Movie Review: Last Love (2013)

The film Last Love’s tagline says ‘It’s never too late to love life again’. Sandra Nettelbeck tries hard to project this and she does succeed to some extent but the overall impact is not great. Whatever she achieves is killed in the last 15 minutes of the film and one is just left feeling somewhat bitter!

Michael Caine plays the role of an aging widower Matthew Morgan, a retired Princeton philosophy professor, who lost his beloved wife three years ago. He lives alone in Paris, drowning in silent grief. A chance meeting with Pauline (Clemence Poesy) a young Parisian cha-cha-cha teacher brings some spark in his lifeless life and brightens it up. Or so it seems.

He says her hair reminds him of his late wife’s; she says she liked his beard for it reminded her of her late father’s. Slowly and strangely Pauline’s entire life seems to revolve around Matthew, strange because their relation is so ambiguous. It’s vague whether it is platonic affection that arises out of their respective loneliness or there is an undercurrent of real desire. 

Why need there be a clear demarcation one might say. Agreed! I did not have a problem for the most part of the movie. But as mentioned above, the last part just messes it all up and you’re left wondering.

When Matthew attempts a serious suicide, his two children Miles (Justin Kirk) and Karen (Gillian Anderson) come down from America on a disappointing note. They are not happy about having to be there as is evident from Karen’s remark, "An overdose is not my favorite excuse to come to Paris but thanks for making an effort, Dad." The two, especially Miles, develop an instant hostility for Pauline seeing her as “our future stepmother for all I know”.

Things take a turn from here and Nettelbeck seems to have found a shortcut to put things in order, which is far from convincing. Cliché and melodrama end up in disaster.

Michael Caine is undoubtedly a brilliant actor and he’s fairly good here. Only sometimes it seems that he is merely reading out his lines in a detached manner. Many people also have a problem with his (fake) American accent. Poesy is good in her part, and shares a good chemistry with Caine. Gillian Anderson has the least screen space but she plays it to the hilt.

I don’t have a problem with slow paced films but the languid pace might disturb some. Hans Zimmer’s score is subtle to suit the tone and mood of the film, but even though it looks very promising it too goes downhill. Michael Bertl though deserves great applause for the wonderful cinematography. Paris has been shot so well and one would (for the nth time) end up falling in love with the city.

Last Word: Last Love is not a bad film. It does take up serious issues deal with them well in the first half. It is the end that majorly disappoints. This film really had the potential to be better, so much better.

Rating: 7/10

Movie Review: Taxi Driver (1976)

When you watch Taxi Driver and The Wolf of the Wall Street (TWOTWS) back-to-back, both movies for the first time, you can’t help marvel at the genius that Martin Scorsese is. I shall now keep TWOTWS and Leonardo out of this. They are anyway getting their required due but more importantly because this is about Taxi Driver, a landmark film indeed, about Robert De Niro and his fabulous act of Travis Bickle, and of course THE man behind it Mr. Scorsese.

The film brings out the angst and existential plight of the protagonist Travis Bickle. He is an honorably discharged U.S. Marine who becomes a taxi driver to cope with chronic insomnia. He is hopelessly lonely, a vagrant without family or friends. He only has thoughts, dark thoughts for his company.

“Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.”

Travis wants to save a 12 year old prostitute (Jodie Foster) from a sleazy life and return her to her parents in Pittsburgh. He is not an evil person but he is so disturbed with and tired of the street scum that he becomes obsessed with cleaning the New York City. 

“Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up.”

In some ways, I see the movie as a cross between two of my favourite books – Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ and Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’. Beckett’s Godot is a masterpiece of existential angst and just like in the play Travis too feels hopeless and doomed. Though Paul Schrader was inspired by Dostoyevsky’s ‘Notes from Underground’ (I haven’t read it) I can draw parallels from his other work ‘Crime and Punishment’. The book focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov who plan to kill a pawnbroker, arguing that with her money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime, while ridding the world of a worthless vermin. In the film Travis plans on assassinating a leading candidate running for president and has his reasons for doing so. All three works focus on the lonely and desolate protagonists.

No review/writing about Taxi Driver is complete without the mention of ‘You talkin' to me’. In this scene Travis is looking into a mirror at himself, imagining a confrontation which would give him a chance to draw his gun. Schrader’s script only read, "Travis speaks to himself in the mirror", but De Niro improvised the dialogue. Who knew then that it would go on to become one of the most famous and often imitated soliloquies in film history. Indeed, a lot of this film is about De Niro’s performance! Another scene that stands out is when we see the transformed De Niro in a Mohawk haircut at a political rally.

