THE GOLDEN CAGE (Mexico/102’/2013)

LA JAULA DE ARO

‘Subtle yet arresting’

It seems pretty easy for us to travel from here to a foreign country. If you think so, think again. It is not with the case of the Mexican film The Golden Cage, directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, the film is a journey of four teens, Juan, Sara, Samuel and Chauk, taking us throughout Guatemala and Mexico. The adventure which seems easy at the start later turns out to be a survival journey for the teens. Guatemala is a place with no future so the Jaun, sara and Samuel decide to leave for Los Angeles to live their dreams. They find Chauk on the way.

The film certainly exploits all the shades of a migrant. The director with a very clear vision delivers the story in layers. Whenever the story seems to be settling down, something disastrous happens. Samuel backs out of the journey at the very beginning when they all are caught by local police as immigrants. Rest three are used as cheap laborers in their journey ahead. Sara is kidnapped by a gang robbing the migrants. Juan and Chauk continue ahead, where to cross the next border they need to carry drugs. Throughout the journey Diego shows complete scenario of the political and economical condition of both the states as well as the migrants. The film does make a point and impact!

ANOTHER HOUSE (Canada/105’/2013)

L’AUTRE MAISON

Set in Canada, Another House, is a story of a father (Henri) suffering from Alzheimer’s and his two sons, Gabriel and Eric, who are taking care of him. Gabriel is a correspondent journalist for a press where as Eric is a pilot. Gabriel travels most of the time so Eric, the younger brother, has to bear the responsibility of their father.

The characters speak louder. Henri played by Marcel Sabourin is an extra ordinary performance. Directed by Mathieu Roy, the film speaks about the dilemma of the two brothers. Director has used a wonderful location to make the film. The scenic beauty calms you down. The film is all about relations and trying to figure out the possible solution. The remains realistic and does connect.

THE STRANGE LITTLE CAT (Germany/72’/2013)

‘The cat has noting much to do with the film’

DAS MERKWURDIGE KATZACHEN

Shot 99% inside a residential flat room, The Strange Little Cat is a tough film to get through. Director Ramon Zurcher speaks about a family living in the apartment in Germany. It seems a weekend when the whole family gathers and they are joined by few other relatives. There is not much of a story but the phase through which every family member is undergoing.

The strangeness is in the family members having less understanding with each other. Director Ramon surely knows camera, the framing is very tight which gives a feel of clog and congestion in every character. The brilliancy is in using the limited space to shoot. The acting seems natural but on some narrative ends looks artificial.

The music seems to be dominant, which certainly decides the power of the characters. The noise the machine produces is a metaphor cleverly used. The film is certainly difficult to average cinemagoers. A strong comment of the concept of nuclear family is portrayed. The films is not a piece of cake that can be gulped easily, it takes time to understand what the director says. On broader aspect, the film is meant for above average cinema fans who understand cinema in and out.

THE ROCKET (Australia-Laos-Thailand/96’/2013)

‘Mischievous and gripping’

Like the title, The Rocket, the film too is about it. Directed by Kim Mordaunt, the film shows the journey of a Thai family, as their land is going under dam construction’s affected area. Ahlo is Family’s youngest, a 10 year old energetic, mischievous and courageous boy. While evacuating the village, accidently Ahlo’s mother dies. Ahlo’s grandmother blames him for this and says he is a curse from birth according to their custom. But Ahlo’s father denies this and they continue the journey. In their replacement camp Ahlo meets a young orphan girl Kia aged 9 and her ‘Purple uncle’. Both gel up good and soon share a strong bonding.

The film is humorous but there’s ache hidden in every laugh, scenes such as - when the family along with the girl and her uncle hide to cross security check in a live bomb disposing truck and also when the two little innocent kids accidently pick up a grenade while playing. The performance of both the kids is amazingly extraordinary. They bring liveliness to the frames. The economical comment by the director is strong from very start of the film. The Thai community is exploited by foreign companies and the localites suffer. The film certainly leaves us with joy and rejoices in its final moments.

ILO ILO (Singapore/99’/2013)

‘old but still contemporary material’

Set in the late 90’s and revolving around the Asian financial crisis the film Ilo Ilo, certainly doesn't lets you go off. The simple yet intriguing build up between the newly arrived Filipino maid, Teressa, and Jiale, the only son (10-12 years) of the family, which is portrayed humorously. Directed by Anthony Chen, the film speaks about the problem of all the characters and ways they are trying to overcome it. How their work life is affecting their personal life.

The film makes you for wanting more feel after every frame. You are pushed to ask yourself, what’s next, before the frame ends. With a decent camera work and the presence of natural sound makes the film very natural. The performance of the young boy is brilliant. While watching the complete film, one gets so engrossed that we see the film from a neighbors perspective. It lacks the depth in the script in the middle of the script. But, it doesn't hamper the film as whole. The film is well made and to look for.

TONNERRE (France/106’/2013)

Love, sex aur Dhokha!

Life, love, betrayal and revenge, Tonnerre directed by Guillaume Brac revolves around these words. Maxime, 33 years old, is a musician coming from Paris living with his father in Tonnerre city. He is interviewed by a young local reporter, Melody, 21 years. Their first interview proves to be good knowing each other and they decide to meet again. They both slowly fall for each other ending up making love almost every day at Maxime’s apartment. Till this point the script remains interesting and absorbing.

However, when the second half starts, the script let the hopes down by taking a very usual love triangle shift, with Maxime even kidnapping Melody in the end sequences. The film, which remains intriguing in the first half certainly losses its charm in the second. The story seems to get pretty usual with happy ending for everyone. Still the actor Vincent Macaigne (Maxime) manages well to pullout the film with fine sense of acting in the second half. The film does say about a human caught in dilemma but fell a little short to give the complete meaning to it.

FANDRY - a critic/review.

Many successful Indian films have surfaced addressing caste issue in India, Ankur (1974), Samar (1999) to name a few. ‘Fandry’ is one such attempt to address the caste issue. Directed by Nagraj Manjule, the film tells the story of ‘Jabya’ who lives in the rural area of Maharashtra with his family, father, mother & two sisters, belonging to a low caste. They are poor & Jabya has to manage between work and school. The film exploits the caste system where Jabya’s family is given all sorts of possible humiliation by the rest of the high class villagers. Nagraj maintains a balanced narrative by carrying Jabya’s infatuation about Sahlu, one of his classmates belonging to a higher class. The love story of Jabya and in ways he tries to perceive Shalu has been portrayed well. This provides space for enough humour in the film to keep us intrigued.

The film gets pretty bold in the end with its execution style. But if we glance at couple of recent Marathi films, they have been on similar lines. Nagraj, who also directed Pistulya (a short film), gives a similar treatment considering the script. The film certainly does create an effect in its last moments, appealing to take stand.

-Izaz Ansari.

MAMAY UMENG - FILM REVIEW IN HT CAFE, MUMBAI.

‘Pure festival material’