A Wanderer's Journal

New York. Manhattan. Saturday, noon. Cold. Start walking. Lower East Side. Bridge in sight. Tempted to walk across. Walk across. Learn later that it is Williamsburg br. Cross over into Brooklyn. Get lost immediately. Wander around. Come across a very religious neighborhood. Religious schools. Very pious. Very religious. Elders, kids, everyone, dressed in traditional wear. Feeling terribly lost- as no outsiders around. Huge enclave- takes 30 min to walk across.

Find a local coffee/donut shop. Ah- respite from cold. Strike up conversation with fellow patron. Enquire about religious enclave- learn that they are very orthodox, followers of hasidic faith. Coffee and donut- $ 1.35. Get directions to Brooklyn Br. (to get back into Manhattan).

45 min more walking. Manhattan br. in sight. Fumble around to find pedestrian entrance. 15 min pass. Finally on bridge. Walk contently. Mental calculations on how many miles walked, based on the rate 3-3.5 miles/hr. Satisfied with the resulting number- thoughts of mild grandeur.

Land smack in the middle of chinatown. Wander. Gradual loss of direction. East/west? Look for landmarks. Wander into more populous parts of chinatown. Lots of restaurants. Fish market. Meat market. Fascinated by the amazing array of dead/alive animals/reptiles/amphibians. Stacked animal parts - in different stages of preparedness. Something resembling the liver of a small bird- chicken? Buckets and buckets of really healthy, live, frogs staring. Stare back in disbelief. Medium sized turtles, live. Some spongy looking sea-being. Squids. A proactive salesperson approaches. Had to retreat with some awkward expression on face - can't admit to window shopping in fish market.

Explorer spirit awakened. Wander some more- looking for little Italy. No luck. Land in SoHo instead. Beautiful people. Walk into a plush coffee shop. Get cappuccino in a glass cup. Captured by the gradation of colors in the glass mug- espresso and foam tentatively engaging with each other. Look around. Catch a girl smelling her hair. !. ?. Start writing something- end up writing this. Visit restroom - 3 ft x 3 ft. Smart-ass quote above toilet: " We aim to Please; You aim too, Please". Do best to aim.

Time to go. Some more walking to be done.

Little Children, Half Nelson - Beyond the Oscars

The Oscars have been handed out, and it is screens down and lights off at the Kodak theater, the home to the plush ceremony.

In the rubble of winners and losers are some hidden gems that urgently need to be highlighted. This post is to bring to focus two low-key movies that deserve our attention – “Little Children” and “Half Nelson”.

“Little Children” - rarely do you get to see such keenly-observed human drama staged with this level of skill on screen. There are several story threads that hold this film together- they are populated by an array of characters, all living in a suburban community that serves as a microcosm of humanity. There are those beautiful sprawling houses, manicured lawns and all things that symbolize comfort and serenity. And then there is the roaring undercurrent of humanity, waiting to explode. The characters in this film are walking, talking human volcanoes, ready to burst open at any time and unleash an unimaginable amount of emotional violence on the people around them.

And there is Kate Winslet. That is reason enough to go and watch the movie. The immense talent, commitment and presence she brings to the role and to all the characters she portrays should be enjoyed, applauded, and saluted at. The world is a better place because of her. Anybody who does what one does with such flourish, flair and excellence pushes humanity one notch closer to greatness.


“Half Nelson” is another overlooked gem. Ryan Gosling nails the character of a drug-addicted school teacher. The film looks unblinkingly at drug-addiction, drug-dealers and people who somehow exist simultaneously both in the mainstream and the margins of the society. The film is infinitely more complex and satisfying than what the above two-line description can manage- discover for yourself.

Pan's Labyrinth - Genius at Work

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is several movies rolled into one. It is a political thriller, a fantasy tale for adults, and more. The New York Times film critic A. O. Scott sums it up: “Pan's Labyrinth is a political fable in the guise of a fairy tale. Or maybe it's the other way around.”

The movie is set in rural Spain of 1944, where the young Ofelia and her recently remarried, pregnant mother move into her step-father’s house. Ofelia lands in the middle of an army camp where her step-father is the captain of a regiment of the fascist army fighting the populist rebellion.

Ofelia has a lot to put up with- the war-induced turmoil around her, her mother’s pregnancy-induced sickness and depression, the pure-evil, control-freak step-father among other things. Life at the army camp has few respites for Ofelia, barring the sympathetic maid and her books, which offer fantastic tales and never-ending diversions.

