Winter this year had a lot of muscle and it was best to not show your strength against it. As a result, I had a some time that had to be spent indoors. Catching up with friends is always great, but this time it led me to something I don't do very often. Watching movies. A few movies were recommended and finding so many of them online was a bonus.
I got started with a Bengali movie released last year called Shunyo Awnko. Some music from this film was shared with me and I was curious to see how it was filmed. Konkona Sen Sharma starring in it was a plus, so I ended up watching the film which is based on environmental issues (the Orissa mining of Bauxite being the central theme). It was an interesting film and it gave me confidence that I'm not completely lost without subtitles, though sometimes it can get really tough.
I had watched a couple of Rituparno Ghosh's films in the past and decided to start with them. Unishe April and Dosar were the two I watched one after the other and loved them. The director handles complex human emotions so delicately and with a lot of compassion and understanding. It was great to be able to watch movies that made sense and were based on a good storyline. Watching a string of mediocre mainstream cinema lately was making me lose interest in movie watching altogether.
Somewhere along the way I decided to intersperse watching new cinema with ones that inspired these new filmmakers. Who better than Satyajit Ray to turn to when you speak of classics that inspired people the world over? I started with Charulata. This was a film I had watched as a child and remember some interesting conversations. I was too young to understand the intricacies of the film back then. I was not sure why the lady cries when her brother-in-law leaves and I remember saying something like- 'that is not her husband, why is she crying?' Oh for that naivety again!
My mother of course turned it into a teaching moment and explained to us that having a hobby always helps and the lady would've fared better if she had cared to develop one. She was bored in her own home which was not how it should be. Instead of always fighting me over sending you out to play, you should read or create something instead, she advised. Then she and my aunt discussed the movie after we left to reflect over our newly found pearls of wisdom.
The next in line was Mahanagar. A truly well made film so ahead of it's time. The characters come to life as we see the protagonist develop from a shy housewife to someone who stands up for her beliefs. All the intricacies in human relationships are beautifully portrayed. As I began to get hooked to the world of Ray's cinema, I found myself thinking about the people I had just watched. What a complex array of characters already and I have just begun!
More about his films in another post later. Do share your thoughts in comments.
I got started with a Bengali movie released last year called Shunyo Awnko. Some music from this film was shared with me and I was curious to see how it was filmed. Konkona Sen Sharma starring in it was a plus, so I ended up watching the film which is based on environmental issues (the Orissa mining of Bauxite being the central theme). It was an interesting film and it gave me confidence that I'm not completely lost without subtitles, though sometimes it can get really tough.
I had watched a couple of Rituparno Ghosh's films in the past and decided to start with them. Unishe April and Dosar were the two I watched one after the other and loved them. The director handles complex human emotions so delicately and with a lot of compassion and understanding. It was great to be able to watch movies that made sense and were based on a good storyline. Watching a string of mediocre mainstream cinema lately was making me lose interest in movie watching altogether.
Somewhere along the way I decided to intersperse watching new cinema with ones that inspired these new filmmakers. Who better than Satyajit Ray to turn to when you speak of classics that inspired people the world over? I started with Charulata. This was a film I had watched as a child and remember some interesting conversations. I was too young to understand the intricacies of the film back then. I was not sure why the lady cries when her brother-in-law leaves and I remember saying something like- 'that is not her husband, why is she crying?' Oh for that naivety again!
My mother of course turned it into a teaching moment and explained to us that having a hobby always helps and the lady would've fared better if she had cared to develop one. She was bored in her own home which was not how it should be. Instead of always fighting me over sending you out to play, you should read or create something instead, she advised. Then she and my aunt discussed the movie after we left to reflect over our newly found pearls of wisdom.
The next in line was Mahanagar. A truly well made film so ahead of it's time. The characters come to life as we see the protagonist develop from a shy housewife to someone who stands up for her beliefs. All the intricacies in human relationships are beautifully portrayed. As I began to get hooked to the world of Ray's cinema, I found myself thinking about the people I had just watched. What a complex array of characters already and I have just begun!
More about his films in another post later. Do share your thoughts in comments.
