300: The Review

Y' know, unlike many of my peers I wasn't as pissed at the movie adaptation of 300 as I was genuinely amused by the slaughter of history, stretching the fantasy element, larding up the "Good versus Evil" visual aspect and dishonoring the unwritten Graphic-Novel code. (If there was anything annoying, it was the army of Pretty Young Things in the theater me going "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" whenever a Calvin-Klein underwear model jumps nine feet into the air and chops up a stupid Sand N*gger. "So gripping and emotional!", I heard one choke. It's true that the Battle of Thermopylae is one of the most inspiring stories of human steadfastness..... but can't they see the oodles of psy-ops of the movie?! Even making allowances for the "entertaining" aspect that movies are supposed to deliver, the extra-spicy masala and the pompous psy-ops in it leaves such a bad taste in one's mouth. If the viewer knew World History 101 and can ID right-wing Hollywood propaganda, I feel nobody would cheer for these so-called "last hope of free men fighting the barbarian East".
Sighhhhh, that's the new Mall-Rat DCH generation for you. Anyway ................

I had read Frank Miller's original Graphic Novel about a year ago and was pretty impressed by the colors and the truly rousing dialogs. The artistic liberties Miller had taken, the subliminal messaging and the implicit (and sometimes in-your-face) racism did not deter me from enjoying the experience...... after all he was the one who changed the campy Adam West-esque Batman into the dark, brooding Knight so excellently portrayed by Michael Keaton and Christian Bale. And he did that even before the God of Pop-Art, Alan Moore, brought out the excellent "Killing Joke". He was the one that brought back the Film Noir genre with his Sin City nearly two decades after Roman Polanski's Chinatown ended that genre with a bang. He maybe excused for a bit of pride in his Anglo-Saxon heritage (which has effectively claimed Green and Roman culture as their own.... now that the real Greeks and Romans have fallen so low in the pecking order). Well, to be fair he himself had said that he was influenced by the Cold war propaganda film "The 300 Spartans".
Anyway, my beef with the movie is the jarring discordance whenever extraneous scenes and dialogs are woven into Miller's core work. Lemme try to explain the discordance...... it's something like remixing Rufus Wainwright's emotional "Hallelujah" to Baba Sehgal's inhuman, grotesque, fly-honey flashing "Tora Tora". On such a dark daaaark note, let me begin my rather haphazard rant-review of the movie (and the the graphic novel). Oh, and as usual..... SPOILERS FOLLOW!


Before the battle:

The militaristic, eugenics-high, macho spirit of Sparta is established right from the beginning itself...... Mommy dearest and an old Doc inspects a baby for any deformities. If the baby had any deformity, the voice over illuminates us viewers, he would be thrown down a cliff where the bleached skulls of the less-than-perfect infants grin in eternity. The coming of age scenes would have given Herr GeneralFeldsMarschall of the Nazi Youth an instant hard-on...... and it can't get any farther from the actual initiations of Spartans! As Nathan Lee noted in his hilarious, punishing review of 300, the rest of the movie has a Copper/Wheat Brown hue. Maybe Director Zack Snyder watched the "Elysium" scene from Gladiator one too many times.... there's even the cute kid running through the wheat fields at the end. The approaching danger is well conveyed and the on-screen adaptation of this 1st part of the five part novel is quite okay. Things go totally Kaput when Queen Gorgo (played by a Lena Headey who apparently has a three foot pole stuck up her a$$) and Theron, the stock traitor-politician (played by Dom West) is pounded into the original storyline with the finesse of a pile-driver. I understand Ms. Heady was trying to do the "noble, spirited queen" routine but she hams it to the high heavens...... with her head always tilted 23.5 degrees up! You want "I'll kick-your-Candy Ass" attitude, nobility and class oozing out of every pore, Ms. Heady? Try Angelina Jolie from Alexander, try Cate Blanchett from Elizabeth, try the great Irene Papas from The Message! Coupled with her tussles and "compromise" (for her husband onlee!) with the sleazy councilor Theron (who shall be here forth called Ummeron for he's the best on-screen weasel sleazebag since the legendary K.P. Ummer lustily drooled so; "Sharade, njaan oru Vikaara Jeeviyanu...."), the respectable Graphic Novel is turned into one of Kanti Shah's flicks. All that was missing was King Leonidas's sister (Meghna Naidu in a yellow churidar) raped and killed by Ummeron in the Bazaar in broad daylight.
Another gross misrepresentation is the institution of the Ephors..... a governing council that was more than chummy with the King (except this one time when the King himself apparently betrayed Sparta) The movie as well as the novel portray them to be inbred, corrupt and lecherous lepers who select the winner of the Annual Miami Beach Wet T-Shirt Contest as their "seer". So far it was Ladies Night with all those hunks in speedos and thongs and a nude shot of Gerard Mian himself, now the male audience is given their pound of flesh. Dudes can get an ishmaall show of a transparent negligee clad Miss. Dakini, probably Ms. Mandakini's (yeah, she of Ram Teri Ganga Maili fame) long lost daughter, going into a trance under the influence of some really potent Pakistani Opium.

I feel the Queen's character was expanded to beef up the "fair, democratic, liberated West" image as against the chauvinistic Asian envoy who is angered when a woman speaks directly to him. Oh wait, the messenger is a big, bad, black Afro Bro' from the Krips Gang chapter of Babylon........ not a Semitic as shown in the novel. Oh don't worry.... Emperor Xerxes, nee Badshah Kshehyarshah (who in all probability was a typical Irani dude), is not an eight foot tall Black monster as portrayed in the book. Thank God for small favors. He's a very "confused" eight foot tall dandy Latino homeboy (who shivers in orgasmic ecstasy as he touches the Hero), who's got more gold on (and in) his body than seven Mallu brides. And check this out.... he meets the Greek's Spandex Speedo challenge with a ridiculous golden thong! Well here's a fr1ggin new tagline for you; "They were 300 black Speedos against one golden Thong".
And our new Ummeron character? It helps to add in an element that tips the odds against the doomed protagonist..... it kinda magnifies the sacrifice and hence increases the "Heroic Halo". Given the subliminal messaging against Iran (and Iraq) in the current contest, this may also be to flip the bird to the fringe Pacifists/Anti-War folks and win over the anglophone audiences. The traitor is conveniently dispatched off and the treachery is discovered..... the supposedly crafty councilor kept Persian gold coins hidden (where in his Speedo he kept them beats me) when he came to the council. But he didn't die in vain my viewers...... he died after porking the noble Queen the night before. Yes, the noble Yavania Nari sacrificed her honor in vain to save her husband the hero and make him look more tragic.....
{PS: In the original novel she says just a few lines, including one of the best lines ever (which have been preserved through history). Check it out....

Leonidas sets out to meet the enemy....
Gorgo: "SPARTAN!"
Leonidas: "Yes, my Lady?"
Gorgo: "Come back with your shield or on it."

In the movie, she gives him the "Heart of the Ocean"...... oh wait, that was in Titanic! She gives him something eerily like the "Nail of a Tiger" (Pulinakaham), prolly borrowed from Sathyan's Thacholi Otheynan costume and dramatically looks away as her hunk king swaggers into the sunset. :D }

In contrast to Ummeron and the "Fairy" Xerxes is the noble martyr, King Leonidas of Sparta, ably played by Gerard Butler, an undeniably talented actor. Usually known for his well etched roles in movies like the breathtaking "Beowulf and Grendel", Butler sheds all his cerebral image as well as most of his clothes, dons a crimson cape and becomes a powerful and imposing warrior. He delivers his lines pretty good, carries himself well and apparently has packed a few pounds of muscle for the role...... all's well except for the part where he shouts out "Spartans, tonight we dine in hell" at the climax. Nothing wrong as such, it's just that he sounded like a drunk Scottish fisherman then. Overall I must say he did much, much better than that pretender Colin Ferell's sounding like an Irish bartender in Stone's Alexander.
Some of the best lines in the graphic novel are the thoughts of Leonidas. The stoic and laconic nature of Sparta is fleshed out in the King's astute observations.... The grim realization of the impossible situation he is in, the fate he's leading his loyal men into, his self-composure and farsightedness even when the rest of his band lose their head and of course his final thoughts are presented as a voice-over. This takes a little shine off the Hero..... was avoidable IMO. They could have done it like Kevin Spacey's touching voice over in American Beauty.
Another place where Gerard Butler falls into "filminess" is when he meets Xerxes for the first time. The original novel conveyed a sense of chilling dread and razor-sharp wariness from both sides..... but here the delivery is mocking. The original had Leonidas mocking Xerxes as well, but there was an edge to it..... here it's like Rajnikant threatening one of his hapless undermenschen foes. I wish it was dealt better.... something like the "Sicilian Scene" from True Romance which I feel is THE benchmark for a confrontation.

Rodrigo Santoro plays the cartoon character Znyder and Co turned Xerxes into. The novel (though mis-representing Xerxes) shows him as a dangerous opponent...... out here he's shown as a strutting peacock who whines like a 17 year old drama queen. He does not arouse fear, respect or awe...... first time I saw him on-screen I almost went "Hey, thats Big Gay Al"! Now Miller's Xerxes had a voice that is "As smooth as warm oil on well-worn leather --and as deep as rolling thunder". I must say they got THAT right in the movie..... I wonder if they had James Earl Jones do the dubbing for Xerxes. (Well, it's almost Darth Vader minus the heavy breathing!) . The deformity of Evil vis-a-vis the beauty of Good is a commonly used visual art M.O.... but normally graphic novels do not adopt this method. It's more grey rather than black and white, but then Miller as well as other writers like Garth Ennis are known for heroes high on absolutism. Still, they took it too far. Way too far.... AFAIK Iranis are mighty p1ssed. There was a Persian couple ( prolly students from People's Republic of JNU ) a few seats away who went through 2 hours of incessant abuse heaped on Persia with stoicism that would make Leonidas proud. I wish I knew what they were thinking.....

Other notables include David Wenham (Faramir from LOTR) who plays the stock "bard". He doesn't have the look of other psychopathic Spartans out to kill and die in a blaze.... it's a bit like Faramir who fights just because he has to. If Sanjay Gupta ever decides to be "inspired" by this movie, he would prolly cast the Bollywood icon of the honest young Indian, Madhavan in the role. He does the entire voice over..... and not a quite good one at that. There's the voice modulation and emoting through the voice aspect that Wenham doesn't quite get right. Pity.
Then there is Vince Regan who dons the sword and sandal to play yet another trusty 2nd in Command..... yeah, he played Achilles's Secong in Troy too. He can act, no doubt.... and he's given ample screen time too. The novel portrayed him as a grim drill sergeant who gets passing mention..... here he and his son are given more screen time.
The character Stelios is changed too..... in the novel he was a stumbling greenhorn who's potential is recognized by Leonidas himself. Here he's a more psycho version of Achilles seeking everlasting glory of a warrior's death. I wonder what Yossarian or Doc Daneeka would have to say to that.
(PS: The grim reality of death as against all that stock yarn of Valhalla, Veeraswarga, Jannat and whatever is best shown in the witch-burning scene in Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" and Gerard Butler's own "Beowulf and Grendel". In the latter, King Hrothgar (played by the great Stellan Skaarsgard) remarks "He is feasting with the Gods in Valhalla now" when he finds the body of a soldier killed by Grendel. Beowulf looks closely at the dead man's face, warped by horror and agony and asks "Does he look like a man who's going to a banquet"?)

