A feel good tale that cheers - Viva Cuba - A Review

Children will find this gem as a gentle introduction to social issues like class difference and identity

Do we fleetingly remember the first glimpses of rebellion from our childhood? Have we become too old to give up on our curiosity and wild ideas? If yes, Viva Cuba will take us right back to that time and gently nudges us out of slumber to elicit a quiet chuckle. With a running time of only 80 mins, the film's biggest success is that it remains within itself. On the flip side, it is not a landmark film mostly due to director's reluctance to delve deeper into social issues and bring them to the forefront of a feel good film. Malu and Jorgito, two children on a road adventure allows us access to Cuba's gorgeous landscape from hot and exhausting Havana to a coastal lighthouse at the far end of the tiny country. Both friends have a mutinous streak but on closer observation, one can also notice their class stereotypes demonstrated in various behaviors. Bourgeois lady and daughter more obsessed with vanity than books and industrious Proletariat father more preoccupied with thrashing his child. All in all, the film serves as a lovely introduction to cultural and economic fissures in Cuban society while going on a fun ride with two naughty children played superbly by both actors.

As of June 7th, 2014, film is available on HULU Here

Who owns the jungles and the land? - El Violin - A Review

El Violin is a black and white musical treat with deep political implications

El Violin is not for the faint of heart. It's a gem for those who love slow meditation on topics as varied as music and ambition. A relative short length film imparting photo journalistic quality to its black and white frame, it packs a punch on conflict especially between haves and have-nots of Mexico. The lead actor is a hardy 80 year old musician first and an actor only by chance. His wrinkles are written with decades of experience that light up the screen with emotions. The narrative is primarily presented through interactions between 3 generations of peasant guerrillas and the army personnel with the beautiful Sierra Madre in the background. If you love any one subject from history, photography, music, peasant oppression, you will enjoy the film but if you love all these, the film is going to haunt you for a very long time. Look for a fine cinematic political statement when the old man explains to his grandson the source of conflict -
In the beginning of time , the ancient gods created the earth, the sky, fire, the wind and all the animals; Then they also created man and woman. They all lived in harmony, But one of those Gods was mischievous and he gave mankind envy and ambition. When the other gods found out, they punished the mischievous god.
Then they removed the ambitious people of the earth. But some of them were accident left behind. And then there were more and more and more, and they wanted to own everything. They deceived the good people and little by little, they took away what they owned, until they got everything. They drove them out of their forests. The good people felt that this was not fair. So they turned to the Gods for help. Bu the gods told them to fight on their own that their destiny was to fight. The ambitious people had become powerful so the good people decided to wait. and their land became dark and desolate.
and then?
Then, the good people returned to fight for their land and their forests because it belonged to them. Because their parents had made it for their children and the children of their children and that's what we will do. We will go back. 
When will better times come?
Soon.
When?
One day you will know.

Monsieur Lazhar (Brief Comments)

Monsieur Lazhar is a rare gem, heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. It reflects on and confronts death through tender emotions of blossoming school children. Covertly, film touches on many subtle issues such as political correctness of modern public behavior vs wisdom of traditional community interaction. A must watch 90 minute wonder that gently leaves a thundering impact.

Mee Sindhutai Sapkal

'Mee Sindhutai Sapkal' has hurt deeply and encouraged further to walk the path I have chosen. Salute to Sindhtai and core strength of a woman that the modern world of 21st century still fails to recognize.

Killing Fields (of Cambodia) - A Review

Saw Killing Fields again after 10 years and was quickly reminded of why I had fallen in love with the film. 

This is a hymn to the kind of love story I have come to love. There is no question of physical or platonic; it is a human love story (between Dith Pran and Sydney), a poignant reminder of the power of journalism. Salute to all sensitive and daring journalists who are more loyal to their journalistic principle - to give voice to the voiceless (Cambodia) - than to their nation or even their personal life.

The movie had changed me then and it certainly movedChandni Sheth today, who is re-watching the film with Director's commentary as I post this.

Highly recommended for cinema buffs and political junkies alike

Bloody Sunday - A Review

A fine evening spent with Chandni Sheth watching 'Bloody Sunday', a classic about the choices people make in the battle for civil liberties , the instigation for 'The Troubles' in Irish-British conflict and timely reminder that strong military action is the surest way to alienate people on the fringes and arouse them into full-scale mutiny. 

Blame it on Fidel - A Review

Blame it on Fidel

If I were to recommend you to watch ‘Blame it on Fidel’ for a light, afternoon children’s fare, I would be spot on. Strangely, I would also be right if I were to claim that it is a subtle examination of political system and economic organization of our time. Yes, this contradiction and the film’s ability to pull it off with aplomb makes it a must-watch gem.

The film sets out to explore the turning of Anna and her brother, Francois’s life upside down in the midst of widespread political upheaval sweeping across continents and their very home.  Their parents are liberals hauled into the swirling political winds of 1970s France in part due to guilt of having ignored their social belief in order to build a comfortable life  of well-adorned home and manicured gardens. In an effort to right the wrong and embrace a new life of bohemian adventure and iconoclastic ideology, they start with gusto. But Anna is not so sure.

Francois provides the much needed comic relief in this adorable tussle between the elder child and her parents. In the aftermath of one such battle, Anna storms out of the house hauling Francois (perhaps to save him from her parents) onto the streets of Paris. The lilting melody of those moments becomes the troubling memory of the film. Audiences will, at once, find themselves smiling at the girl’s fiery temperament and profoundly touched by the love between siblings.

The movie is particularly effective by not answering the very questions it poses. Anna does not simply accept her parent’s theories at face value. She resists, she prods, she questions before she embraces. Essentially, what begins as a journey to educate Anna on a certain ideology also ends up being a lesson for parents themselves. In the process, audiences are left delving deeper into their own minds wondering if they can differentiate between group solidarity and sheep mentality, if they always know when they are sure, if it is ok to simply throw crumbs at poor farmers and workers in the name of charity or do we need to bring fundamental change to right the wrong of generations past.

Nitin Sonawane