basic premise is so good that I was expecting to thoroughly love this movie, but the opposite happened and the reason is the main lead Julie with whom I could never connect. Her choices or attitude often felt irritating to me to an extent that I stopped caring where she is heading next. Even the most loved scene by everyone, the freeze frame one where the world comes to standstill while Julie runs off to the barista to announce her love to Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) didn't invoke any 'wow' feelings for me. That mushroom hallucination scene I rather felt was very stupid. The best highlight for me was the first meet scene of Julie and Eivind where they both try not to make love and as a result do all sort of things that comes close to cheating, though this scene gets little ruined too by some gross things they end up doing. The prologue was fun to watch too as we get to see how much Julie struggles to stay with one lifestyle, wanting to be a doctor and then a psychologist, then a photographer and finally working at bookstore. Performance wise, I liked Anders Dnaielsen Lie, minus that media scene where he defends his point of view.
Overall, I can easily say that 'The Worst Person in the World' just wasn't my cuppa of tea.
My Rating : 3/10
CODA
Directed by : Sian Heder
The song you sang tonight. What was it about?
It was about... what it is to need another person.
CODA denoting Child of Deaf Adults, a story about Rossi family where Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is the only hearing person in her deaf family. Her father Frank Rossi (Troy Kotsur) and brother Leo Rossi (Daniel Durant) are involved in a fishing job where Ruby helps before going to her class being a high school teenager. Ruby also helps often as the interpreter whenever the family needs her. A new passion for singing develops at a time when her family's new fishing business gets into trouble.
Hasn't happened before atleast in past 8 years since I began watching Oscars when my personal favorite movie of the year matched with Oscars. CODA is a movie that makes you happy and also very emotional because its got its heart at right place. Despite the predictability the plot holds, it never loses your attention for a moment due to masterful direction, writing and the performances of entire cast specially Troy Kotsur and Emilia Jones who very much steal the show. The only low or less interesting part of the film for me was the Ruby and the guy she has a crush on scenes which also worked whenever they were singing. Another flaw you can call is how quickly the conflicts get resolved, but again if you are enjoying the film like I did then this won't really matter.
Two standout scenes for me were, both involving Frank Rossi, one where he is in the audience listening to (ofcourse he can't listen) her daughter singing and to understand if she is singing well or not, he looks around other people sitting there to check their reactions, its a nervous look he has hoping he sees positive response. What makes it work even more is how the scene is shown fully from his point of view as a result we get pindrop silence with no sound in background. And then later same night, he asks her to sing for him again and this time he touches her vocal chord to feel her singing and the proud father feeling he gets knowing its the best he can come to understand his daughter's singing talent. There's another fun and an awkward scene where Ruby's mother Jackie Rossi (Marlee Matlin) honestly admits that when Ruby was born she was hoping she would be deaf and learning she can hear made her heart sank fearing how she would adjust in the family now. Its tough to say how to react to it.
Was also fun watching a hyper Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez) who had various weird methods to get the best singing out, and I am not sure if anyone else felt it too but he many times reminded me of Robert Downey. Overall, Coda is a very sweet and beautiful movie, with good dosage of comedy and drama, music wise its decent for the songs used, performances are terrific and I enjoyed watching the sign-language making you fall in love with this community, wanting you to root for them in tough circumstances and also not have Ruby get burdened out with the family pressure. In the end, it very much ticks all the right boxes, and there's a possibility at places you may cry too, I ofcourse didn't.
My Rating : 8/10
Spider-Man : No Way Home
Directed by : Jon Watts
The entire world's about to forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
Everyone now knows Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is the Spiderman and the people thanks to Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal from last film) think Peter is actually a bad guy (seriously, people always struggle to differentiate good from bad). Peter isn't happy how this starts effecting his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) and Aunt May Parker (Marisa Tomei). So he decides to make a visit to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who helps him with a spell that will make everyone forget who Spiderman is, but the spell goes awfully wrong resulting in a multiverse chaos bringing people from old Spiderman franchises into the world of Tom Holland's Spiderman.
Probably the only film I have seen since the pandemic that I regret not having seen in the theatres. Because there are numerous occasions the theatre would had whistled or clapped or laughed at simple brilliance of way multiverse is captured and the nostalgia it brings from the past Spiderman movies connecting them to Tom Holland's universe. Also, that means if you haven't seen all 3 films of Tobey Maguire's Spiderman or both films of Andrew Garfield's Spiderman then you are most likely just wasting your time watching this film and will end up giving a wrong opinion over how good/bad film is.
We get a Doctor Strange vs Spiderman (Tom Holland) fight where Mirror Dimension isn't enough for Doctor Strange to win. There's arrival of Dr Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina, villain of 2nd film in Tobey's universe) and Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe, villain of 1st film in Tobey's universe), both getting enough screen-time, though clearly Willem Dafoe with his menacing laugh and evil Goblin side stealing the show here, specially the scene where he kills Aunt May. Also, good to see many other villains like The Lizard (Rhys Ilfans, from 1st film of Andrew's universe), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church, from 3rd film of Tobey's universe) and Electro (Jamie Foxx, from 2nd film of Andrew's universe), though personally they all were my least liked villains in those films. Many other fun moments include the interactions of all 3 Peters making the final 40 so mins really amazing, there's too much of it to list down, both Tobey and Andrew not understanding what Avengers is when Holland talks about is was definately a loud laugh out moment.
I liked the plot of 'trying to fix villains' with that wonderful line by The Lizard about how fixing people results in consequences. Talking of what didn't work for me would be, first 20 mins felt too long and boring (though thats more of me wanting entertainment knowing what's coming soon). The use of that famous dialogue 'With great power' I feel could had been done without, and also at many places I felt Garfield's character was used manipulatively to get more emotions out specially when he makes that face after saving MJ trying to show how he couldn't save his own MJ in his universe. I did love though how they re-created the same sequence resulting in different outcome though for a moment I did feel scared. I think the main complaint I would have is I felt MJ and Ned got sidelined in the 2nd act a lot, though again when you are bringing so many characters from previous universes, that is bound to happen.
The fight sequences are choreographed beautifully and on emotional level too the film works really well. There's the dark rage building inside Peter Parker (Tom Holland) who is for first time experiencing someone close dying due to him, like Peter (Tobey Maguire) did with his Uncle's death or Peter (Andrew Garfield) did with his MJ's death. Also, I like the equation of Doctor Strange-Peter, it may not be anywhere close to what Ironman was to him, still lovely emotion at the final scene when he feels for Peter knowing new spell would erase memories of Peter Parker from every person who mattered to him. And then that final heartbreaking scene! I don't want this franchise of Spiderman to end on that note so I do hope there's more films to come and everyone again remembers Peter, especially MJ and Ned.
The end credit scene of Venom was good one, specially showing that symbiote left behind means it might effect someone and also gives hope for another Holland spiderman movie.
Overall, Spiderman No Way Home works very well, it may not be perfect like Avengers EndGame was.. but its good enough connecting all Spiderman movies very well and ofcourse the nostalgia is something that it really thrives on.
My Rating : 7.5/10
