3-Iron

Audiences have always enjoyed love stories. There have been numerous stories told down throughout the ages. Most stories make people feel good. How about something different? Which is the most weirdest love story you have ever see? I'm quite sure you may have seen some. One such weird love story is 3-Iron, a South Korean film, released in 2004. It was written and directed by Kim Ki-duk, who is known for his unconventional stories and characters. 3-iron stars Jae Hee and Lee Seung-yeon as Tae-suk and Sun-hwa.

How is it different from any other story? The answer is that the two lead characters don't talk with each other. And to clear the first query which may come to your mind, they are not dumb. They maintain a silent relationship all throughout the movie, although towards the end, Sun-hwa speaks a few lines but there is no direct verbal interaction between the lead pair. Actually none of the characters talk much. The movie relies highly on emotions and abstract acts. 

3-Iron is a lovestory of Tae-suk, a drifter and Sun-hwa, an abused housewife. Although it is later made known to us that Tae-suk had a good education, we still see him as a drifter. He breaks into people's homes while they are away and stays there. He has good plan for that. He spends his days sticking take-away menus of resturants on the doors and later stops by to check which of them haven't been removed from the doors by their owners. This implies that people who stay in are away and Tae-suk gets in. Tae-suk is not a robber, on the contrary he washes their clothes, repairs their broken appliances, etc.

On one such break-in he meets Sun-hwa, the wife of an abusive man who has gone for a business trip. Since Sun-hwa has hidden herself to grieve, Tae-suk believes that the house is empty and breaks in.  An emotional bond forms between them. Tae-suk even saves Sun-hwa when her husband returns. She leaves her husband and goes with him. Her husband holds a grudge and that is also an important factor which influences the story ahead in a way.

The above events form just the first twenty minutes of the film, I'm really trying hard to not give away more of the story because that would rob you away of a splendid experience. Later you see the characters getting caught in their act of breaking in homes, also they are involved in a murder case and the subsequent imprisonment of Tae-suk. The movie goes ahead with Tae-suk's struggle against all of these odds to join his love in the end. The story ends in a very surprising manner, which is something we cannot anticipate during the first hour of the movie. The story can be boring and hard for someone without patience, trust me you need a lot of patience to soak the act in.

The film was received very well. It has won a lot of accolades around the world. It holds 87% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Exterminating Angel

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The Exterminating Angel, (original Spanish title El ángel exterminador) is a Mexican film released in 1962. It was directed by Luis Buñuel, one of the most significant surrealistic film makers.

It was the second movie of the Buñuel/Alatriste/Pinal film trilogy, written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Silvia Pinal, and produced by her then-husband Gustavo Alatriste. Buñuel picked it from an unfinished play his friend José Bergamín was writing at the time. 

If one looks at the basic storyline, it is a story of a few people who have gathered for a dinner party but in some mysterious way they are unable to leave the room after the party.

It's a story which is set in the house of Señor Edmundo Nobile and his wife, Lucia, who host a dinner party. At the start of the party itself the problems build up. All the servants in the house resign from their works and leave the house without any intention or specific reason. Only the head servant is left who looks after the serving of the guests. It is somewhat implied that this has got something to do with the way rats leave the sinking ship. Different people arrive at the party. One thing is common, they all belong to higher class. They have different attitudes, beliefs and characters. They appear to blend in an amicable way but deep down inside they hate each other.

The dinner goes down well. The guests have a good time. After the dinner one of them, Blanca, plays a piano sonata. Everyone enjoys it. But when it gets late and everyone is expected to leave and return to their homes, none of them appears to do so. The men simply remove their jackets, the women loosen their gowns and lie down on the couch or chair or floor and sleep. Edmundo and his wife Lucia find it strange but they too join them. They think that since it's late now, the guests might leave next morning. The morning comes and the head servant brings some breakfast in the room. When the head servant is asked to bring something else, he finds it unable to leave the room and so do many of the guests who want to go back to their houses. They aren't trapped in a physical way but there is some psychological barrier that prevents them from leaving the room. And they realize they are trapped.

The story goes ahead with how these people who are now forced to live in the same room with limited food and water which exhausts soon. Hunger, hysteria, anger and enmity creeps up between the guests and it becomes very hard for them to live together in the same room. An interesting question which can arise in the mind of the viewer is that why can't help arrive from the outside? This is explained. The psychological or mystical barrier which keeps the guests from leaving the room also somehow keeps people from entering the mansion from outside.

It is one of the most brilliantly made movies ever . Every person is free to analyze or interpret it in his own way. Also there is a scope for a different interpretation of the story, every time you see it.