Both Michael Chapman’s cinematography and Bernard Herrmann’s phenomenal smooth, jazzy music play an instrumental part in the success of the film. This was Herrmann’s final score before his death. He had first refused to score for the film but later took it up after reading the script. The very first shot of the yellow taxi cab moving slowly in the dark rainy streets of New York gives a glimpse of the excellent cinematography. Most of the shots are slow and deliberate, with an aim to offer an insight into Travis’ mind, his loneliness and alienation. 

Taxi Driver has been shrouded in controversy ever since it released and it is no surprise to me. Jodie Foster played a highly controversial role of an underage prostitute, for which she even received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Since Foster was just 12 years old during the filming of the movie, her 19-year-old sister Connie Foster was cast as her body double for some explicit scenes. Even then, for her tender age, Jodie deals with some profound and extremely adult material and handles it very well.

The film does have an overbearing influence. One of the most controversial episodes is of John Hinckley Jr. who drew inspiration from Bickle’s character and attempted to kill President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981 in order to prove his love to Jodie Foster.

The ending of the film also has been highly controversial and debatable. First the massacre and violence in the climax leaves a long lasting impression. After that Scorsese has given the film a very unexpected open-end. It is controversial for its vagueness and its inability to state a clear purpose of reality or fantasy. It is open to interpretations and till date there are various discussions about the same.

Despite the controversies, Taxi Driver is a classic, one of the best from the Scorsese-De Niro team. It elevated Scorsese's status as a director, and it assured Paul Schrader's reputation as a major screenwriter. 38 years and it still doesn’t seem dated, this is how brilliant it is! A must watch!

Movie Review: Rush (2013)

Biographies if well made can be an absolute treat. A biography on sport star(s) sounds even better and if that sport is Formula 1, well that’s an icing on the cake, especially for lovers of the sport. Ron Howard’s Rush fits this bill. It’s so wonderfully crafted and portrayed that sometimes you forget you are watching a movie. It seems like an actual race. That’s how beautiful this move is! 

Rush is about the fierce rivalry between two accomplished racing car drivers, the British James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and the Austrian Nikki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) during the early 70s and which culminated in their battle for the 1976 World Championship. The film starts in media res on August 1, 1976 when Niki confesses that he “was chasing him (Hunt) like an asshole”. 

Hunt was arrogant, cocky and confident, a man who lived fast and died young. He was flamboyant, impulsive and believed in living life king-size. Lauda on the other hand was much calmer. He was technically brilliant, planned things as opposed to acting rashly and maintained a professional lifestyle. He had a right mix of shrewdness and intelligence. 

The two of them had so much in contrast yet they complemented each other. Both had an overriding fervor to defeat the other. This outlines the value of an enemy or rival, who sometimes give more meaning to your life than friends do. And in their case, apart from being such fierce competitors, the two had a healthy respect for each other. The movie had two apt dialogues, both by Niki Lauda, that reiterate this point: 

“A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.” 

“People always think of us as rivals but he was among the very few I liked and even fewer that I respected. He remains the only person I envied.”

Both the actors delivered a knockout performance. Hemsworth gave a matured performance and almost nailed his role of James Hunt. But Bruhl somehow stole the show. At the beginning, Lauda’s character is absolutely pale in comparison to the charismatic Hunt. But as the movie progresses, he not only matches up to Hunt but also overtakes him. Bruhl brings the character of Niki to life. Watch out for his sharp dialogue delivery that’s been rendered with such remarkable precision! 

Howard took some liberties and modified few elements. Since this movie is not a documentary Ron could afford to make these changes but none of these seem exaggerated or fabricated. The scene where Hunt beats up a reporter is invented but this is one of my favourite scenes. It gels perfectly well with the flow and doesn’t seem like something that’s added just to up the drama quotient. This, as per me, is the mark of a good director. 

The race sequences are undoubtedly exhilarating and a lot of credit for this goes to the awesome camera work and fine sound. The cinematography is wonderful. There are various camera angles that not only add an element of thrilling intensity but also provide us with a wholesome experience. The sound editing is remarkable. Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is a powerful entity in itself that can any day lift a film and here it adds the much required tension and thrill. (I can’t get over the Lost But Won track). His music along with the roaring sound of the engines pep you up and give you a great adrenaline rush. Rush also has some amazing dialogues that will be quoted and recalled time and again. 

