Incident by a Bank (2010)

Incident by a Bank (2010)

Written and Directed by: Ruben Ostlund

Streaming on MUBI. 

The film is based on a real robbery that took place in Stockholm, and the film is a recreation of that event. It's a single-shot film, there are no cuts. And it's an ensemble piece done by over 90 people. Firstly, it even looks very challenging simply because the sheer space of the frame is so huge, that I was wondering how they managed to co-ordinate every person at the exact timing throughout the film. And there's action too. It's not like a talkie drama. It's a robbery. Though the film is a single shot thing, the frame keeps changing as the camera keeps panning and zooming in. I don't exactly know how to feel about this, because at one point it feels good because the frame is dynamic, but on the other hand, I ended up thinking, why do a single shot in the first place if you're panning and zooming in any way, if not for the technical style. 

As far as the act was concerned, it was beautifully choreographed and acted out. It just felt like a bystander was recording the whole thing on a handicam and we were looking at the footage. It felt really authentic. The last time I felt the same while watching something was in a fight scene in Asghar Farhadi's A Hero, it felt so real. The fighting. This film definitely held the authenticity. It's interesting to see a filmmaker who's done multiple feature films, do a short. I think there's a lot of difference in writing and making a film, and a short. Because the medium of shorts, opens up a lot of creativity. You can break a lot of rules, simply because the time of investment is less. I hope there come more anthology segments so that we can see all the big filmmakers trying the form of a short. 

Saani Kaayidham

Saani Kaayidham (2022)

Written and Directed by: Arun Matheshwaran
Starring: Keerthy Suresh, Selvaraghavan
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video. 

Sometimes as a creator, you have a lot of emotional energy within. And you just want to let it out. That's the primary goal. More than telling a story. Saani Kaayidham feels like a film made with a lot of rage from within. And it works for what it is. This is film which one would enjoy when they're experiencing some sort of a rage from within. The film and the characters act as a surrogate for us to let out our rage. The story is pretty simple, the characters are pretty simple, and it's a simple, straightforward film. The film doesn't make any nuanced social commentary or anything of such sorts - which to be honest, I wasn't even looking for in this film. After watching the trailer, all I expected was, a well shot, violent revenge drama and the film has that. I absolutely loved the trailers and teasers of Rocky, which I didn't get a chance to watch yet. I feel like he makes these simple revenge dramas, with a lot of aesthetics, and he shoots the violence so damn good. If the violence is sloppy in this film, then it's of no use. He exactly knows the right amount of violence to shoot. 

This film takes the genre to a little extreme - like after a point, you feel a little exhausted watching the violence. But I feel like such extreme films have to be made. Just to set a benchmark. So for that, even the film crosses a line, I feel like it's okay. For example, Tarantino has set a certain benchmark for violence, a benchmark is created when there's a balance of good storytelling too. You could definitely pick some gross films like, A Serbian Film and call it the most violent film - but nobody cares about a film like that. Violence seeps in, when you strike a balance - in a way that a lot of people would want to watch the film, and then you push the boundaries. And Saani Kaayidham does exactly that. If you're pissed off about something in life, watch Saani Kaayidham instead of indulging in substance abuse. Or maybe do both together.

Meet the Parents

Meet the Parents (2000)

Directed by: Jay Roach
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller

Streaming on Netflix. 

I really enjoyed watching this film. It had the vibes of a well made Telugu film in the 2000s. Of course, there is the scene that inspired the famous poetry reading scene by Prakash Raj in Nuvvu Naku Nachavu, but in a way this film feels like an inspiration for Bommarillu too. Jack played by Robert De Niro, is a perfectionist father who wants everything right for this daughter. Sounds like the father's character in Bommarillu, doesn't it? In order to get his approval, Greg goes and stays with them for a while. To me, the reason to watch the film was simply Robert De Niro, and his image. We've seen him play the bad guy in a lot of Scorsese's films and to see him play a very toned down version of it was so funny and endearing. Every time Jack warns Greg about something, I'm thinking, woah, he can do worse. He's being nice Greg. I just couldn't let go off his persona. When you have an actor like Robert De Niro, it makes the writers/directors job so easy because the conflict here is so obvious and on the face. You need not write another scene to establish how gritty and dangerous Jack could be. It's obvious. It's Robert De Niro.

