From our Airbnb to the hills of CingJing. Taken with a fujifilm disposable camera.
Yolo. (literally).
Category Archives: Films
India on Film
Old is Gold.
Before The Play
Redha
My first time watching a movie at Golden Mile. It was a bit of a walk from Lavender, and we emerged from the theatre on a cold, wet and unfamiliar Sunday afternoon, my stomach empty and grumbling, but it felt worth it. Especially since all profits were going to the Autism Association!
The film portrays the lives of a couple with an autistic son, Danial. Some parts felt like an educational documentary, but I could see why it would be important to use such a powerful platform to reach out to the masses. And all things considered, I thought it was a very realistic portrayal of the struggles a family unit goes through when they live with a person with special needs, and how acceptance and support from different blocks of society can really make a difference in meaning and quality of life.
Just before the film started, the audience was asked to observe a few moments of silence for the female lead, as her own child had just passed away that morning.
It made me think: Aren’t the hearts of parents universally the same? They just want their children to grow up happy.
Paradise Now
A film exploring the perspectives of 2 suicide bombers-to-be, providing backdrop to why they would undertake such momentous decisions.
Until we learn that our happiness cannot be hinged on another’s unhappiness – even if they have done us wrong – we will continue to sow acts of violence and hurt, harming our own prospects for happiness in the process.
Be With Me
A film I watched about a month ago, and thought would be apt to think about today.
When it was made a decade ago, it was considered controversial for its time, in a country which was still seemingly torn between tradition and modernity. I applaud the film’s writers and director for being daring enough to go ahead with it anyway.
I’m not sure why I was surprised by this, but I really liked the film. I found it well-paced, well-narrated, and the characters were poignantly portrayed with minimal lines from each individual. A few tear-jerking moments, especially with the effective use of music.
Images like the Borders bookshop (which has since closed down) and the Neoprint machines (which have become increasingly rare, if not extinct), evoked feelings of bittersweet nostalgia.
Today marks our 50th year of independence (according to the official definition of that word), and I think.. instead of wishing for progress and happiness and all those things… I’d just like to be thankful that we are what we are. The good, the not so good. For it is all us.
Metropia
Set in the not-too-distant future, in an era where the human mind becomes the ultimate weapon and tool for manipulation to achieve political and economic control and power.
Personally I found it interesting to see how the future is portrayed as an excessively dismal place, with little hope for leisure, pleasure or even meaning and purpose in life. Perhaps there is always that possibility, in a future that has yet to be written.
Or has it?
The First Grader
This film really spoke to the educator within. Based on a true story: 84-year old Kimani Maruge, who gave up his life fighting for his country’s independence, finds himself being denied the right to quality education. The battles he fights are not only with the administration, but also within himself. The teacher who supported him, Jane Obinchu, is also an inspiration.
This passionately-written post by the actress who played Jane tells of some parts of the filming process and follow-ups. It’s really touching to know that the crew left the community with more improvements than when they first arrived for filming.
“Learn until soil gets into your ears.”
– Kimani Maruge
Blackout (2009)
It was surprising to not find much information about this film on the net. There are apparently a lot more popular films out there with the same title.
The film follows a young French reporter as he shadows a Hutu student in Rwanda looking for his Tutsi fiance in the midst of the genocide. Although he starts off being confident about handling and reporting on the effects and trauma of war, the emotional and psychological toll on him is apparent by the end of the film. As a viewer, I felt something tug at my moral conscience as well. It’s the similar feeling I get when I see images of war and natural disasters on the news from the comfort of my computer screen.
http://www.bacfilms.com/international/film/30
The Clay Bird
A beautiful film. Portrays the spiritual, emotional and cultural struggles of a family during a time of political upheaval. The conflict and turmoil in the country reflected deeply in character development. Clever infusion of traditional musical performances with suggested and hidden messages. Poignant use of metaphors and subtlety.
“The bird’s trapped in a clay body
Its’ feet bound by worldly chains
It tries to fly but fails
The bird’s trapped in a clay body
Rainbow colored birds circle freely in the sky
Their brilliant splendor a rapture for the eye
The bird’s trapped in a clay body
Its’ feet bound by worldly chains
It tries to fly but fails
The bird pines with longing
It yearns to spread its wings
It wants to join the joyful birds
Leaving its fleeting home
The bird’s trapped in a clay body
Its’ feet bound by worldly chains
It tries to fly but fails
The clay bird laments
Why did you infuse my heart with longing
If you didn’t give my wings the strength to fly?
Its’ feet bound by worldly chains
It tries to fly but fails
The bird’s trapped in a clay body
Along Life's Path 