The Book Thief

Director: Brian Percival

Rating: 9.5/10

As I write this review, I  thumb through the pages of my copy of  The Book Thief  quickly, inhaling that familiar scent of the gem of a book  I was acquainted to on April 12, 2010. Yes, I realise it is a movie review and not a book review. However, I also realise that this movie is perhaps one of those rare few book adaptations that are SO perfect, you cannot find fault with them. You don't grudge the director for cutting it short of your favourite bits, you love the  characters and the houses, the locations and the way the movie unfolds, is exactly like you imagined it, like someone stole into your imagination and wrenched it out, turning your favourite book into your absolute favourite movie.

Fair warning: the movie is long! You probably don't want to watch it if you're running short of time. Also, it is possible, you'll not enjoy this as much as I did if you haven't read the book or if you're totally new to Liesel Meminger and her world of a man with an accordion heart, a woman of thunder, a boy with the hair the colour of lemons and the Jew in the basement.

One of the most poetic depictions of Nazi Germany and possibly one of the most beautiful stories of all times, especially if you're a book lover, The Book Thief , now a MAJOR motion picture, is what you're looking for if you believe that good stories feed your soul. For me, the cherry on the top was the music was by John Williams, who is my absolute FAVOURITE composer of all times.

A complete, delightful, heart-warming tale of a little girl and her love affair with words made into just the best possible adaptation a book could have had!

Barfi!

Director: Anurag Basu

Rating: 7/10

It isn't unusual for Bollywood to come up with romantic comedies, however, it is unusual for the Indian Film Industry to come up with good love stories. Barfi! is that rare Bollywood wonder. Not a lot of dialogues, really good music, very few songs but beautifully sung and really soft on ears but more importantly, a good plot!

The story of a young deaf and mute boy, who seems to attract trouble wherever he goes, loses his first love to his handicap but manages to find love in an autistic girl, who is just as innocent and just as much of an oddball as he is-Barfi! makes you smile, cry and evokes more emotions than most Bollywood movies are capable of.

The film lost a lot of points with me because of the theme it portrays: that people with disabilities alone understand people with disabilities-something I refuse to believe and agree with. Of course, the movie doesn't talk out loud about this theme, but since it is indirectly implied by the way story goes, it does pinch me. The 'invalids end up with invalids' theme has been constantly portrayed in Indian cinema since forever. The fact that I come from a family where I have members who suffer from similar handicaps but have ended up having perfectly normal lives is something I am DYING for the Indian storytellers to depict! In a country like India where most disabilities are still surrounded by taboos like an evil curse, an illness and a ticket to being an outcast, and where movies and media affects lives and the perception of the society, there is a desperate need for unconventional themes not only for live stories but general social messages that are delivered by movies indirectly and unintentionally.

For that and that alone, the movie gets a seven on ten from me. For music, cinematography and execution as well as acting skills, I am more than impressed with the movie. Definitely worth a watch, or, for that matter, worth watching again and again.

Persepolis

Director: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud               
Rating: 8.5/10

There are so many movies around the world that are based on lives of people in and after a revolution, in and after a war but very very few movies are based on the life of one person and what he or she goes through during war.

Persepolis is one such story, and a true one at that, based on the autobiographical graphic novel of the same name taking us through the Iran-Iraq war, and how the volatile and ever changing conditions of the country can affect a childhood and a life.

Seen from the eyes of young Marjane, the movie brings out emotions of confusion and a constant search for self of a person whose whole world is turned upside down when her country falls into terrible times.


Heart-wrenching, terrifying and yet amazingly engrossing,
Persepolis is an animated movie for the grown-ups, that combines human sensibilities with the art of cartoons.

Hasee to Phasee

Director: Vinil Matthew

Rating: 8/10               

I was waiting for this day-literally! The day ONE different movie came out of the ever productive Indian film industry, which had something a sensible film viewer could enjoy as well as appreciate.

Obsessed with love stories, as Bollywood generally is, here's perhaps one of the VERY VERY few romantic comedies that completely negate the gender stereotypes world over.

For the first time, there's a romantic comedy which is REALLY comic-so, funny that you will die laughing, and so different it's almost refreshing!