The traitor Ephialtes can't be more demonised..... in antiquity he was not a disfigured Spartan, just another Mir Jaffar or Shah Waliullah. Even Miller who committed the original sin cast him as a character we could sympathize with. However, Snyder and Co. would have none of that! Just a miff from the King is enough to set the monster against his own people. Unlike the novel where Leonidas deliberately tries to talk this sad Spartan to death (which Ephiatles tries but unsuccessfully), the goody goody film King offers a menial job to the cripple but the oh-so-evil traitor immediately sets off to the enemy camp. Get a load of this..... he warns the King of severe repercussions too but the noble king decides to guard the secret path with amateur Greeks instead. Oh, I forgot to mention..... there were 27000 Greeks from other city states in the battle.Only 300 Spartans and 7000 Thespians made the last stand at Thermopylae.

Now........ someone please tell me WHO THE BLAZING F**K wrote in all that extra stuff? I sincerely hope he/she/they get trampled to death by fat Soccer Moms at a Walmart Shopping Stampede! It's like the ghost of Ed Wood teamed up with Bashir Babbar and Brad Armstrong to deliver some of the most corny scenes of film history. Alan Moore publicly distanced himself from the film adaptations of his "From Hell" and "LXG" when he saw how much these lesser souls mutilated his babies..... what the hell was Frank Miller thinking when he read the final script?


The Battle:

An awesome (honest!) CGI heavy battle follows....... grillions of Persians, human/semi human and beast, fall to the Greek spears. Copious amounts of blood and guts splatter in all directions.... Spears are shaken, shields are splintered, it is a red day and heads fly like Frisbees as the Persians get a PWNED seven ways to Severnaya. There is enough blood to send Dungeon Master Mel 'Mad Max' Gibson into instant rapture..... apparently even the war elephants brought from Africa slip off the precipice 'coz "The Persian dead are slippery". Miller and Snyder push the envelope with uvaachas like "... and even the birds were complaining though they feasted on thousands of rotting human corpses". Howzzat?
While Stone's Alexander had battle scenes sticking close to what really happened back then, 300 is a Sword-Kata/bullet time/Spear-Fu extravaganza that makes Ultraviolet look like As you Like It. Even here you can see the dudes doing the "flying spear-stab" that Achilles did in Troy..... talk about "inspiration"! The swords look like Scimitars pinched from the Rudolf Valentino Memorial Museum..... nothing like the Greek short-sword they used those days. The Greek Hoplite was an armored infantry man who fought with a 9m long spear called Doru and a thick shield. He had a helmet that covered most of his face and a breastplate that can take a lot of punishment. Our heroes however believe in traveling light..... all they have is a black Speedo (armored too by the looks of it), Superman's cape and the helmet ( 'coz it's kinda killer cool). Perhaps the oiled, rippling abs on lavish display can tiltilate or scare away the mighty Achaemenid empire.
I must say the battle scenes began by closely following the Phalanx M.O. The men close ranks, lock their shields and rest their spears through the gaps of the shield wall.... each man protecting the man to his left with his shield and using the spear (held in his right hand) to do the killing. The Persian shock troops ram against the steel wall, they apparently were trained at this by the DYFI (who has considerable experience in rushing at barricades and asking for a beating). The Greeks hold firm and push them back and when the enemy's formation is broken, the Greek front lines break ranks, envelop the enemy and start scything into the enemy. Well and good from military history's POV so far..... they keep the faith even when the Persian cavalry charges into them. Cavalry as well as War Elephants of those days had no chance against long spears UNLESS led by a very able General like Subotai, Khalid ibn Walid or Alp Arslan. The Spartan shields protect them from the showers of arrows released by whole battalions of Persian Archers. Now this was during the era preceding the Composite Bow/Double Recurved Bow which was used to deadly effect by the Parthian Archer Cavalry against Rome. Due to a multitude of reasons, the archers and artillery were not of any use in that bottleneck and Xerxes had to do it the long, hard way. Anyway, there's a cool scene where the Persian arrows blot out the sun. This treatment was promised by a Persian general well before the war to which Stelios cooly replied, "Then we shall fight in the shade."

{PS: Here's a bit of Gyaan about the Phalanx aided by Peltasts (skirmishers)...... this strategy had worked so well for 500 years and like the Trench Deadlock of WW1, the one with best armor, hordes of troops, ample maneuver room and coolest head won. Quite a problem it was in those times. Then a Roman General named Gaius Marius, uncle (by marriage into the family) of a boy named Gaius Julius Caesar, revolutionized the Roman Army. He invented the Pilum, a one-shot javelin that is constructed so that it's shaped head would pierce the shield if thrown at a certain range AND the 5 foot shaft of the spear would bend due to it's heavy weight. The effect on the Phalanx was horrendous..... the Roman Pilum would slice into locked shields and bend making them useless in combat. The Phalanx desperately try to pry the spears off their shields while the Roman legionaries charge with the feared Gladius (short sword) and rout the Phalanx. It must be noted that the flexibility of the Roman legion against the ponderous Greek Phalanx led to Roman annexation of fair ol' Greece after the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC..... Still the Phalanx continued to be in vogue for another 100 years (in Barbarian, Egyptian, Semitic and Numidian nations) till Gaius Marius and later Gaius Julius Caesar put an end to it.

Source: Caesar's Legion by Stephen Dando-Collins. Highly Recommended!}

After this the movie enters the Twilight Zone. It was bad enough that the Persian elite force, The Immortals (a.k.a "Apple Bearers") was shown as Ninjas with grimacing silver masks in the original novel...... here you have a LOTRish Cave Troll of a human chained by immortals, a bunch of unbelievable fly-honeys straight out off a Timbaland and Magoo video, a mean war Rhino, a troop of fr1ggin dumb Grenadiers (yes, in 480 BC!) dressed in Burkhas with silver veils, barbarians who look suspiciously like Zulu Impis and a humanoid executioner with axeblades for his arms. Pshawwwww........ I almost expected to see an Imperial AT-AT blast the fair Greeks with it's Laser Cannons! The ordered Hoplite S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedures) changes into mano-a-mano Matrix ishtyle Kung-Fu. I have read that even gutted soldiers would gather their intestines in their hands and push it into the wound and get back into formation..... for if the weak flank is breached, the entire Phalanx falls. Heck, Leonidas shooed away the crippled Ephiatles 'coz his weak left arm cannot lift his shield to neck level and hence protect the exposed Hoplite to his left..... and now they all break formation and perform Tai Chi?
Well, I guess it's okay if all this is just meant to depict a fantasy element. {After all, Hartigan and Marv of Sin City were shot multiple times and they didn't even feel it! Dwight jumps down a skyscraper and sprints off without as much as an "Ouch!"! Kevin, who looks like an evil Harry Potter, moves like a cobra and devours his victims! List goes on..... but get my point on Frank Miller? Probably he himself wrote in these stuff into the movie to sex it up.}

Now the battle comes to a climax with the traitor leading the Persians down the secret path and surrounding the Spartans. The movie doesn't show the 7000 strong Thespian citizen militia who died defending that path. There's no mention of the traitor pleading (in vain) for mercy for the amateur Thespians... and certainly doesn't show the intense pain and suffering of the wretched traitor at that point. The part where Leonidas lets loose his own "Parthian Shaft" is handled pretty well...... but still not half as good as that rousing scene in Braveheart where Hamish Campbell throws Wallace's sword at the British Army. Even here the added masala element almost chokes you..... Miller's original version of final thoughts of Leonidas is poignant, short, clear and wholly at peace. It is made implicitly clear (in the novel) that Leonidas was sacrificing himself and his men so that rest of Greece would get over their bickering, unite and drive out the invader. In the movie it sadly turns into something like the Black Knight challenging King Arthur in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Here you have Stelios holding the King's hand and cooing sweet nothings before dying (Sean Bean's Boromir did MUCH better in LOTR), the Captain drawing the Persian who speared him closer (by thrusting the spear deeper into his own body) so that he could kill his killer...... and meanwhile the Persian army apparently sits by twiddling their thumbs. I must say the Persian arrows violate all laws of common sense and aerodynamics.... you got arrowheads shaped like scorpions, swastikas, pentagrams and what not! I would trust those fancy "scary" arrows to kill a pig at 30 feet. The final volley which 'blots out the sun' (again) and kills the last standing man (Leonidas of course) is a direct lift-off from the climax of Jet Li's memorable Wu-Xia classic, Hero. Of course, the master craftsman Zhang Zimou doesn't show the gory arrow-riddled corpse of the Hero in a very 'heroic death pose'..... please watch the movie to see how Zimou conveys a more powerful image (through an image that is an 'inversion' of that last shot of Toshiro Mifune's (Macbeth equivalent) Washizu in Throne of Blood).

Themes and Psy-Ops:

In many cultures there used to be a quasi-religious rite where the faith of 'faithfuls' is cemented by encouraging hate against another community. In Kerala of late 19th cent-1921 there were the fiery Friday noon sermons which sent the (so far) peaceful Moplah community into frenzied communal hate and a few dozen would go out and kill a Hindu Janmi (Zamindar) or a British Collector till the army is called in. Apparently this was a spillover of Ahmed Barelvi's call for Jihad (in 1831) and the embers lay there till the British put it out for good in the 1921 Moplah Rebellion. Mallus perhaps have heard of the term "Haalilakkam" which is today used to describe frenzy. Well, this is the etymology of that word. Similar to this is the old Norse "Berserkergang" and the Self-Flagellates and Passion Plays of the Medieval Church. This sort of this crops up whenever a war is to be waged in the near future or if the community is under some sort of pressure. The 1962 movie "The 300 Spartans" had obvious Cold War undertones and oodles of smug over-confidence.... the chauvinist movies of the GI and Baby Boomer generations, ably matched by the umpteen Osterns and Red Westerns churned out by the Soviets.
300 comes at a time when the "inheritors" of Greek Culture are poised against Iran, a continuation of Eternal Persia. Right now Persia might be under the heel of the clerics, but it has tremendous civilizational power of six millennia. There is of course and underlying "war cry" element in the movie..... one can make out subliminal messages like "The Army NEEDS you!", "Chickening out will destroy our nation!" and "Support our forces serving in the East!". Zack Snyder & Co. do their bit and blasts the audience with their own grating and in-your-face Propaganda via Ms. Lena 'I need a Laxative now' Heady and other characters. Here's somethign else...... the war-cry of the Spartans "Aaaah Hooo Aaah Hoooo" is the US Rangers war cry "Hooo Aahhhh Hooo Aahhh" in reverse. Coincidence?
But then, I look at it this way...... it's a Hollywood Movie and by God they OUGHT to play for their home team. Nothing p1sses me off more than our own deracinated leftist pseudo-secular Mehras and Dholakias and 'Pornographers of the Poor' like Deepa Mehta. (Of course I ain't the "My Country! Right or Wrong!" type..... but you got to be objective! Not a self-loathing Macaulay's Child with pretensions of "internationalism") . So, it would be quite improper if someone like me whine too much and spit curses on some American's chauvinism, right? Andaaz Apna Apna, no? Again, what rubs me the wrong way is Snyder & Co video-game they turned the original slick flick into.