I really enjoyed the structure of the film. The way Greg keeps fucking up. I wasn't really enjoying the comedy all the time. Most of the scenes, I was in a zone of just watching it and let it pass by. But I really enjoyed the low point in the film, when Greg leaves the house and sends Pam his score. Because of Jack, their relationship has now become shaky. And that moment hit me. Again, this is so similar to the sequence in Bommarillu. Post this, I liked how Greg mans up and tells Jack that he has a problem with his behavior. He learns to take a stand and own up to himself. Jack learns to loosen up a little. Or does he?

Superbad

Superbad (2007)

Directed by: Greg Mottola
Written by: Seth Rogan, Evan Goldberg

Streaming on Netflix. 

The film deals with deep political, social and human issues like getting laid and finding booze. It's a fun, coming-of-age, buddy comedy. The whole energy of the film carries the vibe: the music they use, the language they talk and the best part about the film is that it's unflinchingly honest. The way the film inflects from the point where the cops meet Fogell and the guy bumps Seth is really interesting. Because otherwise, it would be very contained. How long can you watch Jonah Hill yelling? I think it's a very nice tool to make a film about two or three characters - where you find an inflection point and have the characters split because of an event and focus on the characters individually till they get back together later. With a tool like this, you could have a few characters and take the film to any direction you want depending on the tone you want to create. I really enjoyed the subplot of the cops, because it's such a nice spin and I liked how they honestly confess to McLovin later about how they saw themselves in him when they saw him at the liquor store. 

The entire film felt like a crazy drunk tale told by someone at a bonfire. The perils of growing up in a conservative space in India, most of us never really experience even a part of all this madness in school. The only madness that we get to experience is believing that getting into a certain college will change our lives. This film in a way acts as a surrogate for the lack of such experiences and inspires us to go batshit crazy again sometime, no matter how old you get. Even the Hangover series, Dazed and Confused and some stoner films too. That's the beauty of cinema. It shows you all the life that you're missing out on, so that you at least know what you're missing out on, and perhaps try to find a different version of it later in life. 

The Spectacular Now

The Spectacular Now (2013)

Directed by: James Ponsoldt

Screenplay by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video. 

It's a coming-of-age film in the disguise of a love story. It's the story of two characters, Sutter and Aimee, who start seeing each other but the story has very less to do with the relationship. Aimee is naive, she's not polluted as yet and it's interesting because you keep wondering the same way Sutter keeps wondering, if she's really kind and nice or simply naive. Nevertheless, it's definitely endearing to see a character like this. Though niceness is not enough, it's definitely one of the basics and characters like this definitely remind us about how it feels to be around people who are nice and kind. Through the events that happen in the film, we see life happening to her. Her first boyfriend, losing her virginity, her standing up to her parents, fights with the boyfriend. Shailene Woodley, the actor who played Aimee, has it in her: just her eyes and her face makes you go 'aww'! How can you not be dazzled by her innocence?

Coming to Sutter, he's a easy going, fun loving guy. He meets Aimee, and after a pact, he decides to meet his father and confront his past. We see some self sabotaging tendencies of his that come from his father - he fucks up a really good relationship because he just thinks he's not good enough for her. We see some self fulfilling prophecy coming into play. You think you are not good enough, and you end up making choices that make you worse. If he just thought he was worthy of Aimee's love, he would've not fucked it up. I enjoyed the film for how it's a coming-of-age story of two people, I just wished the film had more intersection with both the characters' lives than what it has now. So right now, I don't think it's really a love story, simply because their roles in each others' lives in this story is not as much. Nevertheless, it's always endearing to watch a good coming-of-age film and I absolutely loved the ending reaction shot of Aimee, when she sees Sutter again. 

Locke

Locke (2013)

Written and Directed by: Steve Knight
Starring: Tom Hardy

One of my favorite genres in film: the one location film. This film is entirely set in a car, where we see a man driving it and having different conversations over the phone call with different characters. A few of such more films would be, The Guilty, Phonebooth and Buried. All of them mostly banking on conversations through phone calls. As an aspiring filmmaker, it's inspiring to see a film being made with such limited resources and yet telling a gripping story. With all these films, I think it's key to get the structure right. Because there's enough experimentation happening with the film being set entirely in one-location, so for something like that to work, the story structure has to absolutely be in place. The good part about this film is, it tells a story which can't be told anyway else. The one-location setup is not to make a low budget film, it's to support the narrative. It's the story of a man who decides to drive and be there for the women he cheated with, when she's having a baby. What follows is a series of fuck ups, confrontations, revelations - all over phone calls when he's driving. 