I am sure anyone who watched this movie will not fail to notice that for the first time, the leading male actor is not depicted as a sex-maniac, lecherous, womaniser or a commitment phobic moron. Also, here, in Nikhil (Sidharth Malhotra), we have a boy, who believes in maintaining a relationship, despite compromises and is determined to make it through a lifetime commitment with his longtime girlfriend, despite having fallen for another. 

In Meeta (Parineeti Chopra), we have a female protagonist after my own heart. Obsessed with her studies, her research and making a difference in the world with her knowledge, we have, as opposed to Karan Johar's typical heroines, a girl, whose dreams are beyond the comfort of home and hearth, a steady boyfriend, lots of clothes and gooey over romantic things. 

However, the thing I liked the most in this movie, that for the first time in its history, the Indian cinema gave some credit to men and acknowledged the fact that a man can be attracted to simplicity, too, instead of ostentatious sexuality, winsome gestures instead of seductive charms and brains and a vision instead of beauty. 

A terrific improvement in the course of a love-story by making the characters more life-like than dreamy, more realistic than perfect makes this movie totally worth watching! If this movie cannot create magic, I cannot think of any other that will.

I'm docking off two stars because I am still waiting for Bollywood to become more realistic and there are certain things, which are still very cliched, especially the way the movie ends, but other than that, so not meant to be missed!

Signs

Director: Patrick Hughes

Rating: 9/10      

Usually, I show you a poster. Today, you're welcome to watch the movie itself! And no, this is neither a trailer, nor a joke! It is a short movie and a Cannes Lion Winner at that, and considering its length, I don't really need to review it. It's short, it's sweet, and it resonates the idea, that we don't always need words to communicate. Human emotions can flow just as effortlessly as spoken words and convey almost anything!                             

Waitress

Director: Adrienne Shelly
Rating: 8/10

Once in a lifetime, you come across a story that has it all: poetic merit, romance, feminism and art. Meet Jenna, an unhappily married woman, whose husband bullies her and to top it all up, gets her pregnant against her will.Her only solace and biggest talent is baking ingenious pies (like 'The Bad Baby Pie', for instance)   for the diner she works in. An extra-marital affair with her gynecologist, and several weaknesses later (which are making you hate Jenna for being oh-so-spineless), Jenna gives birth to a baby girl and miracle! She grows a spine! Suddenly, from being a much used and abused woman, she transforms into a strong, powerful mother, who won't let her daughter go through what she has gone through and in order to be the ideal mother and a role model for her girl, she asserts her independence! 

I have pretty much given away everything this movie has to offer but if you're reading this and are remotely interested in watching it, here's why you should go for it:

• If you're one of those people who think a woman's life is literally over after marriage and her ambitions go down the drain after a baby, watch this to be proven wrong.
• If you believe all a woman can do is shed tears over her plight, watch this movie to be proven wrong.
• If you believe you're that woman who is timid and doesn't have the courage to fight things that cause you your misery, watch this movie to be inspired.
• If you have ever wondered how to walk out of an abusive or self degrading relationship, watch this movie to find out how easy it really is actually!

All in all, watch this movie to grow as a person, to change your point-of-view, or simply, because you need a break from the usual chick-flicks that end in the usual way.

Caramel

Director: Nadine Labaki

Rating: 10/10

Amidst the tragedies of a war-ravaged Beirut, which has been a major focus of most movies featuring Lebanon. here's a unique story about the sweet, salty and sour relationships of day to day life. Focusing on the intersecting lives of five Lebanese women, who run a beauty parlour, Caramel revolves around rather simple things that complicate the lives of women. Based on issues like relationships with married men, lesbianism, pre-marital sex and virginity, the constant war against old age and the overpowering burden of duties, Caramel sets out to evaluate how little things can affect life a lot and there are wars yet to be fought, but without ammunition and violence, against antiquated social customs, sexual inequality, orthodoxy, deception, betrayal and foolish fears that haunt a human heart. 

I am not sure how you will perceive Caramel. It's not an outright cry for anything but is rather subtle in its messages, in its theme and it unfolds rather gradually, in the same way as Caramel will be poured out of a vessel. To some it maybe slow and for others, it may seem shallow on the face of it (yes, I have heard people describe it that way!). For me, however,it is romance created with a certain charm and poetic genius that will appeal only to those few who are sensitive towards it.