The Exterminating Angel

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.