Tag: india

MONKEY MAN (2024) – Review

Since we’re now into the slow slide from Easter/Spring Break into the Summer cinema season, how about an MMA-style action thriller full of fights and daring escapes? Oh, you say we just had that in the remake of ROAD HOUSE just a couple of weeks ago. Well that flick, despite the director’s protests to the press, bypassed the multiplex and went right to a streaming service. And this new release almost went the same route until an Oscar-winning filmmaker saw it, bought it, and helped prep it for a wide theatrical debut. Oh, and speaking of debuts, this is the first feature directed by the star of a Best Picture Oscar winner over a dozen years ago. Yes, he was the lead in that, and he’s in the lead here as the mysterious avenger who is known as the MONKEY MAN. And no, he’s not another comics-based hero.

Rather, his moniker is based on mythology. In the flashback opening sequences, a young mother and her six or seven-year-old son enjoy the peaceful countryside as she tells him of the Indian animal deity Hanuman AKA the “monkey god”. Flash forward to now in an underground mixed martial arts “fight club” somewhere in bustling Mumbai. One of the brawlers is a lanky fellow wearing a rubber simian mask, along with a filthy tank top and sweatpants. Moments after being introduced by the preening ring MC “Tiger” (Sharlito Copley), the Monkey Man (Dev Patel) is pummeled by “King Cobra”. On his way to the locker room, he endures the taunts of a connected “hustler” named Alphonso (Pitobash). MM who also uses the name Bobby tolerates him since he’s part of his master plan to get a job at the exclusive VIP club where Alphonso works. His boss is a cruel mistress named, naturally, “Queenie” (Ashwini Kalsekar). With the aid of several “street people” Bobby gets her wallet, only to return it to her. Instead of a cash reward, Bobby asks for a job in the kitchen. With an assist from Alphonso (he bets on Monkey Man to take a “dive”), Bobby becomes a server in the ultra-exclusive top floor “playpen” where Queenie provides beauties trafficked from around the globe to international “high rollers”. At last, Bobby spots his reason for being there, his “target” a corrupt sadistic police captain named Rana (Sikandar Kher). Seeing him unleashes many painful childhood memories from Bobby’s time in that forest with his mother. Eventually, Bobby saves up to buy a gun, and then figures out a way to get it past the many security “checkpoints”. So does his revenge scenario play out as planned, or will Rana survive and exact his own vengeance?

Building upon the fighting skills he used six years ago in THE WEDDING GUEST, Patel proves more powerful than his tall, slender physique would suggest. In his bouts, we see, despite the mask, a man in a near-constant panic as he struggles in the opening matches. And that same emotion is echoed in the big high-rise throwdown when things go more than a bit “sideways”. That’s not to say that Patel’s often stoic Bobby is all furious fists and feet. His downturned eyes hint at the heavy weight of family tragedy that almost forms a dark cloud over him. He’s not full of 80s action star quips and snark, and barely makes any human connections. Luckily he does befriend one of the “menu women”, a haunted beauty named Sita played with gentle power by Sobhita Dhulipala. Well, Bobby also connects with a hungry “alley pup’, which brings some extra pathos. And the laughs are provided by a talented trio, Pitobash is a motor-mouthed wiseguy whose bravado distracts from his own tragic past. Kalsekar is a foul-mouthed mini-tornado of disdain and abuse (toward her “staff”). And Copley is the ultimate hammy, and quite swarmy, host as he plays to the crowds while insulting the real “talent”. They’re all an amusing counterpoint to the sneering Kher who makes Rana a great villain more than worthy of our hisses and boos.