Valerio Manfredi, author of Aish's much awaited "The Last Legion" and the Alexander Trilogy (on which Oliver Stone's movie is partly based) had written this novel called "The Spartan" long before Miller penned 300. This book, though fictionalized gives an apparently honest account of the lopsided Spartan society, the false pretenses of "democracy" and "free will" of the Greek City States and the complex relations between Persia and the Greek States ..... and it's set in the period of Xerxes's invasion too! The real Sparta was a bunch of militaristic roughnecks who were despised by the more cultured states like Athens and Ionia. Though once in a while they showed flashes of Laconic brilliance, they were quite wanting when it boiled down to brains. The lorded over a community of slaves called Helots, descendants of cultures Sparta conquered long time back. Strict order was kept by the use of a secret police who kept the Helots on a tight leash. Finally, with the rise of Rome and explosion of Helot population, Sparta declined and met an ignoble end at that hands of the Roman. One need not even go into the encouraged homosexuality and misogyny of Sparta...... that is a well known fact and it does nothing but divert attention away from the more relevant topics. {PS: In my opinion, personal preferences or norms of an ancient society cannot be judged by a rank outsider who enjoys the benefit of hindsight an 2500 years of progress from that point..... }
Given all this, the depiction of Sparta as a fr1ggin' beacon of FREEEEEDOMMMMMMMM is simply plain old snake-oil. Any attempt at drawing a smug parallel with the present day self-appointed 'World Polic'e fighting soul-less coons in the desert should be met with the disdain it deserves. Any argument touting "fair West" standing up against the lecherous, inhuman tyrant of Asia must be fought..... with history as our ally. Any attempt at Historical Revisionism ("White Man's Burden" type) must be discredited at every opportunity. Oliver Stone tried to do the same Fetid stuff with his "Alexander"..... but since it was more cerebral than this video game-movie, even the shallow ones pry their minds off the "action" and see through the "Propagandu" (as a pal calls this sort of psy-ops). Snyder is smarter than that..... he cashes on Miller's Sin City laurels and touches up the comic book gore-fest, adds a lot of gratuitous violence and other masala ingredients. The result is a slick hi-octane war movie which makes the lay viewer dangerously oblivious to the base "message" of the movie.

The depiction of Xerxes court as as a 'den of vice' harks back to Medieval views of Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia and Sultanate/Mughal India. The Orientals were thought to be a libidinous, godless people engaging in vile acts that excited as well as repelled Puritan Europe. The art galleries are chock full of their impressions of the Oriental Courts, i.e Emperor conducting his business with his pet Leopard on one thigh and a fiercer Mistress on his other, Sultan's harems looking like the Playboy Mansion, a vile Arab inspecting a female slave's teeth as if she were a beast of burden. A lot of it was true, I must say..... but definitely not in the degree imagined by the Medieval West. Behind all this "disdain" was perhaps the realisation that there's a good chance the West would be overwhelmed by the numerically superior and quite older Orientals. Numerous times have this sort of fearful backlash adversely affect Global Geopolitics.
It's sad to see Khshyarshah's (Xerxes) military camp made out to be a bubblegum-pimp bordello with disfigured Lesbians, transsexuals and assorted pornstars and playmates. This was a man who made an able woman named Artemisia the Admiral of the Persian Fleet in the Battle of Salamis, an Emperor who married Esther the Jewess, a King was praised in the Old Testament for his wisdom and tolerance and a king who followed his forefathers dictum of respecting all religions. He might have had notions of invincibility and had an arrogant streak (hey, he was the absolute ruler of the greatest empire of his time!), but surely he doesn't deserve all this abuse heaped on him.
{PS: Talk about Judaism..... isn't Yahweh called "The Lord of Hosts" by Jews? In the movie you have a Persian general address Senor Golden Thong by this title! Anybody got a theory? I wish to think this was simply unintentional and not in any way an anti-Semitic expression.}

Finally,
One thing we Indians have to keep in mind is that the movers and shakers of America have a powerful force-multiplier in the form of the Anglophone Media. One adverse effect of Liberalisation is the deluge of this sort of KulturKampf into the Indian's mind. For example, programs showcasing military prowess of the US makes one feel the Americans are simply indomitable and they possess 23rd century technology. BBC South Asia desk spins the Kashmir Story into a spineless cheerleading for Pakistani interests..... a certain Indian news channel is trying to sabotage indigenous research and development of defense systems by whipping out "instant success stories" of the west. The convergence of POVs of the Indian public (especially the upper middle-class and up) and the Anglophones creeps into the red zone. Our trade and commerce show some signs of being too controlled by the American leverage over Energy and Technology transfer. Nope, I ain't one of those Bajrangis/Knickerwaalahs 'outraged' at Bharatiya Naris wearing jeans and skirts and preferring basketball to a wholly 'Desi' Gili-Danda. Attire and personal life/choices are private matters which, in my opinion, can be chosen even from alien cultures...... but it's when you ideologically 'submit' (maybe even unintentionally) to an alien culture/POV that the country faces grave danger.
Movies like 300 do their bit in nudging the average Indian towards accepting a wholly Western viewpoint and abandoning our immediate neighbors and business partners (Maybe the makers of the book/movie have no such explicit aim.... still, the damage would be done). All this just because Hollywood production values are quite impressive! The change would not come overnight...... but I cringe when I hear the "Khoobsurat Log" fr1ggin' parotting American views on the World Order in "We the People" ( leave alone teen aged PYTs cheering the Spartan 300). Whatever happened to an INDIAN world view and INDIAN interests? It's either the extremely pro-west 'Main Bhi Madonnas' or their compatriots from the other end of the spectrum, viz. Commies (again a transplanted ideology now worn on the sleeve by a psychotic enemy state) who take up all the sound bytes.


Conclusion:

The movie earns a six in a scale of ten...... that's like three stars.
Points are earned for impressive CGI, conforming to the original to a good degree, eye candy and production values, and a couple of good perfomances. This movie earns the thumbs down for blatant racism, added masala, retarded (non Miller) dialogs, 'historicide' and bias.
You wanna enjoy a mindless action flick, go for this. But if you are touchy/knowledgeable on History/of Persian ethnicity kind, stay at home and watch Jason Statham's 'Crank' instead. Trust me, you'll lavv this flick!
Ciao!

Children of Men: The Review

"Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves,
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves!"

So goes that famous "Rule Britannia" rhyme, THE marching song of arrogant Victorian imperialism.... The smug mantra that drove the sons of greatest empire the world has ever seen,confident that the sun will never set on their rule. Well, the sun did set indeed when a saint from India and later on an evil psycho from Germany challenged Britain, each in his own unique way. And now, the UK is a pitiful poodle state to the United States, a "has-been", an "Aunty" to Uncle Sam, floundering and imploding due to it's three hundred years of bad Karma. (Tsst. This post ain't gonna talk about "Perfidious Albion" or bore you folks with my tirade against them Brits, who I have a MUCHO GRANDE GIGANTIC problem with...... just let me make an introduction on a personal note, wokay?). Given their glorious history and all that jazz, it amuses me, sometimes in a surreal way, whenever I encounter any work of art (movies/music/literature) which portrays a dystopian or even an ugly, defeated England. The first time I enjoyed the perverse delight was when I watched Ian McKellan's Richard III eleven years ago.... I got further doses with Orwell's incomparable "1984", Robert Harris's "Fatherland", Michael Caine's gangster movie "Get Carter", Alan Moore's epic graphic novel "V for Vendetta", Christian Bale's fantasy sci-fi "Reign of Fire"and Alan Moore's recent work, "Albion".
Now a few hours ago I watched Alfonso Cuaron's latest movie, "Children of Men" which came highly recommended by a pal of mine. This film is set in a dystopic Britain (yaaaaaaaaaay!) in a bleak near future where a pandemic obliterates every last child and render mankind totally infertile. Now this is where the similarities to Ms. Phyllis James's original novel effectively ends..... Curaon's contribution is in converting this run of the mill sci-fi into a deep, layered and sensitive work of art. A movie where each shot make us think, if not shock one outright. This time the picture of a bleak, chaotic Britain didn't make me feel ummmmm, delighted; the themes were too painfully obvious, the "possible near future" too close for comfort, the threats and violence depicted too close to home and the shade of the whole world a tad too grey...................