As soon as she arrives at the army camp, she discovers a fairy, and is guided to a hidden world in the woods, which is filled with legends, fauns, fairies, monsters, and a portal to another world. She is guided by a faun, who may or may not be trusted, in her quest to enter the other world through the portal.

Her quests involve several classic challenges common in the fairy-tale world, where the brave, beleaguered protagonist is faced with tough choices, tempted to transgress the rules, and comes out victorious in the end after going through a true test of character. But these scenes are executed with great flourish and a wonder-filled approach that underlies the magic-fairy genre.

Interweaved with this is the tale of the unfolding political turmoil in Spain, and the battle between the army and the guerilla forces. In this war, the loyalty and courage of several of the characters are tested.

Then there is the use of violence. As much as the fairy-tale part is filled with a child-like innocence, the war/political struggle part is filled with gut-wrenching, graphic violence that will make Rambo look like a shy second grader. This makes for a curious combination. By doing this, the filmmakers reach for completely different parts of the emotional-palette and paint a complex, engrossing, and ultimately satisfying picture.

The actors bring this complex, always shifting tale to life. Such stories need strong villains, and Sergei Lopez provides the movie with a three-dimensional tyrant, and fills every bit of the screen with menace and hate. Three cheers to the director Guillermo del Toro (“Hell Boy”, “Cronos”) for conceiving and bringing this seamless, fantastic film to life.

Casino Royale - A Bond reboot that is well worth it

A Bond reboot after three years, after Pierce Brosnan. Based on the first Ian Fleming novel, this film presents a new interpretation and a grittier, darker and a matter-of-fact bond. Daniel Craig creates one of the most grounded, believable and kick-ass Bonds ever (I know, I know, except Sean Connery).

The movie starts out with Bond engaged in a gritty hand-to-hand combat (in black and white) with an assassin to earn his “00” status. And from there, he sweats out, picking new skills, smoothing the rough edges of his maneuvers. The Bond character is built stone by stone and we get an inside look at the construction process. Gone are the days of the womanizing, smooth-talking, chauvinistic killer. This Bond doesn’t have time for all that stuff: when asked whether he wants his martini’s shaken or stirred, he replies: “do I look like I give a damn”.

There is a spectacular on-foot chase in a construction site, where both vertical and horizontal hurdles are scaled with stunning ease (the chasee’s skills are more akin with a monkey than any possible human). From there, it is a mixed bag. There are some interesting sequences and set-pieces, and long romantic interludes where the action co-efficient is on the low. But, these sequences are never boring, and do serve the purpose of building the core of the character. This film is a set-up, and spends lot of time laying the base-work for future adventures- buckle up.

Harsh Times - Movie Review

"Harsh Times" is "Mean Streets" cast in the mould of "Training Day". It is a buddy movie and an exploration of the underbelly of the urban landscape, filled with drugs, violence, pointless bravado, and masochistic humor.

Jim Davis (Christian Bale) is an ex-Army ranger, who has temporarily slipped into his previous life of patrolling the streets of LA, engaging in an array of illegal adventures- drug abuse, selling arms in the black market etc. Jim is intent on getting back into the mainstream job market so that he can afford to get married to his girlfriend in Mexico, and bring her to the US. Having freshly being rejected by the LAPD, he is called-in by a Federal agency for a job offer.

He rolls with his buddy Mike, who, in the pretext of searching for a job, joins Jim in his misadventures, and together they navigate the crime hotspots of LA with great ease. They dart in an out of explosive situations, armed with an insider's eye and ear for all things criminal. Their daily routine consists of drugging up as early as possible, as if to block-out any possible intrusion of reason and good-sense, and getting themselves into inextricable situations, and pooling all their resources to get out of them.

During their travails together, they meet some former buddies of theirs who have opted for a more mainstream lifestyle, and "straightened-up". These interludes briefly bring-up the possibility of hope and one day, redemption. The movie suggests that, in the violent inferno of urban crime and street-life, one's destiny is dictated as much by luck and turn of events, as by their deliberate efforts.
Christian Bale turns in another first rate performance. He has been silently building an enviable body of work that speaks for his range as an actor - for further proof, rent and watch "The Machinist" and "Batman Begins" back-to-back. He is ably supported by Freddy Rodríguez ("Six Feet Under") and Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives").