Yes, as I alluded to earlier, Patel is making his feature film directing debut while also producing and contributing to the script. And what an ambitious undertaking as he’s in nearly every scene with most consisting of very intense fight choreography (and Patel did take his “lumps” via broken bones and even an eye infection). Aside from the stunts, he creates a great gritty atmosphere as we get “down and dirty” on those dusty streets where denizens scramble for space. One memorable image is Patel’s Bobby in the center of dozens of people “sardine-style” as they try to sleep under a nosy auto overpass. These scenes are in great contrast to the gorgeous flashbacks of a forest paradise (that waterfall). But soon we’re back on the move, as Patel often uses a POV angle to place us right in the mayhem as he ramps up a big pursuit that even takes a second to inject some satire (window jumps are tough). And sure, it’s in the JOHN WICK “wheelhouse” with one bit of dialogue referencing the series. Though this is unique as it hooks us with the fairy-tale legends and the political backdrops. Yes, there’s something of a lull between the two major action “set-pieces” in which we get more backstory and the obligatory “training montage”, but the wait is more than worth it as the finale is truly epic Patel is a terrific physical actor and shows us that he’s a filmmaker to watch (just like the flick’s “savior” Jordan Peele) with the fighting fable of MONKEY MAN.

3 out of 4

MONKEY MAN is now playing in theatres everywhere

ORIGIN – Review

Much like the earlier reviewed ALL OF US STRANGERS, here’s another “indie” film that’s now getting a “wide rollout” after end-of-the-year screenings on the coasts. And yes, it could have been out everywhere in the last couple of months, but it seems that it’s more pertinent now than ever, since the presidential election cycle began with the Iowas caucus just days ago. No, it’s not about someone running for office, but its subject is a major discussion of any political discourse, going back to the beginnings of the US. And that subject is race. Now this new film doesn’t focus on one particular historical event, much like the filmmaker Ava DuVernay did with SELMA, now ten years ago. This delves much deeper into it, as she travels the globe, and explores different eras, all in adapting a lauded scholar’s investigation into racism’s ORIGIN.

The film begins with a flashback to a tragic racially motivated killing over a dozen years ago (you’ll recognize it after a few brief sequences). Then the story jumps ahead a bit as historian/author Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) finishes up a lecture. Afterward, she is approached by literary associates about writing an investigative book about that incident. But life calls her away as she moves her aging mother into assisted living and preps the old family house for resale. During this time she meets the son of a neighbor, Brett Hamilton (Jon Bernthal), beginning a romance that leads to marriage. But when he’s taken, Isabel recalls his last words which urged her to take on the discussed tome. She’s further nudged by her BFF cousin Marion (Niecy Nash), though Isabel decides to tackle the story and radically expand the work. Yes, the killing would be part of it, but Isabel wants to place it into an examination of racism itself, not just in the USA, but around the globe and through the centuries. She then starts “racking up” the frequent flyer miles, by traveling to Germany to learn of two American students caught up in the rise of Nazism, and of a forbidden love between a “pure Aryian” and a Jewish woman. Back in the States, Isabel looks into a research investigation that compared the experiences of two young married couples, one white, and one black, back in the pre-civil rights South. Then it’s off to India to explore the still-in-use “caste” system which divides society into different social, economic, and working classes as Isabel gets a tour by the country’s first “untouchable” collegian.

After impressing audiences as the Williams matriarch in KING RICHARD a couple of years ago, Ms. Ellis-Taylor is superb as the compassionate caring scholar who is the heart of this world-spanning historical essay. Her intelligence is established early on and gradually we see Isabel as a loving daughter and wife before her role as a truth-seeker. Ellis-Taylor shows us her inquisitive nature while never masking Isabel’s sense of wonder at the world tempered with her shock over the actions of its people through the years. She’s a terrific screen partner, whether we see her begin to fall for the charismatic Bernthal, who easily switches from his usual “working class hero/villain” roles, or trading affectionate barbs with cousin Marion, played with a fun-loving spunk by the energetic Nash. Ellis-Taylor is also effective as she discusses, and often disagrees with, a German historian, given passion and logic by Connie Nielsen. Another standout is real-life scholar Gaurav J. Pathania as Isabel’s guide (and the film’s third act narrator/teacher) who calmly recounts the mind-boggling class divisions in India with some truly heartbreaking degradations that still occur. And I should single out an “extended cameo” by the great Nick Hofferman as a plumber whose hard demeanor hides a warm soul and Audra McDonald whose character tells of how sexism enters the “big conflict”.

