Roman Holiday [1953] – Directed by William Wyler

I like to mix it up and most of the times it’s been fruitful. Watched too many mind benders lately so I opted for a 50s movie.

Princess Anne arrives in Rome. She hates her restricted royal life so she runs away. She ends up sleeping on a bench in a sedated condition. Joe Bradley, a newspaper reporter finds Anne and takes her home. Joe misses a press conference the next day but finds out the girl in his apartment is indeed the princess. He makes a bet with his boss for an exclusive interview with the princess. The rest of the story is about how Joe takes the princess on a tour of Rome without revealing his true intentions.

The movie had two of the greatest actors from Hollywood. Princess Anne is played by the beautiful Audrey Hepburn. She won the Oscar award [Best Actress in a lead role] for her amazing performance. Joe Bradley, the male lead was played by the legendry Gregory Peck. I have only seen two other movies of his, The Guns of Navarone and Mackenna’s Gold. He is truly a versatile actor. The Director William Wyler is also a legend who has won two Oscars for Best Direction, one of them is for Ben-Hur. The movie had ten Oscar nominations.

This movie must have inspired a lot of film makers around the world. There are so many beautiful moments in this movie which I have seen in contemporary cinema, now I know the origin. 

Roman Holiday is a timeless classic. If you are looking for the definition of Romantic Comedy, look no further.

Cheers

Pradeep

Following [1998] – Directed by Christopher Nolan

Finally I have done it :-) I’ve seen all of Nolan’s works till date. I had this movie in my collection for a long time but somehow never got to see it. It’s so apt that I had to watch it after Inception.

Following was his first feature film which was made with a meager $6000. The story is about a writer in London who follows people at random to observe and to get inspiration for his book. He has some rules in following people, like never follow the same person twice. He starts to follow a thief more than once and this turns his life upside down.

For a thriller which deals with crime there aren't any usual fight sequences or extreme stunts, without any of these it commands your attention with just the crazy screenplay. It is a bit hard to follow but it all ties up in the end. Nolan has repeated this style in his later works namely Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins and Inception. I feel this movie has a lot of similarities to Inception; it toys with the viewer’s mind but at a much slower pace. It’s in Black & White which is in no way a negative to watch and enjoy the film.

Updated: Christopher Nolan’s track record is envious purely considering his box office success. It all started with a short film named Doodlebug in 1997 [You can watch it in you tube]. He may not be in the league of the greats like Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. I don't think he will reach their status unless he strikes a balance between his extreme commercial ventures like Batman trilogy, Inception and now Interstellar to movies like Prestige, Insomnia and Memento. The most common thing for me about Nolan's films is the experience while watching is always Amazing (except for Dark Knight Rises) but later when you think about the movie, it always feels like Nolan is trying so hard to impress the viewer that it shows. When all said and done Christopher Nolan is still my favorite commercial filmmaker from Hollywood.

Cheers

Pradeep

Agora – Directed by Alejandro Amenabar

This movie is a biopic of Hypatia a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer. The story is set in Alexandria, 391 A.D so the stage is set for a visually beautiful film. It does deliver on this and much more.

Cinematography and Art department are the best in this movie. The perfection achieved in these two departments makes the viewer feel as if we are part of Alexandria.

Rachel Weisz has given a stunning performance.  As an astronomer who believed in science and philosophy, Hypatia had to face the wrath of the raising Christian church. History proves that people who went against the church were termed as Heretics and were sentenced to death. The story delves into the complexities of people, people who follow different religions and beliefs. Christians might find it difficult to digest this movie.

The film is two hours long which might be a drag for some, but it sure is worth a watch. The good thing is, it doesn’t preach against any one particular religion. As a fellow blogger pointed out with her comments, I'm not sure about the historical facts but the movie sure made me interested in learning more about Hypatia.

As the story evolves to its tragic end, one can’t help but wonder how much the situation is still the same. It’s ironic that humans, the most intelligent beings in this world [at least we think so] have progressed so much but yet we cling on to medieval myths. "Let there be light" both in our minds and our hearts :)

Cheers

Pradeep

PS: To know more about Agora and the real Hypatia please refer to the excellent articles written by Faith L Justice [links given below]

http://faithljustice.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/agora-hypatia-part-i/

http://faithljustice.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/agora-hypatia-part-ii/

http://faithljustice.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/agora-hypatia-part-iii/

The Constant Gardener - Directed by Fernando Meirelles

There are two major things that stood out in this film, let me write about "The Big Picture" first. This movie is about Africa, and it is a SLAP on the face for the rest of the World. How the rich nations ignore Africa. How vested interests swindle and exploit Africa. This message is portrayed throughout the movie but the main plot is Love, The Love of a man for his woman.

The story revolves around a UK diplomat, Justin Quayle who works in Kenya. His wife Tessa, an activist, is killed along with her doctor friend. Justin then embarks on a quest to investigate the mystery surrounding his wife's death. Justin Quayle is played by the immensely talented Ralph Fiennes; I loved his performances in Red Dragon, The English Patient and Schindler's List. Tessa is played by the gorgeous Rachel Weisz, she has lived the part and is deserving of all the accolades. Her performance, won the Oscar for best Actress in a Supporting Role.

This gem of a movie is directed by Fernando Meirelles who gave us Cidade de Deus aka City of God. The movie was also nominated for Best Editing, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.   

SPOILER ALERT: The most heart wrenching scene in the film, for me, was when the protagonist and a doctor are running from a group of bandits who raid a village for UN's aid supplies. As they reach the UN airplane the lead character Justin Quayle and the pilot of the airplane have an argument about saving a kid by taking her with them. The girl watches as both the men fight and suddenly she jumps off the plane and runs. The airplane lifts off with the UN aid workers as the girl runs away in the distance... 

Pradeep Kumar