What I loved about this film is this one car journey seems like a mini life experience in itself. He has to keep track of his work emergency amidst all this stress; just like life, no matter what you're going through, you gotta show up and do your job. It's interesting how they explore such lows over this one journey. He loses his job, his wife, his home - everything. And he'd have had everything if he didn't want to be there for the woman. But he couldn't not be there. Why? Unresolved childhood trauma. What's the most heartbreaking is when he gets his call from his son, asking him to come back home. After losing everything, you know the value of something as simple as this. It's priceless. I loved the film for how it made me so many life altering events over one simple car journey. 

Gangubai Kathiawadi

Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)

Music, Edit and Direction by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Alia Bhatt

Streaming on Netflix.

This film is a very enriching experience, it made me feel a wide range of emotions at the same time. I felt good about how it's a rags to riches story, which is always inspiring. But it's a tragedy about the world it's set in, the way women are forced into it. In the beginning, I was of the view that even though it feels good that Gangubai is fighting for the rights of their people, it felt bad when you think about how it's an inherently messed up place to be at, no matter how better their lives can get. But slowly as the film goes on, we start seeing the 'inherent mess' in a different way. The darkness of the world gets to a place where we start empathizing and start accepting the world for what it is. The film doesn't take this debate of legalizing prostitution from the beginning, then it would've been a propaganda film. But this film is way richer than something like that. It operates in the space of an epic. It starts from the origins of the character, her being forced into a world, and then slowly accepting the world and then becoming a revolutionary force in it. I loved how the film slowly builds to this.

I absolutely loved the subplot of the love interest, Afsaan. He's an innocent guy who wants to get married to Gangu, and Gangu likes him too but she knows that it won't work. And what she does later with his love for him so is bittersweet. She knows he's a nice guy, she loves him too, but she does what she has to. I like how the rags to riches happen too - she goes through a lot of shit, she earns the trust of her people and then the boss dies. Then competing against a rival - Razia (whose casting choice I absolutely loved). Classic gangster film tropes. I enjoyed Alia Bhatt's performance so much - because for me the look didn't work fully, because even after the styling, Alia doesn't look the part. But she killed it with the performance that I forgot that the look didn't work for me. And of course, the world is a rich Bhansali world - with the camera moves, the set design, and everything that he crafts and sculpts. At this point, I feel like I want a Bhansali version of all stories out there. 

Good Time

Good Time (2017)

Directed by: The Safdie Brothers

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie

Nominated for Palme d'Or at Cannes 2017

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

I saw Uncut Gems before watching this film, and I could sense a very strong directorial voice in that film. And that voice was consistent here too. There is a strong sense of style, the tone is unique - it's a bit anxiety inducing. The kind of background score that's used, the plot, the conflicts, the staging, the claustrophobic blocking, the neon light filled scenes, and the way the camera moves - all of them come together to create a visceral nature to the otherwise thin narrative. Robert Pattinson is really good in the part - it's interesting to see a star like him blend into such a raw and gritty world like this seamlessly - I'm sure a lot of work would've gone into making this seem seamless. I really like how they use elements within the scene to add to the anxiety, like I remember once there is a dog barking in the background, once there is a siren that's ringing - simple like these add a sense of claustrophobia to the soundscape and makes it super uncomfortable for us. 

I like how simplistic the plot of this film is, a robbery goes wrong and one of thief tries to safeguard his brother who is mentally unstable. The plot is wafer thin, but how they explore the series of events that unfold that makes it a very rich world. The film is reliant on plot, the inflection point for the film is where Connie realizes that he got someone else thinking that it's his brother. Such an inflection point can take the film in any direction - entirely depending on the character. This new character could be a cop, could be a drug addict, could be a billionaire, could be someone Connie falls in love with. This could change the entire film. I like the direction the film takes from here - it does what it set out to do. The way this character, Ray, unfolds is also interesting. I loved the actor who played this part. Again, the ending is a classic, smooth end to a crime drama. 

Layer Cake

Layer Cake (2004)

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: Daniel Craig

Based on a book of the same name. 
Streaming on Netflix. 

I could sense a lot of Guy Ritchie's style in the film, and I wasn't surprised to know that the director of this film, produced Guy Ritchie's first two films. Although this film is high on drama than on style. The opening felt like it's going to be high on style, but later I realized that the tone of the film is a bit gritty - rightfully so, it's a gangster film, so why not? And the violence, "because it's so much fun Jan"! I liked this film being in the drama space because it allows for us to see the characters as real people - which is exactly what happens in a show like Breaking Bad. Whereas, when it's extremely high on style, it's a little tricky to crack the space where we track with the characters too - which probably a master like Scorsese can pull off with a film like Goodfellas. But otherwise, if the film needs us to track with the emotional graph of the characters, then it's better to keep it not so high on style. Although I wish the film used a little more voice over than what it has currently. 