The film sparked controversies upon it's release due to various reasons. Spain and Vatican didn't receive it well and as a result all the negatives of it were ordered to be destroyed. It was banned in Russia because the idea of people not being allowed to "leave a party" was considered offensive and anti-government. But the film was received well by the masses. At the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Palme d'Or. Mexican critics rank it as the 16th best film of the Mexican Cinema. The New York Times puts it as one of the best 1000 films ever made.

Vishwaroopam

Its been a long time since I had been waiting for Vishwaroopan. Usually I don't review movies on my blogs, I just like to talk about the movies I like and which I want others to see but today is an exception. If you are looking for the allegations and controversies behind it then this is not the post to read because its strictly a movie review. But I would like to maintain the fact that there is nothing which I found to be offensive to any particular community.

Vishwaroopam - everyone in India now knows whose film it is, who is the actor, writer, director or producer. It  needs no introduction but still I would like to fill in the deatils. Vishwaroopam, is a Tamil film, whose Hindi version- Vishwaroop released in Mumbai today. It has been written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan who is also the lead actor in it.

Given the exact nature of the story, its a spy-thriller, a genre which is somewhat unexplored in India. Although films like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod released last year, we never got to see any good concrete spy story. Vishwanath/Wiz (Kamal Haasan) is an Indian spy living in U.S.A. He is married to a much younger girl, Nirupama (Pooja Kumar) who is nuclear oncologist. Nirupama is unaware of the secret life of her husband and thinks that he is just a stupid Kathak teacher. She has married him just for the sake of a safe haven in U.S.A.

On the parallel, an Al-Qaeda Jihadi Omar (Rahul Bose) and his accomplice Salim (Jaideep Ahlawat) have planned to attack New York with a deadly nuclear weapon. Our hero Wiz has a past history with them from an earlier mission in Afghanistan.  With a series of events Wiz and Omar come across each other and the game starts.

The story has a lot to offer and two storylines go on together, the current feud between Wiz & Omar and the earlier mission of Wiz in Afghanistan when he is close and almost like a brother to Omar and Salim.

The performances by the actors are very good. Kamal Haasan proves his worth. Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah look beautiful and manage to stay on level. Shekhar Kapur with the little time he is seen on screen does a fantastic job. Rahul Bose and Jaideep Ahlawat too give out brilliant performances.

The film is worth a watch to everyone who is interested in good & entertaining cinema and a slap on the face of every person who thinks and criticizes Indian Cinema of not being on par with Hollywood. A good but somewhat incomplete story, a brilliant direction, great cinematography and lot of amazing action sequences.

I would have liked to go on with the end and the points left behind for the sequel. But it would spoil the experience of many who haven't watched it. Overall its a great film. Three and a half stars out a five, if you ask me. (If at all you ask me :P )

La Haine

La Haine is a French drama film which was released in 1995. It was written and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. It stars Vincent Cassel, Huber Kounde and Saiid Taghmaoui as the lead characters. The film was shot in black and white which goes well with the story and narrative of the film.

La Haine is the story of a day in the lives of three friends after a riot, Vinz, Sayid and Hubert. They live in the banlieues of Paris. They come from different backgrounds. Vinz is a Jewish boy who wants everyone to respect him and take him seriously. Sayid is guy who just can't shut his mouth and is a trouble maker. Hubert, an Afro-French boxer is the most wisest of the three.

Their locality witnesses frequent riots and instability. The youth and the cops are very hostile towards each other. The story starts on one day after such riots. During the riots a local boy named Abdel Ichaha gets seriously injured and goes in comma with a very little hope of life. Also during the riots a policeman loses his revolver. The police department and the press take the issue of possibility of the revolver falling in the hands of the wrong person and the dangers it can cause, seriously.

Its shown that Vinz has found out the revolver and plans on shooting a cop if their friend Abdel Ichaha loses his life in the hospital. Hubert who is the most matured of the three tries to calm Vinz down but that goes in vain. Also Sayid has to travel to Paris to collect money from a guy who owes him. The three set out to go and catch a train. Vinz carries his gun with him throughout. Things don't go smooth. Cops arrest them but Vinz manages to run. The cops who have arrested them turn out to be sadistic and humiliate Sayid and Hubert, detaining them for a long time which causes them to miss the last train of that night. Vinz too misses it and meets them on station later. The friends roam around the city.

The story goes on ahead with the friends watching the news about Abdel Ichaha and Vinz thinking upon his earlier words about Abdel dying. Also they encounter a group of other guys at whom they had shouted bitter words earlier, where its upto Vinz to use his revolver and take up a life to save their own. The next morning and the end of the film is unexpected.
The film derives it's title from the words said by Hubert: "La haine attire la haine!", which means "Hatred breeds hatred."
La Haine was successful upon its release. It was recieved very well by the critics too. 

It has a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  
It was also ranked as #32 in Empire States magazine list of 'The100 best movies of world cinema.' Also it received a lot of awards.