{PS: Possible spoilers and give-aways ahead}


Themes:

Britain is shown as the "last surviving state" in a world that has fallen apart on Govt. propaganda..... this is actually a tribute to the tyrants of Moore's "V for Vendetta" parotting "England Prevails" in a world that has gone to shit! The hounding up of refugees, derisively called "Fugees", is also similar to Alan Moore's racist Norsefire Govt. in V for Vendetta rounding up every single non-caucasian and sexual-deviants (LGBTs) in Britain into death camps and silently eliminating them all (some of the most disturbing scenes in visual pop-art are found in V for Vendetta, set in the Larkhill death camp). Apparently the rest of world has gone mad with despair and violence and apparently, "Only England stands". Now the image of a Britain standing ALONE in the face of great odds will strike a chord in hearts worldwide given their stoic defiance in the face of seemingly unstoppable German juggernaut...... those two tense years where neither the US nor the USSR was around to fight the Nazis. This epic defense was maintained by a very caring, concerned, efficient and courageous British Government who actively supported and involved their own citizens. Curaon imaginatively twists this motif by depicting a UK which "stands alone" but maintains order by "stamping an iron-heeled boot into the human face.... forever", (as O' Brian puts it in 1984). While that Britain of past acted as a rock of security for the refugees from the French revolution, the Jacobin terror and the German threat, Cuaron's England rounds up anyone who "doesn't have papers" in a manner that would give Yezhov's and Beria's NKVD a complex. He underlines the point by having illegal immigrants packed tight in steel cages and even inserts a surrealy brilliant device by having an old German lady pleading piteously in her cage...... the Holocaust in reverse, anyone? :)

Before I go any further, please don't get me wrong..... I ain't one of those professional bleeding-heart peaceniks/Wagah Candle-Kissers/Indo-Paki bhai-bhai ultraliberal types croaking "make love not war" .......... nor am I an extreme right-winger bitching at Senor Cuaron for "scaremongering" and deriding "homeland security". As I understand it, Cuaron wants his movie to be a mirror of today's societies by extrapolating the fears and the threats faced now, into the near future. Richard Kelly, the talented Trojan who made the ABSOLUTELY MYSTIFYING Donnie Darko tried to do this with "Southland Tales", but falls short in the process (sigh!). Cuaron walks the tightrope between the two extremes with aplomb, presenting a honest take on today's clear and present dangers, viz. Islamic Extremism, the retaliatory extremism it gives birth to and illegal immigration. The sci-fi aspect of loss of infertility and the race to "Shangri-La" is but a McGuffin. I believe that all the race for the cure, the "Human Project" techno-myth is the last thing in Cuaron's mind while making the movie..... What is subtly stressed all throughout the movieare the individual and societal aspects/themes like hope, faith, chance, loyalty, redemption, demagogy, extremism and false messiahs.
Anyway, the film ostensibly points to a future where Enoch Powell's nightmare, an England run over by illegal/legal aliens who have set up a million Bradfordistans have probably "forced" the Govt to crack down on them with extreme prejudice. Mirroring the Brazilian Death-Squad cops method of liquidating EVERY undesirable (including orphan children so that they wouldn't grow up to be another Red Brigade. Anyone seen the true story "City of God"?) or the more famous Neocon/Chickenhawk dictum of "Kill them ALL, and let Allah sort them out later", they descend upon the immigrants mercilessly, kill them or strip, hose, pack them into carts/armored buses and put them in a city that has been converted to a concentration camp. Now, a whole city as a jail ain't no new concept.... Kurt Russel's "Escape from New York" and "Escape from LA" have already fleshed out the ultimate WASP fear-fantasy of minority-crime ridden cities. The morbidly funny thing here is that Curaon chooses a quiet, popular British resort viz. Bexhill-on-Sea as the death-camp city! He turns that beautiful city into a grim, run down, blood-splattered and pock-marked hell-hole reminiscent of Gaza Strip or Sarajevo. To top it all he has an Intifada like uprising in that city with crazed immigrant mobs lustily shouting "Allah Ho Akbar", shooting AK-47s into the air and a British Army and RAF that does obliterates them all a-la Sabra-Shatila..... the final destruction shown on screen as a silent, distant flash of light.

Unlike Moore's "V for Vendetta" there is no hero, no Robin Hood who fights the tyranny. The "liberators" are as scheming, opportunistic and merciless as the ones they are trying to overthrow. Cuaron's message with respect to violent resistance/insurgency/terrorism "to rid their own people from the evil oppressor" cannot be more clear. The peaceful, diplomatic and (rather) non-violent path to emancipation is shown to exist in these groups as just a tiny majority...... a POV that will be silenced by it's own (impatient) "friends" who WILL disagree. A cursory look at all insurgencies around the world shows this to be true.... be it Palestine, Tamil Eelam, Ireland or whatever. (PS: This once again reinforces my understanding (and gratitude) of the grand plan of the Indian National Movement and why we Indians are right here, right now while other similar nations simply laid down and died). Also depicted in the movie are corrupt, profiteers who takes advantage of people's dire misfortunes and great tragedies, be it his/her own people for narrow interests. James Clavell's "King Rat" and Art Spiegelman's "Maus" has excellent specimens from this loathsome genus, the profiteers featured here are as amusing as revoltingly evil.

In spite of all this filth and darkness, there is that last, timid entity Pandora released into this world..... hope. While this is a hope for humanity as a whole, a chance to reboot society without repeating old mistakes, the theme of that sliver of goodness in the individual human heart is conveyed quite touchingly.

{Note: Major Spoilers ahead...}
In the climactic "Bexhill Intifada" battle scene with high-caliber bullets and RPGs flying all around, the long missed cry of an infant draws fighter, traitor and cowering bystander together in a trance. Not minding the bullets cutting into their bodies and felling their near and dear right next to them, the doomed ones reverently adore the first child born in twenty years. Even the hardened soldiers who have stormed the building to kill every living thing on sight stops in their tracks surprised (and relieved) in hearing a baby cry. Former enemies give way so that this symbol of new hope can escape all this carnage; a communications officer ignores the frantic orders in his walkie-talkie, a few soldiers fall to knees praying and a grim Sergeant almost goes into tears.

At this point I was beginning to wonder if Cuaron was stretching the point.... ruining a perfectly good movie at the climax. (Like Mani Ratnam's "Bombay" ending cheesily with rioters across the city hugging and doing a "Hands across India"..... an artificial saccharine-sweet sermon and make-believe that offends history as well as one's intelligence! The cynic and "man of the world" that I am, I almost booed in the theater! What next, Dawood Ibrahim giving a sensuous Thai massage (with "happy ending") to Bal Thackeray as the end credits roll? WTF?!)
Not Alfonso Cuaron! No folks.... definitely not! Just as the protagonists walk away with the baby as the masses numbers of soldiers and insurgents part like the Red Sea before Moses, an RPG rams into the group of soldiers followed by heavy gunfire from the insurgent holdout (where the lead characters had been hiding moments ago)..... Hey, it's business as usual! The soldiers return fire as the protagonists escape and the former use their overwhelming firepower to flatten the building (which contained many women and children by the way). For added insurance, they call in an air strike which is witnessed by the protagonists as they escape. Oh "escape"?! Did I just say escape? Well.... n what did I tell you about hope? :)

Loyalty to one's friends or a higher ideal, courage in the face of the greatest dangers and unbeatable will are the other themes. I have seen some pretty touching death scenes on screen.... from Rakesh Khanna in Namak Haram to Donnie Darko's sacrifice (to the tunes of “Mad World”) to that BEAUTIFUL "Sicilian Scene" in Tarantino's True Romance where Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper palaver to the lifting tunes of the Flower Duet from "Lakme". Yet, Michael Caine's defiant and yet wholly-at-peace sacrifice, the doomed soldiers and insurgents who "adore the baby" in the holdout just before the final carnage resumes, the guide who refuse to accompany the protagonists lest she slow them down.... and finally the last and most redemptive sacrifice of them all are quite inspiring.

As Curaon himself points out, the "seeking yourself road movie" aspect (like his previous, well known Y Tu Mama Tambien) and the Christian Nativity theme are also quite apparent, yet these are not the overriding themes of the movie. The total loss of faith in everything (due to a personal tragedy) is what characterizes the hero while loss of faith in the traditional church depicted by the rising Hindu/Neo-Pagan rituals (some of the main protagonists always chant Sanskrit Mantras and the final credits end with the "Om Shanti... Shanti.... Shanti" mantra). This is contrasted to the self-flagellations of the extremist "hellfire" churches. I expected to see a march of the self-flagellates a-la Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" but Curaon must have deliberately chosen to avoid that iconic and well-known visual. Given the Opus Dei, Tablighi Jamaat and assorted types running around even in these relatively peaceful times, one wouldn't fault Cuaron if he showed something stronger and in-your-face. Yet he wisely decides to concentrate on the more important messages of the movie. (This facet depicts which way human faith could turn if mankind faces a mortal threat.... some lose faith, some dig in deeper while others seek alternate answers. Judaism during the exile and the holocaust is an excellent base reference, but I probably shouldn't go deeper into it here..... maybe another day!)


The performances:

Clive Owen plays the lead character Theo, a former activist turned weary bureaucrat and former husband of Julian (played by Julianne Moore), who is a wanted "enemy of the state". She happens to be the leader of an insurgent group called the "Five Fishes", fighting for immigrant rights among other aims. Moore has only a cameo appearance, but being the veteran actor she is, the character is handled quite competently. Owen is an excellent actor and like George Clooney he sincerely tries to subdue his rugged coolness while playing harried, defeated characters. I must say he does succeed in this attempt! I knew he had it in him when he played the middle class dad hounded by a blackmailer in "Derailed" (now remade in Tamil as "Pachakkili Muttham" by Gautam Menon)... he hasn't let us down this time while playing a lost man in a dark world, trying to redeem himself. The sheer will displayed by his (otherwise "don't give a shit") character on knowing the nature of the task entrusted by his wife and realizing whole humanity's stake in it is laudable. The "ordinary man made into a hero by extraordinary situations" theme is treated competently by both Cuaron and Owen.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is another vastly talented actor roped in by Cuaron.... now this man has one of the kindest faces I have ever seen. The role of a most wronged character in "Dirty Pretty Things" for instance could not be better portrayed by any other actor. However, he has shown his brilliance in playing supremely evil characters... his portrayal of the sadistic Detroit gangland boss in the gritty "Four Brothers" and the fanatical Govt hit man in "Serenity" were quite a revelation. This time he plays Luke, the 2nd in Command of the "Fishes" who ascends to power after Julian goes out of the picture. While Julian is guided by humanistic notions and ideals which transcend politics, Luke is the militant... perhaps an anarchist or an opportunist who who wishes to use the "grail of mankind" for his own political purposes. He disposes off the voices in his organization which call for diplomacy and non-violence and relies on the gun to settle things. The cold, scheming "villainous" nature is hid by a mask of idealism, sincere loyalty and kindness. And perhaps he is not a villain at all, he may have felt the ahimsa marg will not work this time in a Britain gone rabid. Perhaps the people would rally only under his new banner and overthrow the reigning tyranny...... Since a good number from the insurgent group (long time compatriots of Julian) supports his conspiracy, perhaps Luke was right all along. The decision he made with respect to his former leader doesn't entitle him to the "evil usurper" tag methinks..... I for one dunno what turmoil might have reigned in the Mahatma's or Nehru's mind as they led fellow satyagrahis into possible death during the many Satyagrahas.... or for that matter what was going on inside Mian Osama Bin Laden's mind when he decided to assassinate his guru and mentor Abdullah Azam. It's lonely at the top and you have to make such tough decisions all the time.... Luke's final conversation with Theo and the last shot of a wounded Luke fighting the troops makes you wonder what to really think of him. No Karmic retribution for the "villains" nor any gruesome death..... even the murdering albino-psycho (one of the only two true villains in the movie) who hangs out with Luke is not shown getting cut down by Karma's unforgiving scythe. His end is shown as a part of the general climactic carnage, not even an afterthought is given.