I like how the characters in this film are constantly in trouble. Usually, we see gangsters flicking cigarettes, walking in shades, wearing cool coats - but in this film though they do all of that, the film makes it a point to make us feel the discomfort and makes us realize the severity of living a life like that. The conflicts in the film are the usual ones we see in gangster films - finding out a snitch in the gang, killing them, figuring out differences within the gang, killing the big and guy and becoming the next big guy, trying to flee the cops, etc. The ending is also a classic gangster film ending - I liked how he looks back, says something classy and slick, but he never gets to turn back. Though I saw it coming, it's a smooth way of ending a gangster film without a bleak worldview. So I didn't really mind it.

Pada

Pada (2022)

Written and Directed by: Kamal K. M.
Streamig on Amazon Prime Video

The film is based on true events that happened in 1996, when the Palakkad collector was taken hostage in order to revoke the controversial Adivasi Amendement Bill. At its bones, it's a one-location survival thriller, but otherwise the film has a strong social voice. But it's engaging and it keeps us hooked because of the survival thriller format. Like most Malayalam films, this film too takes its own sweet time to get to the core of the film. It's almost 40 minutes into the film that the inciting incident happens. Till then they're setting up the characters and the world. I don't know how Malayalam cinema has earned our trust, but for some reason, only if it's a Malayalam film, I end up being patient even if they don't get to the point even till 30 minutes into the film. It's definitely well earned trust - it's after a series of watching really good films that I have arrived to this state where I won't mind a lot of set up if it's Malayalam film. I think it's because the writing is really authentic, so even if there's not much happening, we feel like we're watching a few strangers talk and also when the portrayal of the milieu is really authentic, as a non-Malayali, my curiosity of the world lets me watch the film. And the other reason, the pay offs of the films are really satisfying.

Pada, as a film is definitely interesting because of the genre it landed in, the way the characters are written. In a film like this, it's very easy to lose nuance. But everything feels so grounded throughout. But apart from this, I felt that the film as a standalone didn't satisfy me on an emotional level. I really loved the ending where they were intercutting to real footage, and were referring to all the real characters that the film is based on. But as a standalone piece of art, the pay off wasn't that satisfying - but perhaps because it's based on true events - there is only so much control they have over the plot. But apart from this one issue, I really enjoyed the film. 

C'mon C'mon (2021)

C'mon C'mon (2021)

Written and Directed by: Mike Mills

Cinematography by: Robbie Ryan
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Woody Norman

I'm in love with this film. I saw the poster and the premise of the film, and thought that I should give this a shot. And one minute into the film, I was hooked and emotionally invested. I think it was the imagery and the visuals that did that to me - just the way they shot the different cities and people in black and white. It did the job. That's when I again realized the importance of imagery in film. It can do everything for you. Firstly, it's like this film reminded me of one of my all time favorite films, Faces Places. It's like being hung up on your ex and trying to find a different version of them in everyone you meet. Though this film is not really a documentary, it plays a little in that space because they both travel to cities and interview kids about life. So they use the footages of the response of the kids in between the film - and that felt like a brilliant tool to support the narrative. They sometimes use the kids' response as a transition and it works beautifully because what the kids say are sometimes way more profound than anything that adults say - simply because kids are brutally honest. 

I really enjoyed the fiction part of the film too. It's essentially the story of a friendship between a kid and his uncle. It was interesting to realize how tough it is to deal with kids - it's almost like one sided love. You love someone, they don't. They come to you sometimes. They don't sometimes. And you have to put up with it because they're too cute, charming, and because of your explicable love for them. What I also loved about the film was, it has a lot of honest moments. I value a moment more than anything else - the actors, the camera, the music, even the entire form of filmmaking goes to a toss if there's an honest moment. Even if the shot is just a leaf flying in the air, or a dog doing something dumb, or an actor creating a moment with some brilliant performance - for me all of them are equally valuable. This film has a lot of such moments, but they do it with actors and writing, which I think is essentially the job of a filmmaker, and it's beautifully done. I'm in love with this film, because it reminded me of my mad love for cinema in its purest form.