Kudos to Ron Howard and the entire crew for coming up with such a technically sound film. Even someone who isn’t a F1 fan would be hooked to the intense action and story. Rush is one hell of a ride and lives up to its title to give one a high adrenaline RUSH! It is one of my favourite films of 2013.

Rating: 8.8/10

Movie Review: Yaariyan (2014)

Cast a bunch of (good looking?) newcomers, pick one of the plush schools (St. Joseph’s School, Darjeeling) and portray it as a chic college of Sikkim, feature snow-clad picturesque locales, throw in skimpily clad women, a lot of cleavage and absolutely desperate hormone raging men, have a wide ranging soundtrack featuring none other than His Highness Yo Yo Honey Singh, and finally add a lot of emotions – love, friendship, betrayal, drama, comedy, patriotism – ah no issues throw them all in. Was Divya Khosla Kumar thinking this is the perfect recipe to create a fun-filled college romance and adventure film targeted at youngsters of course? Yes it a recipe and good that too, but for disaster!

Well not all these elements are a boo-boo. In fact one thing that has been working in the movie’s favour is its peppy soundtrack which has already created waves and is ruling the charts. Not only is it going to play a big role in drawing the audiences, particularly the youth, to the theatres but it also is the film’s saving grace. Besides this, the only other thing that works is the cinematography. The first part of the film has been shot in virgin locations of Darjeeling and Sikkim (Lachen, mostly) and the later part in Australia. The film has two race sequences and they have been done really well. Divya Kumar has indeed worked hard to make the film look good. But sadly that’s about it – it only sounds and looks good!

Yaariyan aspires to be one of those college rom-coms but just calling it one would put all the other films in that genre to shame. It’s supposed to be the coming-of-age tale of five friends. Sadly there is nothing in the name of friendship and the focus is more on ‘cuming’ as not just these teenagers but their teachers also seem to be having an over surge of hormones.

There is nothing bad about having a few sexual jokes. After all this is a (big) part of being a teenager and youth, especially guys. But when you reduce the guys to good for nothing fellows and make them look like dogs who are only interested in shagging, oops I mean wagging their tails at the sight of a bitch, then there is a problem!

The male protagonist Lakshya (Himanshu Kolhi) is the clichéd playboy who initially is only interested in a kiss and this wish of his is the subject of interest of almost everyone in the college. The female lead Saloni (Rakul Preet Singh) is the usual ‘hatke’ behenji who stands out from the rest of the bimbettes. Though their love story is nothing unusual, I must admit that the lip-lock between them is one of the most unabashed I have seen in Indian cinema.

Usually supporting actors who play friends have a wonderful contribution in such films but here there is not a single moment of bonding shared by the guys. Barring the female protagonist, the girls look plastic. There is ‘Bad Man’ Gulshan Grover, the college principal, who takes on the onus of motivating these wayward kids to save their college from Australian folks. The biggest feat of course is reducing yesteryears veteran actress Deepti Naval to a mother who is perpetually sobbing and sniffling. Unfortunately, there is no depth in their characters and they are both reduced to mere caricatures.

If all this is not enough there are sports, patriotism and racial attacks thrown in too! So what if they seem forced and over-the-top. That does not matter! The makers can pass off any idea/concept in the name of Generation X. These youngsters indulge in just about everything and that’s what’s shown on screen.

After all this, if you are still waiting to read the plot then you for sure need to go watch this!

I, on the other hand, did not have the slightest intention of watching this movie, not in the theatres at least, not first day first show for sure and certainly not when Dedh Ishqiya, a movie I had LONG been waiting to watch released on the same day. But guess I was fated to. Apparently there were just two of us who were keen on indulging ourselves in the world of Begum Para. Those guys refused to play it only for us. The biggest irony – Just when they told me the morning show for Dedh Ishqiya was cancelled and I had already got tickets for Yaariyan, about a dozen people turned up (late), wanting to watch the former. If, only if, they were on time!

Rating: 5.5/10

Movie Review: About Time (2013)

So I think to myself. Alright there’s a new rom-com that looks good. It’s also rated pretty high on IMDb. What more?

