The Days Of Our Lives

This week I watched some brilliant, brilliant movies. Infact, I'm on a roll; 4 amazing movies in a row.

WEDNESDAY - HERO

It all started out Wednesday evening when I decided I would try to watch as many Oscar nominated movies before the Oscar presentations. But somehow I didn't quite feel like watching "Memoirs of a Geisha", so instead got hold of a movie called "Hero". It is a Chinese movie starring Jet Li, and as with all Jet Li movies it had its fair share of martial arts. Please note that I'm not at all complaining.

The story revolved around ancient China when it was still divided into individual kingdoms. The will of one king to unite all the kingdoms under the rule of one, is opposed by 3 assassins who are out for his blood. Enters a nameless hero who claims to have beaten the assassins. As the story progresses, various different angles of the hero's claim are explored, each more complex and gripping than the previous ones.

If the entire movie could be described in a single word, it would be - BEAUTIFUL.
The movie is beautifully directed! Each shot can be framed and put up on a wall. A colour code of sorts, is used to signify various angles of the story which makes the movie a spectacular eye-candy. The story is pretty unique and the acting is marvellous; the assassins and the hero are well portrayed and each character is deeply explored. A beautiful movie with a beautiful message.


THURSDAY - CITY OF GOD

City of God is a Brazilian movie focussing on the gangs and violence that prevail in a Rio de Janeiro slum. It does so through the lives of 2 boys growing up amidst the bloodshed. The shrewd kid becomes a gang-boss while the one who tries to make an honest living, struggles to be a photographer; showing how easy it is to accept the ways of the gun and how difficult it is to avoid it, in a pretty-much lawless environment. Divided into continuous, connected smaller stories, the movie brilliantly portrays the might of the gun, the uncertain lives of drug-dealers and the power held by gangs.

Watching the movie felt like watching a well shot documentary. The acting was simply superb and the story was very well picturized, starting from scratch and eventually building up to the climax. It came as no surprise that this movie had a rating of 8.8 on IMDB. It definitely deserved it!!

FRIDAY - CAPOTE

This movie is contending for 5 Oscars this time around, including the Best Motion Picture. Capote is a biopic of Truman Capote, best selling author of Breakfast at Tiffany's, and his dwelling into the murders of a Kansas family during which he forms an emotional bond with one of the killers.

The movie is grim and eerie showcasing the manipulative mind of Capote as he tries to gather details for this next book, aptly titled In Cold Blood. His relationship with the murder suspect is the major focus of the movie and the director flawlessly captures the agony experienced by Capote due to the eccentric author's personal attachment with the killer. The movie's storytelling and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who portrays Capote in the movie, surely leave a long lasting impact.

SATURDAY - GARDEN STATE

I was going to watch Akira Kurusawa's Rashomon, but at the last moment ditched the plan to watch a recent, mostly-unheard-of movie called 'Garden State' instead. And what a treat it turned out to be!

The story was pretty simple and dull-sounding - the protagonist, a man in this 20s, returns to his hometown, on account of his mother's unexpected death, after a period of 9 years. During his time spent there, he begins to rediscover his long-lost associates and find some new ones along the way; and learns to let go of the ghosts of his past.

After watching the movie, one thing was for sure - the movie was anything but dull. From the moment it started, there was hardly a boring moment in the movie and there was no scene which was stretched. Everything fitted in more-or-less; moving the story along nicely, one step at a time.

The protaganist is shown to be numb, quite literally, due to the medication prescribed to him since childhood. The movie is about his endeavour to break free and "feel". During his visit, he meets a free soul, played by Natalie Portman (in one of her most amazing performances till date). Having skeletons in her own closet, she assists him in his psychological quest.

This romantic comedy had its fair share of unique, eccentric moments; such as the guardian of a seemingly bottomless canyon unearthed at a mall-construction site, living in a house which resembled a boat. That was definitely a first. All in all, a wonderful, happiness-evoking, feel-good movie.

Signing off, here is a part of a song, comprising the soundtrack of the movie, which captures the essence of the movie perfectly -

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