Whims published... It's not an expert's opinion, It's not an online diary, It's not a web journal... It is just my whims published

Pacha (Bolivian)

Found this as pointless meandering. Could not connect to what ever happened on screen, so much so that, I walked out of it!

Firingoti (Assamese)

T..o....o.... S...l...o.......w... A film critic once said, he felt his finger nails growing while watching a Hindi movie. I understood what he meant after watching this one.

Rust and Bone (French)

An out and out commercial movie. Delete those passionate love making scenes and add some songs generously, this could well be our own Bollywood movie. Loved the sleekness in entirety.

Noor (Pakistani)

The real Khusru who played the lead role Noor was deadpan. Nor the other actors seemed professional. The script seemed flawed and left me wondering what made the jury pick this one for the film fest.

Monsieur Lazhar (French)

Some movies have the warmth. This is one such movie. An illegal immigrant manages to get a job in a primary school in Montreal as a replacement to a teacher who would have committed suicide in the very classroom she teaches. The movie is about how the children cope up with the shocking death of their favourite teacher and how the protagonist learns to be a teacher! Though I felt the climax lacked the intended impact, as I said, it surely left me feeling warm. And I must mention, Mohamed Fellag who plays Lazhar is an awesome actor. Loved every bit of his acting in the movie.

Kauwboy (Dutch)

A toddler rescues a baby crow from the nearby tree and rears it in his home against his father’s wishes. The story is about how the baby crow plays a role in balancing the emotional equation between the father and the son. The actor who played the small boy is so natural, in places, it feels like the camera just followed the boy candidly everywhere he went. Pretty slow in pace, but the kid made me sit through till the end.

The Clown (Brazilian)

This was the last movie to be screened in the fest. And it was an awesome ending for the fest!

It is about the father son duo who run a mobile circus tent in Brazil, who also are the clowns in their shows. The nearly broke company and the monotony of the shows makes the son quit his father’s company and he starts searching for a new job which gives him a stable life, a Govt proof ID and social security number. But, after getting the ‘breath of fresh air’ in his new life, realizes it was natural for him to be a clown. ‘As cat drinks milk, rat eats cheese, he had to be a clown’. In his short stint outside his travelling circus company, he realizes there is no other better job than to bring smiles on the faces of the people. 

     We are shown in many of the shows the father and the son perform, the kids enjoy their shows the most [I believe those were candid shots]. The humour in the movie treats its audience also as kids – I did not mean it insults your sense of humour, it just teaches us to laugh like kids to some silly but genuine humour. 

Along with Monsieur Lazhar, this also is an official entry from their respective countries for the Best Foreign Film category in the 85th Oscars. I am not sure, how good are the other entrants, but my heart goes for The Clown.