Genre: Romantic comedy – Oh nice, I am sucker for fine rom-coms

Director: Richard Curtis – Excellent! I’d loved his previous two films ‘Love Actually’ and ‘The Boat That Rocked’. Plus he is also the writer for ‘Notting Hill’, one of my favourite films ever. Excitement is a notch higher.

It revolves around time travel – Ah well, it looks like a perfect recipe, if well executed.

These were my thoughts before watching About Time. And was I disappointed? Not really, but it didn’t quite leave an impact. Or was I expecting too much, maybe yes. It is by no means a bad film but not something that I would highly recommend either.

The film is about Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson), a 21 year old socially uncomfortable character. On his 21st birthday his father (Bill Nighy) tells him an incredibly useful secret – men in his family can time travel, to any point in the past that they remember. So whenever there is some mishap or embarrassment, or need to re-do something Tim can go back in time and change the outcome of a situation. All he needs to do to fix these issues is go to the nearest closet or a compact room and clench his fists. Now this sounds interesting (barring the clenching fists bit) but maybe this whole going back and altering things has been so overdone that it loses its charm.

About Time is not the run of the mill romantic comedy. Yes it has all the elements of a Curtis film – locations in London, friendships, plenty of sardonic and sometimes rude humour, a socially reticent boy, a beautiful North American girl, a freaky young female relative, a doddery elderly male relative and some heavy rain. But it delves deeper and raises some profound questions.

The message that it gives out is that ups and downs are a part of life and no gift can save you from that.

Thus one should live life to the full, cherish each moment and not take things or people for granted. “Cherish the small moments as if they are most important.” Besides this, one of the main themes is the heartfelt father-son relationship. The scenes between them are some of the best in the film.

I did not quite Tim Lake in the beginning and thought he wouldn’t be able to match up to Rachel McAdams who plays his love interest Mary. However with time he grew on me and I think the two had a strong chemistry. However Rachel was underused. Though she is good in her role and very likeable (I absolutely did not like her fringes though), her character doesn’t have much depth. Whenever there is the slightest need to alter things, Tim always excuses himself for a moment and heads out of the room and she is not once shown questioning him. I liked Bill Nighy the best. He brings such warmth to his role with his spot-on acting. He steals every scene he is in with his charisma.

There are so many beautiful scenes in the film. One where Tim and Mary meet for the first time in a restaurant is bound to vow you. Another when Tim runs home to Mary late night and urges her to wake up as her had to ask her something important. Then of course the many scenes featuring Tim and his father.

Despite so many things working for it, the film is flawed and has plot holes. They might not come in the way of watching the film, because you are pretty much absorbed in this feel good movie, but they are disturbing. The individual parts are good but as a whole, there is something amiss. This can be one of the reasons I wasn’t thoroughly happy after having watched it. Overall, it is decent and worth a watch. And if you are going to stop making sense out of it, especially the time travel, you'll love it all the more!

Rating: 7.2/10

Movie Review: Priceless (2006)

Original Title: Hors De Prix 

Language: French

A fresh romantic comedy always feels good, and if it features Audrey Tautou then it’s like the icing on a super yummy cake. Pierre Salvadori’s Priceless is one of those delicacies which I thoroughly enjoyed savouring.

Priceless is the story of Irene (Audrey Tautou), a high maintenance gold digger who preys on old, lonely and most importantly rick men. She seduces and traps them to live a comfortable high life in expensive hotel suites. One night she mistakes the lowly bartender Jean (Gad Elmaleh) for a millionaire and drags him to bed. On learning the truth she leaves but her charms work their magic on him and the hapless Jean is absolutely smitten by her. He goes about following her and spending all his savings to keep up with her never ceasing demands of dresses, bags, champagnes, caviar etc.

The plot is run of the mill but the treatment and presentation is oh so classy. And Tautou! She charms you with both her performance and her looks. She is such a natural actress and here she does wonders to her character. An innocent dame one minute and heartless seductress the other, the viewer oscillates from loving her to feeling slight disdain for her, to sympathizing with her and back to loving her! Her facial expressions speak volumes. Had it not been Audrey playing this role, I would have easily hated this merciless bitch! And about her looks, well she is elegance, style, beauty and sexy personified. I don’t think she’s looked this stunning ever. Guys are definitely bound to feel the heat and some movement too seeing those necklines plunging all the way down to her navel. She is truly ‘Priceless’.