As mentioned earlier, director DuVernay takes a big swing at an even bigger target and connects for much of the time in her adaptation of Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents”. It’s a daunting endeavor that could’ve been a series of “talking head” dissections. But DuVarney puts us inside the pivotal events without tossing away the humanity. With Isobel’s travels the film could be called a cerebral investigative spin on EAT PRAY LOVE, but that would be dismissing the ideas and discourse that linger on well after the closing credits. DuVernay conveys the heartbreak of 30’s Germany and 50’s segregation, which have been in many previous films, but her deep dive into India makes for several sequences that will burn into your brain (involving public sanitation). And though you may not agree with many of the notions (the “shared genocide” debate will no doubt continue), everyone can agree that Ms. DuVernay has crafted an intellectual and emotional epic that will enthrall and educate in ORIGIN.

3 Out of 4

ORIGIN is now playing in select theatres

“Shantaram” – TV series review

Episode 2. Charlie Hunnam in “Shantaram,” premiering October 14, 2022 on Apple TV+. Courtesy of Apple TV+

“Shantaram” is an intense thriller series, filmed in Bhopal, India, but set in Mumbai back when it was called Bombay. It offers a gritty look at poverty, corruption and organized crime that many will find will be hard to get into, but well worth the effort. In Season One, protagonist Lin Ford (Charlie Hunnam) is on the lam from Australia for something we won’t learn about for a while. Upon arrival in India, he’s mugged and wakes up in one of Bombay’s poorest sections, luckily surrounded by kind-hearted locals. Without money or a passport, Lin makes himself useful to the community by using medical knowledge he’d acquired in an impoverished area lacking other access to treatment.

The time period isn’t specified but some references and the state of technology make it seem vaguely in the 1980s, before cell phones and widely-available internet access. That matches the experience of author Gregory David Roberts, who wrote the source novel of the same name based on his own life’s journey. That era was also better for Lin (logistically and dramatically) than a contemporary setting, since the search for him was harder for whoever was trying to find him, for whatever their reasons may have been. His time in Bombay landed him in the middle of a turf war between wealthy crime bosses competing to get richer, with that slum just happening to be on a section of land both want to develop. By whatever means necessary.

Crooked cops and politicians abound. Even the doctors at public hospitals won’t see poor patients without a bribe, making Lin’s services so vital to his new, unintended home. Besides the large number of actors with significant parts, getting on top of things is complicated by frequent cuts to other times and places, filling in backstories – often without much clarity as to where and when that scene is unfolding. Within the dozen 45-50 minute episodes are all the dramatic elements one would hope for – romance, violence, nobility of character, betrayals and a few surprises, amid tension galore.

Even without our knowing how he got there, Lin quickly establishes himself as a good guy to root for, much like David Janssen’s Dr. Kimble in “The Fugitive.” Within the first few episodes, we also meet his own Lt. Gerard in Wally Nightingale (David Field), an Aussie cop almost maniacally obsessed with catching our guy, no matter where in the world he must go to find him. Many other characters remain elusive as to their motives and place on the good-to-evil spectrum, adding to the suspense. We also get to know quite a few who earn our empathy.

Without disclosing specifics, we follow Lin through a constant stream of threats, seemingly flying at him incessantly and from all directions. He knows he’s in deep doo-doo, and much of his time is spent trying to get out of Bombay and India, frustrated by repeated setbacks in his plans. The season wraps up many plot points, while leaving viewers reasons to be curious about what may happen in Season Two.

Performances, settings and action are of feature-film quality, as we observe what seems to the hard, if not brutal, reality of poverty in India, and likely much of the rest of the world. Apple TV+ is releasing the first three episodes together, with the rest following weekly. Some may prefer waiting until more are in hand to keep plot threads fresh in the mind but the first three should hook many viewers with just enough of the backstories to feel grounded in Lin’s ordeals. This is not easy viewing, since bad things happen to undeserving victims – some quite harshly – but the texture of the tale is a rich one.

