IFFK Bytes: Clash- On Humanity

I was in a confusion today morning- to watch Neruda or Clash. It was to be the last movie that I was watching in IFFK 2016 and wanted it to be a memorable one. Finally I circled on Clash, an Egyptian movie set during the clash between army and Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. And the gamble payed off, in-fact I hit a jackpot. Clash turned out to be an explosive movie that is capable to provide good exercise for your brain and your soul.

The whole movie happens inside a police van. Army rounds up and fill whoever it thinks can cause trouble into vans. In a van thus you find a cross section of Egyptian society. Our van contain journalists, Muslim Brotherhood activists, pro-army protesters and apolitical onlookers. The claustrophobic atmosphere become highly electric and we witness a human drama about companionship, cooperation and survival.

The movie has a political background and has characters with clear political affiliations, but strangely manages to stay apolitical concentrating on studying human behaviour in adverse situations. The characters are clearly etched, colourful and three dimensional people who has their feet solidly placed in the real world.

The movie marches forward in a breakneck pace, even with several instances of humor and irony underlining the humanity of the people forced to stay together in spite of their mistrust and hatred to each other. The scenes of riot and mayhem seen through the windows of the van was so original that one person near me suspected that it was shot during the real protest. A director who watched the movie with me was wondering how it was made while coming out of the show.

I don't know how, but I'm sure it was made with huge conviction and devotion on the power of humanity to survive hard times by keeping itself together.

IFFK Bytes: Strange Heaven- Turns Hell on Earth

Strange Heaven is for me a horror movie without any element that was horrific in it. A few minutes into the movie and getting a hint of how it's going to progress, I was staring the screen in disbelief. It looked liked a page torn from a Dystopian novel, but was in-fact based on existing laws of a country.

Strange Heaven is the story of a Polish couple and their daughter who immigrated to Sweden. Swedish law takes special care that kids get their rights and aren't treated bad by parents. They can call a helpline in case of any parental troubles and state discreetly takes care of the issue. A lawyer's statement makes it clear that parents most of the time never get back the children who are placed under foster care.

The daughter stumbles upon her parents having sex and mistakes it for a fight. She calls the helpline and as a result, a social worker, who takes her job a bit too seriously,  suspecting domestic violence, initiates the process to keep the kid under foster care of a couple whose kid died in an accident. The movie is about the plight of parents and their desperate efforts to get their kid back.

I was too shocked that such a thing is even possible. What is scary is that without getting parent's point of view or solid evidence of any misconduct to the child, such an action may be taken, causing insufferable pain to all concerned. It is the classic case where a law that is meant to emotionally guard a child, is executed in an emotionless manner. The enforcers repeatedly advice parents not to be emotional. And they prohibit any physical contact during allowed visits under observation of guards.

While watching the movie, I didn't care about anything other than the mental trauma undergone by the family. It was heart wrenching.

IFFK Bytes: Soy Nero- Deadly Ironic

Soy Nero was a stunning watch in the second day of IFFKA 2016. The movie has its plot based on an act which enables deported outsiders to acquire green card by joining US army and fighting. Green card soldiers were extensively used in middle east. The movie disorients you by shifting it's pace, geography and priorities abruptly, but by the end effortlessly manages to bind itself together and put forward a direct political statement.

It's the story of Nero, who was born and brought up in USA, but deported to Mexico. He is ready to join the army and fight for USA as he feels it's his only chance to be a proud American. The movie portrays the journey that Nero undertakes to realise this ambition and the deadly ironies that he has to face on the course of it.

The movie starts with a joke about an ant and an elephant being in love. By the end it is revealed that this ironical situation is precisely the plot of it. It starts as a road movie, proceeds as a comedy and culminates as a war movie. Yet it stays true to its core idea throughout. The movie is beautifully and artfully shot, especially the war scenes which are chilling to say the least. The fireworks scene in the starting is another startling display. The humor is stinging.

But the movie truly excels in the ironic statements it makes. It starts in the very beginning when police question Nero of his identity. Nero's quest for his identity and the solution of dying to protect it seems to be the limit of irony, but the movie neatly caps it when it shockingly displays in the end that even that is not enough and it's all back to square one.

IFFK Bytes: Sink- Emotional Extremes

South African production Sink is till now the most intense experience of IFFK 2016 for me. This movie takes you down to hell and then back. By the time it ends you are sure to face every emotions of the spectrum in extreme measures.

Directed by Brett Michael Innes, Sink deals with a phase in the life of three individuals who are compelled to coexist under extreme circumstances. Rachel who works as a maid for rich couple Chris and Michelle is in a dilemma- whether or not to continue working for them after Michelle accidentally causes the death of Maia, her kid. She decides to stay as she has to support her family in Mozambique and she needs the income for that. Sink shows how this decision undone gradually the life of all three involved.