Gad with his innocent looks shows great charm and delivers a decent act and he shares a wonderful chemistry with Audrey.

On the surface level it is one of the farcical rom-coms, stylish and endearing. However every work of art has layers to it, it is just a matter of interpretation. Priceless is a mild commentary on the vanity of high class, twisted human values, materialism and the game of love.

In one of the scenes, after being dumped by her latest rich beau, Irene left with only the bikini she is wearing, sits shivering at poolside while the sun sets and the place changes from bathers to dinner jackets. In a moment she is reduced from a queen to a spectator. Tautou’s expressions are pitch-perfect here and you get a glimpse of the harsh realities.

In the other scene, Irene is choking down a spoonful of caviar that she actually hates but is teaching herself to appreciate it. "I'm sure when you like it," she says, exuding not-so-innocent hope, "it must be delicious."

Priceless is a light-hearted entertaining romantic comedy and is a delightful watch!

Rating: 7.2/10

Movie Review: Shahid (2013)

Realism and Bollywood don’t really go hand in hand. Filmmakers do not, in the first place, try their hands at depicting true life stories especially if there is the slightest whiff of a controversy. The very few attempts more often than not end up as shallow in the garb of commercialism. So when a bold film like Shahid comes up, you tend to wonder if it is a one-off shot or are Indian filmmakers actually breaking the conventions and taking leaps.

Despite having a world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival's ‘City to City’ programme in September 2012 and being screened at last year’s Mumbai Film Festival, Shahid only managed to get a wide theatrical release a year later. Wonder why the delay but we are glad it did, because such stories need to be told. I have seen/heard so many people gushing about the movie. I wonder how many of them knew who Shahid Azmi was before this movie. I did not.

Hansal Mehta’s Shahid is a biopic of the lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi. In the seven years of his practice, he got 17 acquittals, a remarkably high number for the Indian judiciary, where ‘taareekh pe taareekh’ is a norm. But he had to pay a price for standing up and fighting for all those he believed were wrongly accused or framed and imprisoned for alleged terrorist activities. He was brutally shot dead in his office by a couple of assailants in 2010 for defending a 26/11 accused.

Shahid Azmi’s life was quite eventful and complex. As a young boy he had witnessed the barbaric violence during the communal riots of Mumbai in 1993. The devastating impact prompts him to join an arms training in a camp in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. He witnesses another event there and thus changes his mind and runs away, but was arrested from his home under TADA. He spent seven years in Tihar Jail before he was eventually acquitted by a court of law for lack of admissible evidence.

It might seem like too much for a film but Mehta has narrated the incidents as it is. One of the best parts of the film is it is more fact and less fiction. Shahid is simple in presentation yet hard-hitting. It brings us unpleasant truths about contemporary India, its media, its judiciary and its people. Mehta subtly exposes the anti-Muslim stance so deep-rooted at every level of our law-and-order system.

Raj Kumar Yadav’s performance is OUTSTANDING! He is almost perfect in all the stages, be it in the jail or the courtroom. Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub too was commendable as Shahid’s brother. He was impressive in Raanjhanaa and now here too. He should get better roles that do justice to his talent.

Hansal Mehta says he decided to make the film after he found out that people were accusing Shahid Azmi of criminal activities: "He was not alive to tell his side of the story when aspersions were being cast on him. I decided to stand up for him." Mehta take a bow for this attempt, so honest that too!

Rating: 8.2/10

Movie Review: Kai Po Che (2013)

Movies based on books are usually a disappointment, sometimes even a disaster. Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che is one of those rare ones that far surpassed the book it was based on – Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller ‘3 Mistakes Of My Life’.

I did not like the movie as much when I first saw it. But it grew on me later and it was undoubtedly one of the better films of the tear. Here's why:

• Abhishek Kapoor followed the critical and commercial success ‘Rock On’ based on friendship with yet another tale of friends. Same theme at large yet a different magical world

• Despite working with biggies like Farhan Akhtar and Arjun Rampal he chose to work with no established names and went ahead with two debutants and a ‘super talented yet unexploited potential’ actor

• That each of these actors delivered a stand-out performance, complementing each other so well yet leaving one’s own mark