A newcomer named Claire-Hope Ashitey plays the young refugee Carribean who carries the "grail of humanity" in her womb. Her portrayal of the foulmouthed, guttural Kee who is quite uncomfortable with the burden which fate cast on her is indicative of serious talent..... the accent she picks up for her role is authentic BTW. Kee's streetwise intelligence and dry humor and the trust she places on Julian and Theo would make her perhaps the best person to look after humanity's last hope in a dystopia like this one.

The incomparable Michael Caine turns away from his established image and plays Jasper, a neo-hippie who was once a celebrated political cartoonist. That phase of life was till Britain ceased being a democracy and turned the state into an oppressor of the people. In fact the IB equivalent of Britain, MI-5 had tortured his wife (once a famous photo-journalist) and turned her into a catatonic wreck...... perhaps for stumbling into some skeletons in the the Govt's closet. Michael Caine played the lead role in the cult 1976 gangster movie "Get Carter", a movie which was pilloried by the lay public and most British critics for it portrayed crime and poverty-ridden East London. the dark side of Britain was perhaps first shown in this movie... remember that the stiffs are very sensitive to this kind of portrayals. Case in point; Brighton Rock, Braveheart, The Patriot, Lagaan and Elizabeth. Each of these were severely criticized by Brits for it showed a side of England they didn't (or could not) accept. Children of Men is shot mostly in East London for this very reason..... Cuaron himself says that this was perhaps the only part of London which ain't a Potemkin Village and is devoid of any "glamor". I wish he had been able to use the "Pakistani Emirate" of Bradford as his chief location instead... I've heard that lawless place is Mullah Omar's wetdream, a real "High Noon in Dodge City". But it wouldn't be politically correct to say that in public.... and British Pakis ain't exactly the Salt of the Earth! Anyway, good ol' Caine is reliable as usual! His portrayal of a man whose services and inputs are not wanted anymore by the current state system (parallels to Orwell's 1984 with Rutherford, the disgraced cartoonist who had ushered in the great revolution?) reduced to peddling narcotics and looking after his catatonic wife is.... bittersweet.

The supporting cast has done a great job...... the murdering young "Fish", the endlessly blabbering Gypsy guide who turns into a real lifesaver, the corrupt cop 'running' the Concentration Camp, the Minister for the Ark of Arts and Miriam, the former OBGYN who escorts Kee are all well etched characters played competently by the ensemble cast. The Minister is an especially amusing and thought provoking character; was that cynicism at it's pinnacle or was it some kind of suppressed, warped hope..... or was it a fond wish that humanity's greatest creations would survive all the death and madness?


The overall movie:

The soundtrack is perhaps the best, well at least the most apt one I have seen in recent times. Some of the tunes are quite familiar and progressive rock is used liberally. I recognized some popular classical compositions too..... there is no underlying theme to the soundtracks like you have in "Donnie Darko", LOTR" or "Walk the Line" but it perfectly mirrors the many themes and threads in the story. The original score refers to the nativity theme of Mary-Joseph and Jesus, and it was apparently made so following Cuaron's explicit request.
Cinematography, costumes and editing is remarkable..... it IS a Britain gone to shit! Britain is a fascist tyranny down to the immigration officers brandishing truncheons, fearsome hunting dogs and assault rifles! This world ain't the antiseptic, plastic dystopia of V for Vendetta and it closely follows the imagery of "Blade Runner", "Brazil" and "Soylent Green". The sad, grim atmosphere is reminiscent to the dust bowls of Soylent Green, the merciless British Govt is somewhat modelled on the surreal nightmare that was depicted in Gilliam's "Brazil", while the futuristic aspects are influenced by Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" and the amazing "Gattaca". Unlike "Paradise Now" which has trace amounts of psy-ops showing Israelis as distant, emotionless phanatsms who lord over 'untermenschen' Palestinians, the "enemy" here is shown as all too human. Be it insurgent or British soldier, the human aspect is brought out pretty well.... starts off with long distance shots of human figures approaching to kill but they are "made human" in that climactic scene I talked about earlier.


Conclusion:

This is a must watch! "Phull 400% excellent onlee", as our Jarnail Mian Pervez Musharraf would say. Most people would be familiar with Alfonso Cuaron through his "Great expectations" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" if not the classic "Y Tu Mama Tambien" starring Maribel Verdu..... however, this would be the movie Cuaron should be (and would be) known for. Fellow Sci-Fi heads, please cast aside the dystopic-futurism facet for a while and concentrate on the other themes of the movie. If you want a dystopia where a whole section of humanity is wiped off (save one "grail") I suggest you should try the continuing graphic novel series "Y: The Last Man" instead. Everyone, please try to pick out what's being said through this film. The messages are subtle, but they ain't that cryptic. Nor does it have any pseudo-intellectual/pseudo-secular subliminal messaging like Parzania or Rang de Basanti. I believe this would be an enjoyable experience for the viewers.... I personally loved it so much that I came back to blogging after 4 months of self-imposed exile!

And The Wanderer's grade?
Well.... I think this film truly deserves a 9 in a scale of 10 from moi. And that's five stars (rounded off ;-) ).
Cheers!

Omkara: The Review

There's this wise saying in Arabic, "Never ever let your dog go hungry"..... "dogs" might be loyal but the strands of loyalty (at the basic level) are mostly built on implict understandings of give and take. Strands which might strain and even break if the equation is kept unbalanced. Only in the rarest of spheres will sentient links like love and loyalty be absolute and total, but these are exceptions rather than the rule. The tragedy of Omkara is in the cardinal mistake of taking his loyal lieutenant, Ishwar 'Langda' Tyagi for granted. This master-lieutenant equation is one instance where Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara departs from Shakespeare's Othello and it's adaptations by talented artists like Oliver Parker, Orson Welles, Tim Blake Nelson and our own Jayaraj. Though Omkara is an adaptation of Othello, a product of one of the greatest minds of Humanity viz. Shakespeare, it does exhibit distinctive features and provides even more depth to the original characters. This is no mean feat in itself.... not everyone can improve on the Bard of Avon, but Vishal Bharadwaj does it with aplomb.


Shakespear's Era of Tragedy is a reflection of the post Elizabethean England.... a darker period which could showcase his true genius, viz. his understanding of human nature. The original Iago was a jealous malcontent who hates his master Othello, the Moorish general of Venice. The reaons for this demonic hatred is not explicitly explained, but the reader can gather that it is a mix of racism, jealousy of Othello's talent and his fairy tale love story, hatred of Othello's second in command Cassio and his confidence in his own resourcefullness and intellect which is obviously higher than his superiors. He is no different from Cassius of the Bard's Julius Caesar play who is "lean and hungry" by Caesar's own astute observation. However, Caesar trusted his compatriot who once saved him from death by drowning in Hispania and refused to take heed of warnings from those close to him. The original Othello trusted Iago, even let him poison his ears against his trusted 2nd in command and his wife.... trusted him to the point of the audience's disbelief! Maybe there's a backstory to back up this trust but Shakespeare doesn't tell us.

While Shakespeare chose to put up Iago as the bigoted, crafty and slimy malcontent who has no "just cause" other adaptations of Othello have given more depth to Iago. Tim Blake Nelson, a very very talented actor/director had made this movie title 'O' which is a high school sports drama take on Othello. 'O' is Odin, a black basketball star of his high school while Iago character played competently by Josh Hartnett is his team-mate. This Iago resents O 'coz his own father, the coach, shows affection towards the vastly talented O. Iago goes on a steroid course to increase his prowess and earn the respect of his dad, only to descend further into rage fuelled insanity. Jayaraj's Iago, Paniyan, played by Lal is closer to the original as he harbors hatred for Perumalayan from the very beginning..... though he claims it is compounded by Perumalayan choosing Kaanthan over the much senior Paniyan for the coveted Theyyam title. However, the Othello character Perumalayan Kannan is more insecure owing to his smallpox stricken face and low caste origins.... he himself acknowledges his temerity in whisking off the beautiful high-caste daughter of the feudal lord and rues his deformity on more than one occassion. The original Othello only expresses a doubt that Desdemona desires Cassio for Othello is a swarthy moor and much older than she is. However, he is not wracked by insecurity and childish possessiveness like Perumalayan Kannan.

Coming to Omkara the movie, our Iago, Ishwar 'Langda' Tyagi is perhaps the most capable and dangerous person in the whole gang. Omkara himself needs to empty whole magazines to kill his enemies while Tyagi, a DEAD shot needs just one bullet per person. His sniping skills are extraordinary.... as depicted in a scene where he picks off an entire enemy gang one by one *while they are fighting a hand to hand battle with his comrades*. He is intelligent, strong, determined and is a team player but he is slightly lame (hence the nickname 'Langda' ) and a boorish rustic. Omkara, aiming higher (state level politics in this movie) probably sees the future in Kesu, a capable student leader and a recent entry to his band. He chooses the kid over Langda Tyagi in a dramatic fashion...... in a somewhat cruel manner to Tyagi. At least a word beforehand might have ameliorated Tyagi's pain and sense of betrayal, but Omkara rather chose to surprise everyone in public. Maybe the Chief has to use his own discretion and make independent, hard choices without confiding with anyone else.... but hello, he is your *trusted advisor* and friend, right?! Perhaps it's because the suave, smooth talking but tough kid who holds the key to the foreseeable future rather than an illiterate, battle-scarred Langda who is only streetwise and good for wetworks. The "Duke of Venice" character played by Naseeruddin Shah, who knows human nature better than anyone else asks Omkara "What about Tyagi?". For a Bhai of the UP badlands, Omkara makes the surprising and apparently naive assertion that "He is my *brother* and would understand!".
Now this Omkara is not so trusting of anyone like Shakespeare's or Nelson's or Jayaraj's versions.... he demands concrete Proof of Infidelity before his wedding (the "proof" which was brilliantly staged by Tyagi at very short notice) against Tyagi's life. Other Othellos didn't make this "do or die" demand if I remember correctly. However, Omkara does respect Tyagi's opinions and analysis, his neutrality as an observer and his experience in the "dhanda". Tyagi's machinations are not much craftier than the run-of-the-mill Narads in TV soap operas, but he senses correctly that when it comes to Dolly (our Desdemona), Omkara's passion and love clouds his judgement. Couple it with Dolly's father's cold Parthian Barb that "she who has betrayed his father can betray ANYBODY" which resonates in his mind, the fact that Kesu is a natural charmer when it comes to the lay-dees and Dolly is the most gorgeous woman in that corner of the globe..... one can't blame anyone for taking leave of his senses.
As wise people have observed, "Men who are otherwise brilliant and rational beings can be utter dorks when it comes to women" and of course the other famous (sometimes derogatory) uvaacha, "God has given man a brain and a penis, but unfortunately enough blood to operate only one of these at a time". When it boils down to basics on suspicion of infidelity, the echoing self-judgement in his mind is "He (the third man) is a better *man* than I am..... He is a better *man* than I am...." Now when your wife's father and your closest pal imply that she is insulting you (after all, infidelity is the worst insult one can give his spouse) it probably becomes very difficult to let go of that sliver of doubt. Compounding circumstancial "proof", self-goals by Dolly and Tyagi's coup-de-grace weighed against sage advice from truly well-meaning friends and the repeated implorations of the bewildered Dolly finally snapped Omkara..... which leads to the Greek tragedy.