Alfred Hitchcock's 'Limited-Setting' Films

"To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script."
- Alfred Hitchcock.

There are some exceptional stories along with their story tellers who can amaze you and keep you glued on them by almost nothing except their flow and execution. A fine example of this can be seen in the 'limited-setting' films of Alfred Hitchcock, the great master of thrillers and suspense.

With this films Alfred Hitchcock has clearly proved that big sets, fancy cars, heavy action, etc can be of no match to one good story. Yes, its the script that matters. Its all that is required to amaze the audience. Four of his films can be said to fall in this category - Lifeboat (1994), Rope (1948), Dial M for Murder (1954) and Rear Window (1954). All of these movies have been highly acclaimed. They have been loved by both the audiences as well as the critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives them a rating of 95 %, 97%, 83% and 100% respectively.


Lifeboat (1944), is a brilliant film. The film starts and ends on just a small lifeboat. The storyline is such that in World War II, the German U-boats have attacked and have sunken an American passenger ship. The survivors, very few of them have come aboard a small emergency lifeboat. They come from different backgrounds like one of them is an international journalist, another is a rich businessman, one radio operator, a nurse, a steward, a sailor and an engineer are present. This people have a sole aim now i.e to survive. Things go fine until they save another man from drowning, he turns out to be the German commander of the U-boat that sunk them. Some of them demand to throw him out while some assert the fact that he is now a prisoner of war and should be treated as such, thereby beginning a wave of distrust and conflict on the boat. The story then goes ahead answering the numerous questions that arise in the viewer's minds like - Who are this people? Will they survive? Are they trying enough? Whats on that German's mind? Has he got any plans? How will this people come out of this situation?


Rope (1948), is another great film. It revolves around a party taking place in an apartment in New York. Brandon and Philip, two antagonists of the film murder their friend David just because they feel they are intellectually superior to him and therefore have the right to do so. They think this the perfect murder. They even throw a party to other friends and surprisingly the guest list also includes David's father and his fiancee Janet. And another person, Rupert, their prep-school's housemaster happens to come too. Brandon and Philip have hidden David's body in a wooden chest and they use the same wooden chest as a buffet for the food. Rupert, who is actually quite close to them had discussed these theories of perfect murder with the boys in school but he had in no way meant harm for anyone and remained unaware that the boys would go this far. Now with David's absence, Rupert senses some problem, Brandon appears calm and controlled but doesn't seem normal and Philip is depressed and scared. The story goes ahead with Rupert collecting evidences and how he finds out about the murder and thus hands the boys to the authorities.


Dial M for Murder (1954), was also based in similar settings. Much of the story takes place in an apartment. Tony Wendice discovers about his wife's affair with a writer Mark Halliday. He is so angered that he plans her murder. He exceutes a brilliant plan. He picks up a man named Swann, who happens to be petty criminal and his schoolmate, to murder her. Swann is reluctant but then Tony has left no stone unturned in his plan and has collected enough evidences against Swann to make his life hell. Tony has been anonymously blackmailing her too. As planned, everything goes smooth but for a minor error in achieving a proper timing, the plan fails terribly. It is Margot, his wife who ends up killing Swann in self-defense. Tony has a plan B ready and at once comes back and shifts the evidences like the key and the letter in such a way that now it seems like Swann was blackmailing Margot and she has killed him in cold blood. The rest of the movie continues with the investigation and Mark's efforts to prove Margot innocent.

Rear Window (1954), is the story of Jeff, a reporter who has been injured and is now bound to wheelchair for a few days. Confined within his apartment he has nothing interesting to do. Eventually he takes up the habit of spying his neighbors from the rear window of his apartment. His neighbors include a fun-loving composer, a middle-aged couple with a small dog, a dancer who seems to enjoy practicing her routines while scantily clad, a newly wed couple, a woman who seems to live in a fantasy world, and a salesman and his wife. All of them seem fine until the salesman's wife disappears, which  Jeff notices. Also the salesman has started doing strange things which just increases Jeff's suspicion that the salesman has killed her. He involves his girlfriend and his nurse too in this matter and they devise a plan to catch him red handed. Where has the wife disappeared? Is Jeff right about his discovery? Who is that salesman? Is he dangerous? The movie answers all this questions well.

The Fountain

The Fountain released in 2006, is a film which mixes the elements of fantasy, history, religion, and science fiction in a love story. It was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. The movie consists of a story in three different timelines. One in the 16th century, one in present 21st century and one in 26th century. It starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, both of them played different roles in three timelines.

The tree stories in each timeline are shown non linearly. Each story is divided by a gap of around 5oo years. Even the stories aren't told chronologically within their timelines but are told by frequently occurring flashbacks and other recurring visual motifs.