“Shantaram,” Season One, in English and Marathi with English subtitles, streams episodes 1-3 on Apple TV+ starting Friday, Oct. 14, with the remaining nine episodes released weekly thereafter.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

WRITING WITH FIRE – Review

One of the Dalit women journalists of Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’), India’s only women-led news outlet, reporting a story, in the Oscar-nominated documentary WRITING WITH FIRE. Courtesy of Music Box Films.

WRITING WITH FIRE, a nominee for this year’s Best Documentary Oscar, is about India’s only women-run newspaper, a news source that has gone in digital since its founding in 2002, and one that covers stories overlooked by other news outlets, particularly on abuse, rape and corruption, with hard-hitting reporting and high journalistic standards. That is astonishing enough but the fact that all the women are also Dalits, the cast formerly known as untouchables, makes this news source seem nearly miraculous. But this is not fiction: these hard-working female reporters are the real thing.

WRITING WITH FIRE is one of two documentaries this past year about small news outlets doing journalism right, covering stories larger outlets won’t cover and serving their community and its right to know. The other one, STORM LAKE, tells an admirable story about an award-winning small town newspaper in the American heartland that is doing everything right, in a way so many larger news outlets no longer are. There is something hopeful in having two such uplifting documentaries, about the triumph of the “little guy,” in a year dominated by so much grimness.

In many ways, filmmakers Rintu Thomas’ and Sushmit Ghosh’s documentary WRITING WITH FIRE is the more amazing story. In 2002, a group of women in India established a women-run newspaper, Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’). That is astonishing enough in a country where men dominate the news industry, and much of life generally. More amazing is that this group of women were also Dalits, the people once called “untouchables” who exist beyond the lowest level of India’s caste system. No one expected their newspaper to survive, yet it did. It still remains the only women-run paper in India.

Documentarians Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh follow these women as they engage in a fearless kind of journalism, reporting abuses and corruption no one else covers. Led by journalist Meera Devi, they investigate and report, but also train and encourage other Dali women who want to join them in doing what journalism is supposed to do: speaking truth to power. And they do that while battling both sexism and caste discrimination every day.

The title refers to several things, including the fiery devotion these women have to the mission of their news outlet for truth-telling, and their determination to covering stories that are too hot, too incendiary, for most other Indian media outlets. Often these are issues of particularly concern to women or to Dalits generally, who face prejudice and often live at the lowest rung of the economic ladder. But the title might also refer to their fierce commitment to each other.

These women journalists are committed to reporting untold stories with courage, but the whole operation serves another purpose: to encourage women who otherwise have little power to take control of their lives. The news outlet welcomes any woman who wants to join their effort, training them in reporting and giving them educational and job skills they never had before. All the staff work as a team, with a commitment to uplifting and supporting women like themselves. At the time the documentary was shot, the news outlet was actively embracing new media, arming their female reporters with smartphones for their work, women who have never owned a cell phone and might have little formal education. And it is impressive what these women can achieve with those tools and that encouragement.

The documentary follows the women journalists as they report on a series of stories, including one of serial rapes that have been ignored by both other media and the police. By digging deep and by dogged persistence, the reporters force both other media to recognize the crime and authorities to address it. The film also follows several individual stories, including one new young recruit with no education who discovers a self-confidence and ability she didn’t know she had before. Another thread focuses on a young woman who becomes a star reporter, and with eyes newly opened to life’s possibilities, embarks on higher education. Watching Meera Devi’s devotion to high journalistic standards and to covering the stories others won’t, combined with her skill and warmth as a mentor, is truly inspiring. The women are not only hard working but joyful in their work and fellowship with each other.