Konkona Sen Sharma is an amazing actress. Period! It's a pleasure watching a great actress who ain't a plastic!
She plays Indu/Emilia, the well meaning and capable wife of Iago/Langda Tyagi. She simply becomes the simple, rustic, large-hearted and yet strong character she's supposed to play. Her character is the third character who has been given more depth in this movie, and boy how does she do it! She's the big sister and mother to all the bad boys in that Daaku world (including her Husband's boss) , wise to the ways of the world, possessing the unfailing rustic common-sense and always ready to lend a shoulder to cry upon. Her sole character flaw is perhaps in not understanding her husband's rage at being superceded and not sensing the scheming monster within. She thinks her hubby is just another sleazy, gross and gruff person who should be treated like a little unruly rascal but doesn't sense the bad vibesand everyone pays for it at the bitter end. Tyagi is an Anthony Hopkins quality actor and even fools someone like Omkara who's been seeing him for 15 years..... yet wives, espeically the tough-n-nice ones like Indu, are supposed to be more intutive, right? :)
This brings us to another theory on Tyagi-Iago..... he was INDEED a good man, loyal friend and good husband till that moment when his mind snapped and was forever set against his former friends. There is also a warped sense of loyalty to Omkara despite all this as proven in a chaotic fight scene where Tyagi saves Omkara with his skills as a shooter (or maybe is it just my flawed reading..... or maybe he was fattening the pig for the slaughter?). Makes me wonder, will ordinary folks you or I break and go into the dark side when our greatest dreams are shattered directly or indirectly by those whom you love?

Another character worth mention is Roderigo/Rajju character played by newcomer Deepak Dobriyal. He stands out as the jilted bridegroom of Dolly who still can't let it go. He is consumed with jealousy and rage but is meekly subservient to Omkara (while planning his destruction at the same time) for the time being. His dad is a financier to Omkara's operations, you see..... and he has the misfortune to occasionally watch HIS Dolly being intimate with the usurper. He reminds me of a salivating, scheming but outwardly earnest Gollum who helps Frodo.... only because Frodo holds the One Ring, Gollum's "Preciousssss". But in this case, Samwise Gamgee(Tyagi) who is supposed to protect Frodo (Omkara) is actually in collusion with the slimy, treacherous Gollum. And as we know, Frodo wouldn't have gone far without Sam.
Unlike the spineless puppet portrayal of Roderigo in other versions of Othello, this one is a force to reckon with. It is his haunting chant of "Tyagi.... Bahubali, Tyagi.... Bahubali" (Bahubali is the title Tyagi was jockeying for) which first sparks the glitter of ambition in Tyagi's eyes. The way the "innocuous" comical relief/sleazeball crashes into the idyllic world of the soon-to-be-fallen-hero is portrayed in an eerie (and hilarious at the same time) scene. It is this Roderigo who wickedly rubs salt into Tyagi's wounded heart and sets him into the vortex of evil...... not the other way round as in other adaptations. One can't help but notice how this weasel "comes of age" in his own way from a chicken-hearted, spindly legged groom riding a ridiculous moped and a perpetually sobbing buffoon to a gun-wielding avenger bent on reaching his manzil.

Other characters aren't much to write about.... except for Shah's interesting portrayal of the "Duke". Here he is a bald Bhaisaab (**who does looks a bit like Mahatma Gandhi gone evil, as Raja Sen observed in his review**), an MP who's one of those smooth players in Brahmin-Rajput politics of UP. He has some good one-liners and his drawling matter-of-fact voice is a pleasure to hear.
Brabantio, here known as Vakeelsaab, is Dolly's dad. Unlike the heartbroken curse of original Brabantio and Narendra Prasad's portrayal in Kaliyattam, the way this daddy tells Omkara that his own daughter will one day betray him is quite chilling. It sounded rather like a pissed ex-boyfriend "warning" his replacement (to plant seeds of doubt and strife); "Just between us grown-up men..... do watch out, boss! She's a whore!"
Dolly/Desdemona is kept rather unaltered, the archetype self-sacrificing doomed lady (that's what her name means BTW) and a symbol of purity, love and innocence. Only one thing stands out in the movie, the way she subtly let's Omkara know her liking for Omkara is no mere infatuation/ puppy-love. One thing that does stand out is Dolly does the cardinal sin of bringing another man to their marital bed. (Not in the literal sense..... what were you pervs thinking? :P ) This was following a chweet romantic moment in bed and she tries to curry favor for Kesu who was her classmate in college and who's presently in the doghouse. Now I ain't married, but even a Vogon like me knows some things should not have a price-tag .... some things must not be implied or demanded in moments like these. Of course, it was just a chaste request for helping out her friend now that Omkara was in a good mood, but bringing up that topic in such a situation sours the mood. I guess most men might think "Oh, was this all services rendered against a collateral payement? Is that it?!" ( Omkara had already sown the dragon seeds of suspicion unbeknownst to her. He becomes royally pissed and more suspicious when she brings Kesu's matter)
Lesser can be said on for Cassio (Kesu) and Bianca (Billo Chamanbahar), the latter played by Bipasha Basu. They are pretty much the same as the original characters and only have weakly supporting roles in the scheme of things. I must say the only eyesore in the movie is Bipasha's *second* item number.....she's HOT, but it's heresy pasting a skin show a needless second item-number in a serious movie like this! However the wedge created between Kesu and Billo as a collateral damage to Tyagi's machinations is not as grating as the eyecandy-teen romance angle.
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Now coming to the performances, music etc and the movie as a whole:

Overall
Othello was set in the tense surroundings of Venice and Cyprus which were under the threat of Ottoman invasion. Most of the action is set on the wind swept isle of Cyprus with it's fortification and grim atmosphere. The adaptations have always kept a somewhat similar background, "Kaliyattam" had the rural dust-bowls and forests with the gaudy colors, the strange local deities and structures of Theyyam.... an art form which depicts paths of heroes and gory wars. One major Theyyam theme was "The legend of Kathivanoor Veeran" a folk hero and his lover Chemparuthi. They also met their doom due to treachery of another kind. "O" on the other hand had the battle-front of the American high school basketball court. Given the life-n-death image issues of teenagers in issues like this, this battle-front is as grim and dangerous as the forts of Cyprus. "Omkara" is set in THE dust-bowls..... the "cow-belt" of UP. Crushing poverty, caste politics, fallow lands, ope spaces, shanties, rival gangs, violence, politician-pandu-criminal nexus are staple features of these badlands. The settig is IMO more dangerous and foreboding than that of Omkara's counterparts.Now our Vishal has a good eye for backdrops. The way he transformed Macbeth from the fogs, Birnam forest and the rolling hills of Scotland to the modern Mumbai underworld is sheer genius. Kurosawa had it much easier with Throne of Blood 'coz he could easily supplant it to the feudal strife period of Japan. A period mirroring medieval Scotland.... down to the fog, the witches, the castles and the dense forest (Cobweb Forest). Vishal has again shown his genius by adapting it to the UP backdrop. There's almost a sepia filter as in "Kaante" plus the natural gaudy colors of the North, he doesn't overdo the color thing as Palekar did in Paheli. The cinematography, photography and choreography do justice to the story. All these have the stamp of the no-nonsense, thinking director Vishal.... no question about it. There are no perfectly sync extras dancing to the item-songs as in movies like Dum, Shool.... it is pure, raw fun, frolic, freesytle gyrations, nasha and lust. The scene of senior cops and ordinary pandus dancing to Bipasha jhatkas (Bipasha snatches the cap of an IPS officer and dances wearing that Topi) in the second item number is very.... believable.

Dialogues are not shuddh Kanyakabujh/Hindi Sabha Hindi for a change..... they are in purely local lingo which is a bit difficult to follow at times. The opening Tarantinoesque dialogue by Tyagi starts with "Chutiy*" for one thing...... it sets the tone for the whole bare-naked rural criminal India movie. Of course, outlaws don't speak in classical Urdu and Hindi, do they? Now, words are to be very carefully used when you are in Bhai world, where a simple nod can be a death-warrant for some poor bugger. And if you are going to make your boss, comrade-at-arms and family to be the puppets in your demonic grand plan you better use your words wisely. The wors of Tyagi are precise but loaded, reeking with flase concern, making infra-digs and designed in such a way so that Omkara is blinded to the possibly flawed/dubious premise and thrust into Tyagi's foregone conclusion. Kudos for Vishal who has written the screenplay and dialogues himself.

Performances.
Ajay Devgan as Omkara delivers a good performance. But I feel something's missing...... I felt more for Abhishek Bachan's Lallan (in Yuva) when he went downhill, for Suresh Gopi's epic descent into rabid insanity and jealousy in Kaliyattam and even Lawrence Fishburn's festering pain in Oliver Parker's Othello. Maybe it's the dark surroundings favored by Omkara and his ever present shades..... but you don't see the kind of anger and pain that drives one to destroy the love of your life.

Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi is a relevation! He showed he has the "darkness" in him in Ek Haseena Thi and now he has indeed oudone himself. Come to the Dark Side, Saif..... you belong here! :)
Unlike his pink-undies metrosexual image, the Langda Tyagi we see is every bit the raw, untamed and earthy crook. Unlike a Hritik Roshan who insisted on wearing designer dhotis and Pahadi bunyans to display his rippling muscles to maximum effect, or a Salman Khan sporting a tanned-bronzed body and a cool Marine cut in Tere Naam (as against a Vikram who starved and sunburnt himself in preparation for Sethu), Saif Ali Khan does a commendable job in booting the "image factor" and insistence on "looking cool" even if beaten to an inch of his life ( a la SRK). He fits in..... easily. His performance is excellent...... matches other portrayals by heavyweights like Ian McKellen, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branaugh. The way his expression changes as he is cheered by Rajju the weasel, when he sees Omkara choosing Kesu over him when he is taunted by Rajju and finally when his house of cards collapse around him are indicative of some serious talent. I always believed he didn't deserve his award for Hum Tum, but in Omkara hindsight I agree that the *recognition* is well deserved. You have come a long way from "Ole Ole" Saif Mian, congratulations!

I've already spoken about Konkona Sen Sharma's performance. Where's the hem of your skirt, Oh Most Magnificent Muse? Let this wannabe artist kiss it and attain Kaivalyajnana! :)

And Deepak Dobrival? Guys, we have a new gun in town! Move over Raghubir Yadav, you are beginning to tire us. Here's someone who can do what you can..... and more.