The main theme of the film is the fear and acceptation of mortality. The film takes us on a tour which does not guarantee a clear explanation but nonetheless its a visual treat. Arronfsky's work is very good on the themes and motifs in the story. The performances of Jackman and Weisz are brilliant.

 Jackman as Tomás, the
conquistador

The movie starts with a 16th century timeline. Tomás is shown to be fighting off horde of Mayans to gain entry into a pyramid, where he is attacked by a Mayan priest with a flaming sword. It is revealed through flashbacks that he has been sent by Queen Isabella who is losing her territory to the Inquisition. She has sent her conquistador, Tomás to find The Tree of Life for his Queen. He goes in search of it to the Central American forest in Mayan territory. The priest has some revelation about him and thinks him to be devine. He offers Tomás to kill him. After that Tomás reaches a garden with a large tree but things don't go as he had expected.

Jackman and Weisz as Tommy and Izzi

The main story or the core story of the film is of the 21st century doctor, Thomas, who is working on a cure for cancer using samples of the "Tree of Life", found through exploration in Central America. He loves his wife very much and he is deeply affected by his wife's brain tumor and is determined to find a cure soon so that he can protect her. His wife has written a book but when she realises that she won't live long enough to finish the final chapter, she gives it to Thomas to complete it. Its a story about a 16th century Queen and her conquistador, Tomás.

Jackman as Tom, the space traveller

The third timeline in the film is of the 26th century. It has only one character, Tom. Tom is a space traveler, an astronaut. He is traveling in a spaceship which is enclosed of biosphere and contains in it the Tree of Life. He is traveling to a golden Nebula of Xibalba for a certain event. Its the Nebula, Izzi had mentioned about to Tommy. That they will meet there when the star would die. Many connections are made to the 21st century story here. Like the ink tatoos made by Tommy, certain conversations. It is somehow implied that Izzi is still alive in the tree and can be brought back to life once they reach the Xibabla. Even here things don't go as planned or expected.

If you wouldn't like it, you may shut it within 10-15 minutes but if you would get into it, then it would be an amazing experience, which you may feel to repeat again and again.

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK

People can fall in love at anytime and anyplace. Its said that humans are born to love and to be loved. The world has known many love stories both real and fictional through literature, cinema, plays, theater, etc. So it wouldn't be hard to assume that any person can fall in love at any place. As in the Korean film I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, released in 2006, the love story takes place in a mental asylum. It has been directed by Park Chan-wook. It was written by Park Chan-wook and Seo-Gyeong Jeon.

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, is the story of a young girl Young-goon (Lim Soo-jung),  who is mentally ill since her young age but it has not come to the attention of her mother and so she is not treated from the early stage. Young-goon thinks that she is a cyborg, a robot and not a human being. As a child she was very attached to her grandmother who too suffered mental iilness, her grandmother had a belief that she was rat and used to do weird things. When Young-goon's mother and her uncle-aunt sent her grandmother away to an asylum as she was not mentally fit, Young-goon's condition started to fall. 

She believes that she is cyborg with a cause for existence but she doesn't know the cause yet. According to Young-goon - 'the men in white uniforms' took her grandmother away just before she could tell Young-goon her cause for existence.


Another patient in the mental asylum is Park Il-soon (Rain), who has been hospitalized for anti-social behavior and kleptomania. He thinks he can rob the souls of people.
Park Il-soon because of kleptomania has this tendency to rob things, unnecessary things without feeling any kind of guilt or remorse. He is always accused by the other patients during their group therapy sessions for stealing various things. Of course those patients too are insane. A woman who has trouble with storing memories accuses him of stealing her memory, a patient who loses 5 table tennis matches accuses him for stealing his game skills, etc. Its very hilarious.

When Young-goon learns about him she wants his help. Since she believes the hospital staff to be evil - as they are like the men in white who took away her grandmother, she wants revenge. She wants to kill them. But she feels she cannot do so because she has sympathy in her. She asks Park Il-soon to rob away her sympathy so that she can have her revenge. Thus the story of these two starts.

Also Young-goon's health is deteriorating because she is not eating anything. Since she believes that she is cyborg, she does not eat the food thinking that will destroy her internal machinery. 

She only licks batteries as food. Doctors and other find it hard to convince her but its in vain. Park Il-soon does his best to make her eat. The way he convinces her and makes her eat is awesome. The story couldn't have been better.

The story has much more to offer. The final interpretation of Young-goon about her existence through dreams, dangers from pursuing it, Park Il-soon's efforts to save her without letting her know that he is actually protecting her and the end. What an end! A beautiful, innocent and incorruptible love story between two people who aren't in sanity.

The other characters of fellow patients, doctors and Young-goon's mother and grandmother has been developed and shown well. In terms of performance everyone gave their best. The movie currently holds a 90% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.