This movie was written and directed by David Ayers, whose past writing credits include a slew of hits like "Fast and the Furious", "U-571", and more relevantly "Training Day". He has an eye for detail, particularly in this landscape. Here he creates a believable urban jungle, with suffocating atmospherics and fully believable, down-your-alley characters. It takes a little getting used to to the frequent blood-shed and graphic drug abuse (there is an excruciating scene where Jim undergoes an ingenious procedure to pass a drug test - the weak of heart and refined taste are well advised to stay away).

The Departed - Movie Review

The master storyteller Martin Scorsese returns to his home turf of gangsterology, goons, good guys, violence and bloodshed with his latest offering "The Departed". There is a general grouse that violence in Scorsese films are unmitigated and graphic, which is undeniable. He has set the benchmark for cringe-inducing violence and bloodshed in film (at least until the appearance of a director named Quentin Tarantino). In Scorsese films, violence is used more as a tool to shock and involve the audience, than as an end in itself (unlike in Tarantino films where violence is the means and the end, and the screenplay is more like a pean to violence.) Scorsese is more interested in the criminals themselves- he wants to probe their twisted souls, and dig out some humanity from those deranged landscapes.

"The Departed" is one such character study of the world of organized crime in Boston. (This is a remake of a Hong Kong cop classic “Infernal Affairs”.) Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, is the lord of organized crime in Boston. He makes his prodigy Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) infiltrate the state police force, wherein at about the same time, a recent recruit of the state police, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), infiltrates Costello’s gang. This sets up a curiously rigged high-stakes game, where the role of the hunter and the hunted is continuously reversed. The fact that both Sullivan and Costigan have a common love interest doesn’t hurt the complexity factor either.

The film could serve as a text book example of a well executed ensemble piece. Almost every single supporting character (and there are quite a few of them), is fully chalked out and realized, and manned with first rate actors. Mark Wahlberg stands out playing Dingam as a potty-mouthed muscle flexing cop, who intimidates and cows down opponents with his razor sharp wit and abrasiveness. Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen pitch in with solid performances. Amongst the lead actors, Nicholson stands out. Investing the role with a sort of glee filled rascality, he achieves the delicate balance of making the audience care for him just enough, without sympathizing with his actions.

The film, in its best parts, propels with a seething energy, ably aided by the legendary editor Thelma Schoonmaker. It works most effectively as a crime thriller. The screenplay’s attempts to transcend into greatness are only half-successful; the complex character studies initiated are either cursory or in broad strokes. One area where the film succeeds effortlessly is in combining crime and dark humor; this is one of the funniest crime thrillers you will see.

The Science of Sleep – Movie Review

To describe “The Science of Sleep” would be a loopy exercise. The film is inventive as hell, imaginative as if there is no tomorrow, and loopiest of all loopy films. It’s like you write a nice little love story on a pack of playing cards, and give each card to a sleep-deprived, hyper-creative art student to doodle on, and assemble the cards back in order.

Each individual scene in the movie makes wild detours, is punctuated with dreamy interludes that frequently puncture the fabric of reality, leading to a constant state of intoxicated delirium. You are never sure where the film lands you – are you in a dreamscape or are you in reality? Sometime this could lead to total chaos, but the movie somehow finds a way to tell the story and find coherence between all this artistic mayhem.

Stephane (played by Gael Garcia Bernal, “Motorcycle Diaries”) visits his widowed mother in Paris. He moves into one of the apartments his mother rents out. A budding graphic artist, he is tricked by his mother into accepting a dead end rote job. His co-workers are an interesting bunch of modern age dinosaurs- people who have accepted their place (as modest as it might be) in society, and go through life with a sense of resigned discontent.

Stephane deals with the disappointments in his life by taking refuge in his spectacular imagination. When reality becomes unbearable, he slips into his fictitious world, and revels in the endlessly interesting possibilities that reality doesn’t afford him. Imagination is his last defense against insanity. Stephane finds a soul mate in his new neighbor Stephanie, who is slightly odd, interesting, and is also taken to creative pursuits. Their meet-cute encounters are like brainstorming sessions between the lead animators in Pixar Studios. They feed off each others creativity and oddity, and in no time they are inescapably drawn to each other. And, as in any romantic story worth its salt, complications ensue (the question is whether are these real or are they also parts of Stephane’s figment.)

Gael Garcia Bernal wields his considerable talents with apparent ease to create a fully realized character. Even at times when the movie is a jumble, the individual moments between the characters and the inventiveness of the makers hold it together. This is a sheer achievement in the craft of making films. The director, Michel Gondry, the maker of the wonderful “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, exercises enormous control over the medium and executes this jumble of a movie with great finesse.