The movie is told in non-linear mode. It may disorient the viewers initially but makes the movie a compelling watch. Great acting performances- restrained and absorbing by all three leads and economic narration lifts the movie to a higher platform.

There was a Q&A session with the director that shed more light into the characters, vision and movie making process in South Africa. 

IFFK Bytes: Cold of Kalandar- Struggle With Nature

Just watched Cold of Kalandar, the Turkish movie directed by Mustafa Kara in IFFK 2016. It is a movie about a man's struggle for survival against nature. Striking visuals of rocky, snowy and wet terrain is the highlight of the movie. It is an inspiring watch.

Mehmet is out on mountains for days prospecting for ore. His wife and others feel it is a waste of time. She fights with him and urges to take up jobs with daily wages and support family. Snow in the mountains halts Mehmet's plans and to survive poverty and debtors, and finally he decide to take his bull for prize fighting. Will luck favor him atleast now?

I found the protagonist of this and the previous one's about which I blogged (After the Storm) similar in too many respects. Both had tasted initial success, but is currently seriously out of luck. Both try to make sense of the world around them with least while others, have labelled them losers. Their family are confused what to make of them and how to deal with them. Both of them finally comes in terms of their situation and rain is a driving factor in both movies for this positive turn.

IFFK Bytes: After The Storm- It's All About Life

After the Storm is a Japanese film that I watched today in IFFK. I remembered the movie Inside Llewyn Davis while watching it. Like that movie, this one is about a man down and out of his luck, trying hard to make sense of the world around him.

There are two kind of movies- ones that show routine life and ones with drama. This is of the first kind. Now, for these kind of movies to succeed, it should contain something deep and exciting. In latter kind of movies, the drama takes care of shouldering the work to some extent. With minimum possibility to contain dramatic tension, the former kind need more effort.

I feel that Inside Llewyn Davis perfectly nailed it. In Malayalam, Action Hero Biju is a movie that somehow got the mix right. After the Storm reaches an average mark. The protagonist is someone you come to care about, the humor is great and on many occasions you tend to draw parallels with your life. The problem is that these moments, by the midway point of the movie starts getting stale. From then, the movie starts relying heavily on actors to deliver instead of situations. Actors have done their part commendably well. Too bad that it has many moments that doesn't connect well. But if you consider your life too is just like that, it doesn't sound that bad.

IFFK Bytes: Being Seventeen- Teen Angst

Third movie watched in IFFK 2016 is Being 17, a French movie directed by André Téchiné. As the name indicates it is a movie about the psyche of teenagers. It's about the complex relation between two teenagers who are classmates that progress from rivalry to companionship and culminates in love.

Damien is the son of a soldier, who is sensitive and has issues in understanding himself. Adopted son of a couple, Thomas is his classmate, but starts a bitter rivalry with Damien that borders on bullying. Damien's mother brings Thomas home when his mother is hospitalised. Naturally both are uncomfortable and the movie is about how they deal with each other.

The importance of this movie lies in the aspect that it never tries to water down the issues or introduce feel good elements into it. There is a very natural element in the movie that makes the characters believable even when they go through extremely complex movements of life. Ambitions, motivations and desires of teenage mind is expressed convincingly in Being 17.

IFFK Bytes: Angel- Invisible Boy and Blind Girl

The second movie that I just watched on 21st IFFK is Angel. It is a Belgian romantic comedy directed by Harry Cleven. Angel is a very mellow movie with a thread bare story line with which making even a coherent film seems impossible, let alone an 80 minute feature that manages to engross and impress.

It is about a boy who is born invisible. His mother decides to keep his existence a secret to protect him from society. But he befriends a blind girl living next door, who is unaware of his secret. They grow up to be lovers. One day she decides to get cure for blindness with expectations of seeing him. But what would he do?

Most of the movie is shot in the point of view of the invisible boy. The tone is mellow and narration is concentrated on conversations. The movie makes the viewers interested in it by reducing every possible distraction on screen to a minimum. There are no beautiful background shots or racy BGM. But the drama is so intent and poignant that you cannot but fall for it.

IFFK Bytes: Indivisible- On Separation

I'm here at 21st IFFK and watched the first movie screened at Tagore. Indivisible is an Italian movie directed by Edoardo De Angelis about a pair of conjoined twins and their reactions to the prospect of being separated. The movie manages to portray the desperation and angst of the two girls effectively without opting to trivialise their issues.

Two girls conjoined at hips are good singers and does local shows. Their father manages them with the help of stoner mother and her relatives. A doctor offers to separate them. The whole balance of the family is thrown off when each member has their personal agenda to care for and react accordingly.

The movie succeeds largely due to the deeply nuanced performance of the twins. The movie is a study on the effects of selfish intents on relations. It's about clinging on to bodies even once you know it's better to let go.