• It is a multi-dimensional tale with many layers (coming-of-age story of three friends – their dreams and aspirations, their pursuit of excellence, their confusions and misunderstandings and their friendship standing the test of time; commentary on the politics of religion and the religion in politics; three real life events – the infamous Godhra riots of 2002, the historic cricket test match between India and Australia at The Eden Gardens and the Gujarat Earthquake – blended so well with the fictional narrative) and yet the film does not lose its track, there are no lose threads

• Each of the three friends represented one side of India – the capitalist Govind Patel (Raj Kumar Yadav), the political Omkar Shastri (Amit Sadh) and the emotional Ishaan Bhatt (Sushant Singh Rajput). All of these aspects were dealt with great clarity and panache

• Realistic depiction of a country’s obsession with cricket

• Amit Trivedi scored a brilliant and mesmerizing earthy soundtrack which comprised only three tracks but left a huge impact. Each song was different from the other and eventually we were left craving for more

• There were many show stealing breathtaking scenes but this just one fabulous scene absolutely stole our hearts away. The entire picturisation of the Meethi Boliyan song, this exchange of dialogues between Rajput and Yadav just before the trio’s jump in the river from stop the fort:

Ishaan: Ise kehte hai life Govind. Tere noton ki khushboo se lankh guna behtar

Govind: Yahan tak aane ke liye bhi mere note hi lagte hain

Ishaan: Tere sikkon ki khankhan se mere hawa ki keemat kam ho rahi hai

• Garba to then the touch-and-feel make out to Sunita Rao’s Pari Hoon Main

• The beautiful cinematography by Anay Goswami which lights up each frame so wonderfully. Ahmedabad is captured like never before

All of this and much more comprised the elements of a film that left a mark on us; a fresh film that charmed us; a film that gave us Sushant Singh Rajput, an actor who has already carved a niche for himself and will sure go a long, long way if he stays grounded.

Rating: 8/10

Movie Review: The Past 2013

Original  Title: Le Passe

Language: French

Is divorce/separation the end of a relationship? Technically yes, but it is, in fact, the beginning of a lot more. This is precisely what Iranian director Asghar Farhadi depicts in his latest domestic drama film ‘The Past’. Also as the title suggests, the movie is about one’s past and how it is never left behind. It has an ability to seep into our present and alter the course of our future.

There are obvious comparisons with his 2011 Oscar Winning film ‘A Separation’. It helps that I have not seen it and hence can analyze The Past in an objective light.

The Past is the story of Marie (Bérénice Bejo), a Frenchwoman, who is trying to finalise her divorce with her husband Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa). Ahmad had left her four years earlier to raise her two children from an earlier marriage (a young girl named Léa (Jeanne Jestin) and a teenager Lucie played by Pauline Burlet) alone in a working-class Paris suburb. Marie is looking to make a fresh start with her live-in boyfriend Samir (Rahman) and his young anxious son Fouad (Elyes Aguis). But is it so simple, a fresh start? Samir himself is dealing with a traumatic unresolved relationship with his wife.

Lives of these individuals are knotted in ways that wouldn’t be fair to explain. However as simple as the plot sounds, it really is not that straightforward. There are layers within layers that spring up unexpected twists and turns and further tangle the narrative thread. There are half-truths, misconceptions, allegations, suspicions and so much more. 

The complicated scenarios, the complex emotions and dilemma of the characters, their angst get you thinking. Divorce and separation, which are an integral part of the Western culture and increasingly gaining prominence in India too, bring a lot of problems and baggage with it. More often than not, children are the worst victims and this is wonderfully portrayed in this film.

All the characters are so wonderfully developed and that is the strong point of the film. Farhadi shows you each character’s perspective and you feel how they would feel. You realize that sometimes no one is to blame, it is just the situation and not much can be done about it. Even moving on is not so easy.

Besides weaving a tale of complicated relationships so wonderfully, Farhadi’s brilliance is evident from the fact that the movie is in French, a language he doesn’t himself speak. But language barrier is not a problem and even the finer nuances are dealt with suitably.

The Past has outstanding performances. While Bejo undoubtedly steals the show, both Mosaffa and Rahman are good, the stars are Fouad and Lucie. Some scenes involving them will spellbind you. Lucie especially is par excellence in her role of the rebellious, angst-filled teenager. Plus she is strikingly gorgeous.

Even though it is out of the race for Best Foreign Language Film, The Past is a wonderfully crafted drama on relationships and emotions. It has a lot to offer and if you are into foreign language films, you have to watch it!

Rating: 7.8/10