***ADDED LATER***
I somehow missed Kareena Kapoor while speaking of the performances. Sorry Ji :)

Kareena for all her spoilt brat image is a quite capable actress. Her method acting in Chameli was quite a revelation.... IMO the only reason it failed to click was it's difficult to imagine someone "peaches-n-cream" pretty like Lolo as a streetwalker. Her Dolly has few lines but she stands her ground with a wide range of expressions, the betrayed/bewildered look alone when Omkara accuses her of infidelity on their wedding night vindicates her presence amongst the stalwarts in this cast. She's no Konkona but she sure has delivered her bit.
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Vivek Oberoi and Bipasha delivers what's asked of them. Nothing earthshaking..... understandable given the standing of their characters. Naseeruddin Shah's again done well.... his role is nothing like that smooth-talking and dangerous cop (an adaptation of The Three Witches) in Maqbool which was Vishal's adaptation of Macbeth. Still, he has enoromous screen presence. Dolly's dad (dunno the artist'sname) has also done a good job as i mentioned before.

Music
The music composed by Vishal Bharadwaj is ek dum first class. "Beedi" is of course the raging favorite, but I prefer the soothing tunes of "O Saathi Re" and "Jag Ja". "O Sathi Re" is a great piece.... lifting tunes set to Omkara's and Dolly's romance. Ajay Devgan's recitation of "Jag Ja" in bed sort of tugs at your heart-strings..... but when he comes to the part where he promises a "Dashrath Boon" and tells her to ask anything she desires, Dolly butts in and demands Kesu's reinstation. (Some sense of timing, eh?) The sweetness of these songs plus the foreknowledge that everyone is doomed just adds to the appreciation. Yes, I think bittersweet would be a correct term for these two songs.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is one of my favorite artists. I fell temporarily in love with Paap's Udita Goswami via his unbelievably mellifluous tunes of "Mann Ki Lagan". His rendering of "Jiya Dhadak hadak" in Kalyug is something I listen to almost every day before going to sleep. Khan's "Naina" OST from this movie sets the backdrop of Dolly's and Omkara's first meeting and budding love....... great lyrics and Khan's unique voice makes a great listening. "Lakkad" is yet another beautiful song and it's in true bittersweet yearning-pathos mode. This song not featured in the movie, but obviously designed for Indu as she watches a ruthless Bhai like Omkara treating Dolly tenderly and lovingly (as against her own husband who's "quite an animal"). Hated the "Namak" item-number.... it doesn't belong here. Another song of note is "Omkara" by Sukhwindra Singh; I loved it when I listened to it standalone but in the movie it's played in a fight scene with Omkara walking away triumphantly after the dust settles. Obviously this is to highlight the heroism of Omkara, but I felt it wasn't necessary for a director like Vishal. Shaji Kailas showing Mohanlal lifting a road-roller is understandable.... but does Vishal need this? Could have done it more subtly. Bad Vishal. :p
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In short this movie gets a full 80% from yours truly. Highly recommended. Not quite Kurosawa standard (anybody seen his Shakespeare adaptations, "Ran" and "Throne of Blood"? The spirit's voice in "Throne of Blood", the eternal fog, the violent deaths and the whole Noh-theatre movie adaptation of Macbeth still gives me the jitters. The climax alone is worth the money). ***The ending could have been improved I guess, a bit too abrupt and comes crashind down on your heads. I loved the ending in Kaliyattam where Perumalayan immolates himself.... he turns into fire, he becomes fire and finally fades to nothingness.
(Spoilers follow:) However I must say the scene where a pained Omkara dismisses off Tyagi even after knowing the enormity of his crime and Tyagi's treachery was quite novel. I am reminded of that scene in Saving Private Ryan where the German paratrooper who walks down the stairs after knifing Private Mellish (Adam Goldberg) looks at the cringing Corporal Upham (who couldn't muster courage to help his comrade who was calling out to him) like he's an insignifant worm. That was the ultimate insult - "You don't matter to me". Omkara, in dismissing Tyagi shows no trace of malice or anger..... just resignation to his fate, accepting his own crime and stupidity, a warped mask of pain and peace, and that "you don't matter to me anymore" look.
Vishal also falls prey to audience's prediliction towards karmic retribution for all evil and shows Tyagi getting his throat cut by his shatterd wife who is then shown contemplating suicide by jumping into a well. The latter scene is something like Tarantino's trademark Trunk Shots. The dishevelled and EXTREMELY pissed Konkona Sen Sharma in her red sari and sickle in hand is made to look like a Durga Devi who cleanses the world and eases the burden of Mother Earth by dispatching off Asuras and Rakshasas. I guess this scene could have been handled a bit differently.... was this pandering to the lay audiences who luvv the heroine destroying the evil ones? (Spoilers end here)***

Overall, a very commendable effort by Vishal Bharadwaj. Keep up the good work Vishal, I sincerely hope you will adapt Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus next time. It would be interesting to see what's your take on this supremely gory tragedy.

Peace.

Those tunes that ring in your mind...

I just saw this little known but quite charming movie called The River King..... It's a mystery/crime movie based on Alice Hoffman's bestselling novel by the same name, starring Ed Burns (remember the assault-rifle wielding, handsome Ranger in Saving Private Ryan?) and Jennifer Ehle (who bears a good resemblance to the the exquisite, great Meryl Streep) plus an excellent supporting cast. What struck me most while I was watching this movie was Simon Boswell's refreshing mandolin score in the background.
There are some sounds, smells and sights that hit a spot somewhere deep inside you, awaken memories or strong feelings..... things you had buried so deep in your psyche. The mandolin score in this movie (plus the whole setting and theme of the movie) reminded me of someone who failed to "see" me a long time ago. The music somehow strikes resonance with the vibrations of your heart (corny, huh! ). I get a somewhat stronger reaction when I listen to "Never Tear Us Apart" from Inxs (see my previous post for more on this)..... especially the poignant flourish which accompanies the lines
"I was standing..... you were there,
Two Worlds collided"

Today I would like to share with you some tunes that have stayed with me for a long time.... have almost become a part of me.
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I bet every Malayalee has seen Padmarajan's immortal movie Thoovanathumpikal .... a love triangle movie way ahead of it's time, which sports some of the most multidimensional characters in film history. There's this central theme which we fans call "When It Rained" or "Clara's Theme"..... a most soothing and melodious violin and piano piece lasting about 90 seconds. This music evokes bittersweet feelings and subtley warns that the love is doomed even before it began... even before Jayakrishnan meets the enigmatic Clara. Whenever it rains and the smell of fresh, moist earth (what we call Puthu Mannu or 'New Earth') hits me..... this song rings inside my head. Love it.....

Dil Chahta Hai...... remember that scene where a smitten Sidd is talking to Tara? He suddenly blurts out "I want to paint you" to which a pleasantly surprised Tara doubles up in laughter and agrees. There is this music piece termed "Sidd's theme" which plays as he first walks , then jogs and finally sprints to his home to collect the canvas and brushes.... stuffs them in his jhola and races back to Tara's house. Notice that adoring expression turning to moonstruck impatience and desperation as he picks up his speed? The music piece is so haunting..... It is the bedrock to the "Kaise He ye" song by Srinivas, but this short piece is sheer poetry. It's something that grows on you as you analyse the most cerebral story of that 3 segment movie again and again....

Remember the whistling 'hook' in "Always look on the bright side of life" in Monty Python's The Life of Brian. (Spoilers Follow........)
The classic satire on bigotry, organised religion and the stream of Bible thumping movies from Hollywood is a real piece of art. Period. The highlight is the finale, the mass crucifiction scene parody with a hapless Brian(Graham Chapman) being let down by his lover, his compatriots, his very Jewish mom and the dumbest suicide squad ever. The movie ends with a fellow condemned (played by Eric Idle) cheering up Brian with his astute poetical observations on some Nihilist truths of life, spiced up with that oh so catchy whistling 'hook'. Black humor at it's best! The movie ends with most of the ensemble cast plus Brian singing the song cheerily while they wait a slow death on the cross. This song captured public imagination as a testament to human fortitude in the 80s and has been called the second national anthem of Britian.... even the drowning sailors of HMS Sheffield, sunk by Argentine exocet missiles, were heard singing this song in the icy South Atlantic waters. I first listened to this song way back in IIT-Mumbai festival Mood Indigo, 2000.... ever since it has been a sort of anthem during my dark hours.

There's this short and sweet "Wind of My Soul" by Cat Stevens, now Yusuf-ul-Islam, now a fundamentalist Muslim convert, recently imprisoned for funding the Al Qaeda. The soothing guitar and Steven's soulful voice mouthing some simple yet deeply philosophical and autobiographical lines is some experience. The guitar strikes that resonance I told you about...... I dunno, there's something with stringed instruments that takes me places. Wish I could get some time to learn to play them.

Every English speaking music lover has listened to Elvis Presley's stirring "I can't help falling in love with you"..... probably you have heard every other artist make a personal version of this song. From Britney Spears to U2, many have tried a hand with this cult song (the remake craze is second only to "Leaving on a jetplane" from John Denver). However, nobody has been able to measure up to the UB40 version set to the Sharon Stone's thriller flick Sliver. Remember that slick black and white video, brilliantly edited to scenes from the movie....with the entire UB40 troupe doing their thing in a brightly lit, narrow hallway with all those closed-circuit cameras swinging ominously? ( I bet you pervs were more interested in that peek-a-boo shot of a nude Sharon Stone strategically covered by an errant bedsheet edge! Well, it was kinda tastefull though...). UB40 pulls it off through the judicious mix of the reggae beat they are famous for and trumpets and saxophones. The streched vocals and the deliberate (with almost Shakespearean sighs) phrasing of
"Taaayke myyyyy haaaaaand,
Taaayke myy whhhholle life tooooo...
Eyeee caaaaan't help..... faaalling in laavv weeeth you"
gives you the picture of a man well aware of the forbidden, illict love....but can't just fr1ggin help falling for her magic. The whole effect is mindblowing; the soothing Elvis paean is transformed into a classic confessional anthem..... an anthem of "dangerous love". This song stayed in the charts for a looong time and was played over and over again in channels and radios.... something like that "My Heart will go on" craze.

Speaking of Titanic anthem "My heart will go on"..... strangely, that piece doesn't affect someone so "sensitive" like me. But there's this flute and bagpipes theme, an instrumental version of the same song, titled 'Hymn to the Ocean". It's the piece they play in the last scene..... when Rose finally rejoins Jack to the applause of all those who died with the ship. It's beautiful.