If you need a dose of uplift, in the face of all the negative things happening in the world now, WRITING WITH FIRE delivers that, just as these female reporters deliver the news their community needs. WRITING WITH FIRE, in Hindi with English subtitles, debuts on VOD on all major digital platforms on Mar. 22, and will have its TV debut on PBS’s “Independent Lens” on Mar. 28.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

THE WHITE TIGER – Review

As we ease into the new year, many might agree that a great way to start the 2021 cinema year is to enjoy a “rags to riches” success story. Perhaps “fable” might be the more appropriate word in this story. And just for some extra spice, it’s set in a distant foreign land, but only a decade or so ago. Like the big Oscar-winning Best Picture of 2008, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, it is set mainly in the dusty crowded streets of India. But that’s where the comparisons end. There’s no big “feel good” song and dance finale to leave you with a grin as you head to the lobby (or more likely as you switch off your device). As a matter of fact, this film’s hero openly derides that earlier work. So, who is this “basher’? He’s the focus of the story, a young man who, at one time, was called, with much admiration, THE WHITE TIGER.

The holder of that feline nickname is actually named Balram (Adarsh Gourav), who, as the story begins, is enjoying a wild, life-altering late-night drive in 2007. But before we learn too much, things fast forward to 2010 as he intently watches a news report about the Chinese Premier’s upcoming visit to India. Balram, now a perfectly tailored and coifed tycoon, sits down in his plush office to compose an introductory email to the visiting dignitary. The message begins as an autobiography. He tells of growing up “dirt poor” in a remote village, far from good schools and even doctors. He and his older brother are raised by their widowed father, but all cower before the family matriarch, Granny. At what passes for a school, Balram’s skills at reading make him a stand-out, prompting a visiting supervisor to dub him a rarity, as unique as a white tiger. He’s even given permission and papers to be transferred to a better school in a bigger town, but Granny nixes his dream. Balram is to help out at his poppa’s tea shop, mainly breaking chunks of coal into small nuggets. Growing up, he observes the celebrated visits from the village’s “landlord”, nicknamed “The Stork” who collects the rupees with the help of his thuggish portly son “The Mongoose”. Then as the years pass, Balram is surprised when the duo becomes a trio when he sees a second son, the impeccably dressed, worldly Ashok (Rajkummar Rao). It’s then that Balram hatches a plan. Surely they now need a second driver! He pleads with Granny for the funds to take driving lessons. After he snags a permit, Balram shows up at the Stork’s opulent estate. After a bit of “skullduggery”, he ousts the main driver and is tasked with transporting Ashok and his beautiful “raised in the USA” bride “Pinky Madam” (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). As Ashok’s family becomes more involved in national politics (doling out lots of bribes to avoid taxes on their coal interests), young Balram carefully begins to formulate a way to leave his lowly “servant” status behind and acquire the mantle of “master”.

Few actors have tackled a character’s “story arc” in a role as complex as Balram, and even fewer could “pull it off” with the skill of Gourav in the lead title role. With his beaming eyes and a broad smile, he conveys the fable’s “hero” as a wide-eyed eager innocent for most of the story’s “first act”, easily recalling any number of cinema “go-getters” cast from the mold of Horatio Alger’s young heroes of print. Then ugly ambition darkens that sweet “spark”, first in his elimination of his driving competitor, then as his eyes linger over the indulgencies of the affluent. Gourav shows us Balram soaking everything in while the “wheels” in his brain begin churning out a strategy. The joyful “lapdog” suddenly dishes out casual cruelty with little remorse. His moral “awakening” unleashes his inner beast. And Gourav hits every “note” with confidence. Matching his every “step” is his “master” and expert scene partner Rao, who immediately “takes” to Balram, “bumping” him up from servant/slave to kid brother confidant. His Ashok is the “cool boss”, though he still embraces much of the “old ways” (sending Balram to live in the fancy hotel’s parking garage). But he also “transforms”, sliding into the darkness of despair and addiction as he treats Balram almost as a “whipping boy”. Rao expertly takes Ashok from kind to cold. But his warm nurturing side really comes out when he’s interacting with the charismatic Chopra Jonas as his feisty mate Pinky. Stemming from her American upbringing, Pinky’s almost an incomprehensible alien to most of the males aside from her hubby (and the smitten Balram). She’s also a “bright light” amidst the moral darkness surrounding her in-laws. Chopra Jonas brings the passion to the scenes where she stands up to Ashok’s clan for their treatment of Balram, Ultimately Pinky has her own “turning point” as a tragedy almost extinguishes her “flame”. Her formidable talents are an essential part of the story’s principal trio.

