The opening stretches of Sister Midnight are dialogue-free and reveal a propensity for the silent gag. Start with the credits themselves, where the credit of the actor playing the husband (Ashok Pathak) is displayed where he should be, beside his wife (Radhika Apte). Instead, he is slumped over, sleeping, already a premonition of his roleContinue reading “Sister Midnight Review”
Author Archives: ironmullah
My Strombolian Film: There Will Be Blood
Years age, while perusing Girish Shambu’s blog, I came across the concept of Strombolian films. Coined by the film professor (and an overall towering figure in film studies) Nicole Brenez, these are films that you dislike or not understand upon first viewing but which grow in your estimation as you watch them again, this timeContinue reading “My Strombolian Film: There Will Be Blood”
About About Dry Grasses
Sometimes a film will have you so thoroughly in its grasp that you will ponder over it the whole day after, it will invade your thoughts randomly, and yes it will force you to revive a five year-old blog. It is hard to describe some films, to put into words their allure. However, the verboseContinue reading “About About Dry Grasses”
Zenda : The plight of the ideologist
The reason that Zenda may appeal to any Indian person no matter if their political leanings are different from those of the director (for I suspect director Avdhoot Gupte to be some sort of Hindu Nationalist, if not an outright one) is that it comes to the same conclusions that almost every Indian man ofContinue reading “Zenda : The plight of the ideologist”
Breaking Free From the Shackles: A Retrospective on the Films of Imtiaz Ali
The comparison Imtiaz Ali has had to live with throughout his career is Yash Chopra. It’s a fair comparison to make as they share several common traits, both in themes as well a certain proclivity towards Punjab as the homeland and Europe as the go-to exotic location. He may also be seen as filling theContinue reading “Breaking Free From the Shackles: A Retrospective on the Films of Imtiaz Ali”
We Are One Festival: Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet Review
Known variously as Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet, Adela Has Not Had Dinner Yet and Dinner For Adela, this Czech film is very much in the vein of the Czech (or broadly Eastern European) comedies, not only of that time but through to the modern times but with a American-inspired storyline and characters. NickContinue reading “We Are One Festival: Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet Review”
We Are One Film Festival: Shiraz: A Romance of India review
Shiraz is not an epic in storytelling. It’s narrative doesn’t take twists-and-turns and include subplots only tangentially related to the main story. This is reflected in the film’s runtime, only one hour and forty-five minutes long, small compared to other epics made around the world at the time, like Metropolis or Napoleon. Shiraz is anContinue reading “We Are One Film Festival: Shiraz: A Romance of India review”
We Are One Festival Review: The Bridges of Sarajevo
The problem I feel with any anthology film is the multiple beginnings. Once a short ends you have to start over, refocusing your priorities and if it’s directed by a different director, as it is here, you have to get in line with a different perspective. There’s a reason anthologies don’t relate to short storyContinue reading “We Are One Festival Review: The Bridges of Sarajevo”
We Are One Film Festival: Eeb Allay Ooo Review
You ever wonder while looking at a watchman or a street vendor how things are at home? Not just financially but what how conditions are at home, whether he is staying with his parents or he has any kids? What does he do in his spare time, what sort of respect does he have amongstContinue reading “We Are One Film Festival: Eeb Allay Ooo Review”
The We Are One Film Festival: An Online Film Festival for free
In our Covid times, theater-going feels like a thing we took for granted. Covid has hit the industry hard with theatres reeling from it’s effect. The content on streaming is only improving, but the main point of the theater vs. streaming arguement wasn’t the quality of the films, but it was about the theatrical experience.Continue reading “The We Are One Film Festival: An Online Film Festival for free”
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