Coming to my favourite genre.... Celtic and New Age. I could write pages on my favourites, there are a lot of them.... but I guess I should stop with one or two best of tha best.
Guys and gals, I am making a confession. Enya was my teenage crush.... and I still am pretty struck by her looks and talent. I was 13 when I first heard "Anywhere it is" and "Orinoco Flow" you know..... her exquisite pure Irish features and silken voice bowled me over big time.
Anyway, there's this rather recent song from Enya called "Only Time"..... it's set to that bittersweet movie Sweet November starring Keanu Reeves smitten by a gorgeous and tantalizing Charlize Theron. The original video featuring dreamlike settings remniscent of Heaven in Robin William's "What dreams may come"and the best portrayals of passage of time, was an instant hit. The condolence ceremony to the fallen in 9/11 featured this song set to scenes of worldwide support for the victims and America. Again, this is one track that struck a deep chord in me.... for the same reasons as Thoovanathumpikal and The River King.
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Whew, got it off my chest! Wanted to put it into black and white so many times...... you know, I talked about these fundaes, like which pieces stay with me and why to somepeople closest to me. But I guess I failed to convey it through just words.... maybe its because I went on tangent everytime and they couldn't catch up with my feverish brain. Perhaps I have done a better job now...... I hope.

Chhhalll...... Bye for now. Thank you for listening to me.

The Donnie Darko Experience

I remember picking this rather obscure movie October Sky from the video library about six summers ago, I remember that day pretty vividly. My "quota" of 3 movies per weekend was almost up with A Bridge Too Far (which I was borrowing for the 5th time) and The Black Cauldron. I was about to pick up The Other Side of the Midnight cassette when I noticed this new arrival right next to it. The cover said starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper...... and hello, Laura Dern! Based on a true story? Okay.... let me try this one. That movie simply blew me away and clinched my aspirations for moving into the Aerospace realm after my undergrad in Electrical. The movie, the storyline and the entire cast was excellent but it was the lead actor playing his age (rather than some late 20s dude playing highschooler) with consumate ease and conviction that caught my eye. This boy, Jake Gyllenhaal literally brought to life the teen Homer Hickam who is inspired by the Cold War shock that was the Sputnik launch to go for a life in rocket science, via college and all that jazz..... a life beyond the wildest dreams of a coal miner's son.

I heard no more of this promising young actor for about a couple of years till I stumbled upon a "top seeded" movie in KaZaA, something titled Donnie Darko. The synopsis on the internet read "Troubled adolescent Donnie Darko, receives a disturbing vision from a a 6 foot demonic-looking rabbit that the world will end in 28 days, 12 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. With the help of various characters, including the rabbit who calls itself Frank, he slowly discovers the mysterious physical and metaphysical laws that govern his life and that will lead up to the destruction of the universe." Wooooooooooo........... this is going to be quite some ride!
Cable internet had just arrived in my home state, but the infrastructure and bandwidth was extremely limited. The Mars probe had a steady stream of 11 kbps from the fr1ggin red planet to Earth, I counted myself lucky if I got 4 Kbps from the hub next door! Moreover, due to the lack of adequate electrical security measures, the sensitive modems just lay down and died *everytime* there was a spike. A couple of days and 144 phone calls after, the tech support comes in and replaces the modem.... you had a 1 yr guarentee. Thank God for small favors! Finally, 8 days after setting the download task, the 800 MB file was on my computer in finished form. Hallelujah!

The movie opens with Donnie waking up at dawn..... in the middle of the road straddling the a mountain ridge, his bike collapsed next to him. As he cycles down the road, the unforgettable "Never Tear Us Apart" track by INXS plays. The effect of that haunting, hearbreaking track rings in your ears as Donnie takes us to his affluent small-n-happy American family living in a white suburban neighbourhood is, pretty rankling to say the least. The lyrics and the overall feel of that song somehow warns us of the fate of the protagonist and all around him. The foreboding atmosphere created by the 30 yr old Richard Kelly reminds us of David Lynch's menacing "netherworld" that hides behind pleasant Anytown, America. We are introduced to his dad, a cool one like Eugene Levy of American Pie canon at that... not the abusive/negligent/beer soaked/psycho/mid-life crisis stereotype of Hollywood. His mom is a loving and understanding mom, much like the Maaaas of Bollywood, his elder sis is on her way to the Ivies (she shares a rather endearing sibling rivalry with Donnie) and his cute-as-a-button kid sister all of ten. A far from dysfunctional family! But we learn that Donnie is a troubled young man and has a history of mental problems after an out of hand prank turned arson. Now, he's on the Prosac and psychoanalyst diet at the grand old age of sixteen. He is in an uppity private school, uniformed kids, vigilant teachers, spotless hallways..... in short nothing like the Gangsta's Paradises of Harlem. This is Donnie's world, at first glance something not so different from Archie's sylvan Riverdale.

Other characters are Gretchen Ross, a new student who has a traumatic history and is living in an assumed identity with her mother. There is an instantaneous chemistry between Donnie and Gretchen...... the powers that manipulate the living and the dead seem to thrust these two people into each other's life. There is a rookie out-of-grad-school english teacher played very competently by Drew Barrymoore, one of the two teachers in the school who understands the trounbles, angst and disconnects that plague her students. The reading assignments she gives out and her pointed talks with her students tells us she is very well tuned with the kids and concerned of the all-round well being of her students. Rather than squeeze out results pertaining solely to their narrow "brief" like her most of the school staff. Something like Coach Carter who shuts down the court till his students get passing grades, but with less leeway as she's on probation..... and stacked against the dinosaurs of "scientific education of children".

Patrick Swayze has a cameo as Jim Cunningham, one of those charismatic Gurus who try to dumb down things, make you take reductionist approaches to life and it's problems and take the easy, painless way rather than meeting things head on. There's the physical education teacher Mrs. Farmer who is the absolute opposite of Drew's character, sports a very narrow-minded outlook and totally taken in by Cunningham's simplistic brand of thought. Plus a host of minor characters each tightly woven into the storyline, all etched out perfectly by the ensemble cast.

However, the most engaging character is the 6 foot tall "entity" in the furry suit with the grotesque and demonic bunny face. This enigmatic entity only Donnie could see (obviously a wicked take on Harvey, the friendly invisible giant rabbit) leads him to create havoc that is both destructive and creative. There's this ancient and spooky woman Roberta Sparrow, nicknamed Grandma Death...... a character who might hold the key to the doom thats closing in on your heels. All the calculated acts of "destruction" and his interactions with the other characters has something to do with the prophecised destruction of the universe..... The viewer is guided by cryptic title cards on "The Philosophy of Time Travel", "Wormhole Phenomenon" etc as the movie progresses, a luxury available in the recent prints. It somehow diminishes the mystery of the movie by offering a canonic explanation..... people like me who watched the first drafts had a slew of theories on Donnieverse. Anyway, I am not complaining, at least I am glad that Donnie's world would find it's "peace".
There was a whole corpus on DD Apocrypha and this word-of-mouth buildup led to the movie re-releasing in 2004, three years after it's first release. This time it found it's much deserved success in the DVD and re-run segments. On it's first release it was pulled out pretty fast 'coz the lay viewer was quite confused and angry at the movie. A similar fate met Guy Ritchie's recent movie "Revolver.... but I am confident Revolver will be a much appreciated and studied movie in the near future. )

The mystery sci-fi aspect aside, this movie appealed to me on other fronts. The disconnect Donnie feels to the world around him, the inability of his family to reach out to the troubled teen, the system that tries down to water down or disregard existential issues faced by adolescents are powerful messages in the film. The shrink diagnoses after a few sessions that Donnie might be developing schizophrenia but attributes to him not being able to cope up to the world around him. However, she misses the woods for the trees as the real issue was the inability of the world around him to see Donnie and his problems within. American law and society which stipulates compulsory psychoanalyst sessions and "one size fits all" solutions to individual juvenille issues sometimes sends the hapless youngster into a downward spiral of instability. In Donnie's case, the prank turned arson created this guilty-disturbed individual tag which forever colored the way even his family views him, let alone Donnie's image of himself. His inability to percieve the nature of Frank (if the ridiculous and terrifying at the same time rabbit is real or a just a manifestation of his increasing instability) at the begining leads him to try and destroy Frank in the next "meeting". This however only succeeds in wounding Frank and the wound itself is a pointer and at the same time a "multiplier"to the mystery...... something that becomes very apparent when Frank appears again and unmasks himself when Donnie is watching Evil Dead with Gretchen asleep at his side.

Donnie tries to leave subtle distress signals like "They are making me do it" when he is commanded by Frank to carry out the first act of destruction... a red flag of the Schizo types so that someone would note his "history" and approach him. He tries to save himself and others around him. There's a play on the possible overlap between madness and the ability to perceive the supernatural...... messages from the highest power in most religions always start with a bona-fide certificate like "The message is directly from God, there is no need to be afraid. Sonny, you ain't dreaming and no, you certainly aren't mad".However, Donnie slowly unravels the mystery further with encounters with Frank, Gretchen, the young science teacher and Grandma Death and finds the truth of the his mental state and the reason for Frank's appearance. Following this (slow and subtle) discovery, we see Donnie carry out his tasks with the maniacal glee and conviction of a Fedayeen... while at the same time crushed and heartbroken by the implications of his action and the subconscious understanding of his own fate. The scene in which he almost curls to foetal position, clutching a teddy bear and spells out his feelings and fears to the shrink is almost a giveaway on "what is required of Donnie's life". Nevertheless, he is convinced that the forces that manipulate everthing makes no mistake and lately he is made aware of what he should do(what he IS going to do).... this is done by very effective CGI. This foreboding of doom and the aura of self-destruction around the lhero, one who ain't very likeable at that..... so well LIVED out by Jake Gyllenhaal's expressive face and body language is the USP of the movie.

One is also struck by the pointlessness of our actions; no matter how earthshaking the results are or how deep the emotion that guided the acion is, the people who you intended to benefit may be oblivious to your suffering and mental turmoil. The existential question-"For whom? What's in it for me? Am I even in the picture?" is blasted into our face after the dust settles in the storyline. The last scenes which convey a message of the end beneficiaries being oblivious to the enoromity of Donnie's actions and his life is quite distressing..... I would like to say more about this but I won't be able to do it without doing a spoiler. The sole comfort is the fact that *some* of the characters do feel Donnie's "touch" on their lives...... the feeling rushes in as extreme regret, sorrow, gratitude and self-awakening without even knowing where it came from. And this beautiful, epiphany-like cutscene is set to the haunting and philosophical "Mad World" track by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews.

Still, the feeling of futility of sacrifice and thanklessness towards Donnie does burn a hole in your heart....... I remember being morose for a number of days, pondering over existentialist issues and looking up the masters of this genre, O.V.Vijayan to Satre. Donnie Darko has that effect on the perceptive viewer..... watch it. An unforgettable experience.