This tale of greed, avarice, and “social climbing” is a true dramatic “rollercoaster” constructed by filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, who directed and wrote the screenplay adaptation of the novel by Aravind Adiga. Though it’s a big scripting “no-no” (remember the advice in ADAPTATION). Bahrami never overuses the “first-person narration” structure. It’s as though we’re reading Balram’s email bio over her shoulder. After the big time jump in the opening five minutes (almost “whiplash-inducing”) Bahrami “settles in”, but still peppers the story with quick cuts back to the village from the city or the mansion (especially to show the fatal consequences” of Balram’s plotting). He’s especially skilled at illustrating Balram’s inner ideas, particularly the “rooster coop” analogy, which he believes keeps his family (really most of his country) stuck in poverty. And much like another film “success” story THE FOUNDER, this “hero” is anything “but” as he climbs the ladder. His “comfort” comes with a hefty price (his soul, perhaps). A big asset to the work is the dazzling cinematography from Paolo Carnera. This skilled team makes THE WHITE TIGER a truly compelling and ferocious film feline.

3 out of 4

THE WHITE TIGER opens in theatres everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas beginning Wednesday, January 13th, 2021.

THE WARRIOR QUEEN OF JHANSI – Review

It’s Hollywood history time at the movies this weekend, though there’s more than a bit of Bollywood in this new release. Yes, history is explored in this week’s big studio crowd-pleasing FORD V FERRARI, set in the 20th century. This other film goes back to the previous century, at just past its midpoint. While in the states the stage was being set for the Civil War, an even bigger conflict was ‘boiling over” into violence on the other side of the globe. The British (in support of the British East India Company, yes a business) were fighting the rebellious forces of the locals in India. And one of the most revered leaders of the “mutiny” was a woman, royalty actually. With her courageous spirit, hunger for freedom, and fierce fighting skills she fits right in at the multiplex alongside any of our female superheroes. But she was a real person, celebrated as THE WARRIOR QUEEN OF JHANSI.

After a brief prologue detailing the exploitation of the land by the British East India Co. (England allowed them to have their own military troops), we get to meet seven-year-old Rani as she is trained in archery by her father (who performed the same lessons with the soldiers of the Jhansi district/kingdom). Upon her 15th birthday Rani (Devika Bhise) is wed to the older Maharaja of Jhansi, and soon bears him a son who sadly dies four months later. Prior to his own death, the Maharaja and Rani adopt the toddler son of a cousin, Anand, making him a prince. Meanwhile, the conflicts between the British and the locals increase when it’s revealed that cow and pig fats are used in the rifle cartridges, forcing those Indians working with the army to violate Hindu and Muslim laws. Back in England, Lord Palmerston (Derek Jacobi) informs Queen Victoria (Jodhi May) of the growing rebellion, but, thanks to her Indian advisor Saleem (Omar Malik), she urges mediation rather than violence. This news sits well with the commander of British forces in India, Sir Rose (Rupert Everett), but not with the East India Company rep Sir Hamilton (Nathaniel Parker). Luckily an old friend of Rani, Major Ellis (Ben Lamb) also believes in peaceful negotiations. But those chances are shattered when the Company sends the news to the palace that they will not acknowledge the adopted Prince and declares that the kingdom will be acquired by them. Rani declares that they will not give up their homes and begins training her people (including the women) to fight. But the foreign forces are overwhelming, with superior weapons. Their only hope is to unite with hostile nearby kingdoms. But will that be enough, or will Rani have to relinquish her crown and bow down before the “invaders”?

This unique real-life hero is brought to vivid life by the charismatic Ms. Bhise. She seems equally at ease in the exotic high court fashions (wearing gold jewels from nostril to brow) and in the training arena (those twirling twin swords are astounding) and eventually the battlefield, keeping a platoon at bey with merely a belt (of course, she has the skills). It’s easy to understand how Rani rallied her people, and though the speeches are compelling, Bhise is just as interesting in her quieter moments, conversing with her father and the ladies-in-waiting. And it helps that the camera loves her (perhaps a “rom-com” could be next). The supporting British actors aren’t given much to do, really. Jacobi and May pop up every 12 minutes or so to provide historical info, debate, and exchange concerned looks before she angrily dismisses him. Everett paces around his tent and bemoans the upcoming battle fatalities on both sides, while Parker, as the hawkish Hamilton, twirls his mustache (though it’s part of a thick full beard), in gleeful anticipation of the carnage, almost rubbing his hands in anticipation of personally executing Rani. At the other end of the spectrum Lamb (appropriate for his character’s demeanor) as Ellis, passionately argues for restraint, making both Hamilton and Rose question his loyalties. Of course, we get to see the flashbacks of his intimate meetings with Rani (nothing more provocative than a spirited game of chess), as he follows her about with the look of a smitten schoolboy.

Director Swati Bhise (she not only co-wrote the script but contributed costume designs) conveys the volatile era and slowly builds up the tensions that lead to violence. She helms the battles with great energy, and a clear vision, swiftly cutting to the most compelling sequences, often reminiscent of iconic swashbucklers like GUNGA DIN and KIM. Unfortunately, the time in between the action set pieces feels too repetitive, with characters from both sides debating and “revving up” the troops. Bhise gives us much to celebrate and admire about Rani, but we rarely get to see the flesh and blood woman behind the legend. Any self-doubt fades quickly, while we never get a sense of emotional connection to either the Maharaja (he seems more of a mentor) or Ellis (history denies us a Romeo and Juliet forbidden tryst). THE WARRIOR QUEEN OF JHANSI is deserving of the old-style epic studio treatment (Cinemascope comes to mind), but this retelling feels like a better than average offering on a basic cable TV educational channel offering, only worth watching for the dazzling heroics of Ms. Bhise in the title role.

2 Out of 4

PHOTOGRAPH – Review

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Rafi and Sanya Malhotra as Miloni in Ritesh Batra’s PHOTOGRAPH. Courtesy of Amazon Studios.

In director Ritesh Batra’s previous hit film THE LUNCHBOX, two strangers become linked by chance events involving an inanimate object, a lunchbox. In his follow-up film PHOTOGRAPH, it is a photo that brings two strangers in contact. Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a street photographer from a rural village struggling to make a living taking photos of visitors to a famous Mumbai tourist spot. Miloni (Sanya Malhotra) is a shy, soft-spoken young woman studying to be an accountant, a career chosen for her by her prosperous Mumbai family. Feeling overwhelmed by her overbearing family, she wanders one day to the tourist site, where Rafi snaps her photo. The photograph he takes of her becomes a link with far-reaching consequences for their lives.

Like Ritesh Batra’s previous film THE LUNCH BOX, PHOTOGRAPH is about more than a simple chance event. Batra uses their encounter to not only explore the common humanity and differing lives of these two people but to offer gentle social commentary on the economic divide in modern India, as well as the common human search for self and a fulfilling life. While Miloni’s family have pressed her into her studies, Rafi is working not just to support himself but to support the beloved grandmother who raised him, Dadi (Farrukh Jafar), and pay back his late father’s debts so she can move back into the family home they once shared. For both Rafi and Miloni, family obligations weigh heavily.

PHOTOGRAPH is in English and Hindi – sometimes in the same sentence – but it is fully subtitled. Where THE LUNCHBOX used the elements of farce – mistaken identity, misunderstandings, humor – to tease out its story of two people who otherwise would not meet, PHOTOGRAPH uses the outline of a Bollywood romance to tell its intertwined tale.

PHOTOGRAPH does not have the same humor or charm (largely thanks to Irrfan Khan’s appealing performance) that the THE LUNCHBOX did, but it does have the same warmth, humanity and intelligence, and it has something worthwhile to say. While it is sometimes sweet or funny, often thanks to scene-stealer Jafar as the feisty grandmother, PHOTOGRAPH has a more somber, even bittersweet tone overall.

The acting is good, and the lead characters in PHOTOGRAPH are appealing, particularly Malhotra as Miloni, but the more serious tone keeps the energy lower. Still, PHOTOGRAPH has something to say about humanity and people’s lives, both universal and specific to Indian modern life.

The two young people “meet cute,” like in any Bollywood romance, and then circumstances bring them back together. Rafi is being pushed to marry, mostly by his grandmother but also by the fellows with whom he shares a crowded apartment. He resists, in part because he doesn’t like the idea of marrying a girl in his village and then leaving her there while he works in the city, and partly because he wants to focus on paying off the debt. When Miloni returns in search of Rafi, hoping to get another copy of the photo she liked after her copy is lost, he hits on the idea of asking her to pose as his fiancee when his grandmother comes to visit.

It is a common romantic comedy device but Batra makes it serve other purposes. The man and woman in this film are both young but they are divided by wealth and opportunity, have very different backgrounds, religions and family expectations. Yet both feel the pressure from their circumstances. Batra uses their differences to comment on the economic divide in India – the wealthy, well-educated in Mumbai versus the rural. poorly-educated with limited economic options, as well as on matters of religion and even skin tone.

Miloni looks to have it all but we see from the beginning that she is as constrained by her circumstances as Rafi is by his. Her father beams when he sees her picture on a billboard praising top students at an accounting school but she seems to do little other than study and there is a dutiful joylessness to her life. An early scene is revealing, as we see her shopping for a new top with her mother. She tries on a bright yellow one with a faint smile, but the choice is overruled by her mother, who selects a pink one instead. Miloni says nothing but as she tries on the pink top, we see the resignation on her face In a later scene, we learn that Miloni wanted to study theater, but her family insisted on the more lucrative accounting career. Passive, dutiful Miloni complied.

Meeting Rafi starts to change that, although not entirely in the way we might expect. Another telling detail has to do with the photo Rafi took. As both her classmates and later Rafi’s friends/roommates admire it, someone comments that she looks prettier in the photo than in person. Malhotra is beautiful, of course, but the comment is revealing about the character she is playing, that Rafi has captured something about her that others did not see, that he brings out the best in her.

The director firmly but gently guides us through their intersecting lives, drawing out details of Indian society along the way. While the tone is romantic, it is also a touch sad and wistful. There are moments of humor, often with Rafi’s rascally grandmother or his more carefree friends. Scenes are beautifully framed, with fine photography, but the visual side is never showy, remaining in the background to keep our focus on these two people. A lot goes on just below the surface in this film. The director directly references Bollywood romance films on a couple of occasions, subtly underscores the class divide between the leads in a scene in a movie theater, even touches on the supernatural at one point, offers a touch of nostalgia for India’s pre-globalized past and ties the two characters together through their families separate attempts to arrange marriages for them, to people they consider “suitable” by their differing standards.

While at one point we feel PHOTOGRAPH drifting into conventional romance, the director gently pushes it in new, more revealing and more interesting directions. Like his previous film, Batra uses the very human story of two people to comment on the human condition and society itself, no small feat.

PHOTGRAPH, in English and Hindi with English subtitles, opens Friday, May 24, at Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

HOTEL MUMBAI- Review

Another weekend, another impressive “indie” flick starring the talented Dev Patel. This time out he’s not the main star in a fictional thriller, as he was in THE WEDDING GUEST. Much like the Marigold Hotel films, he’s part of a formidable ensemble. Oh, this is about a rental residence also, but it’s far from that haven of romance and whimsy. This week’s film is set at a very real place and dramatizes the very real (perhaps too real for many squeamish sensitve filmgoers) horrors that occured just a few months and a decade ago. This locale is the oppulent Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, but because its staff and guests embodies the spirit of the city during those desperate days, it would be referred to as HOTEL MUMBAI.


The story begins in the sun-speckled Mumbai harbor on November 26, 2008, as an inflated raft carrying several young men in their early twenties drifts toward the shoreline. Each of them listens intently to a voice over their phone ear jacks, a voice spurring them on a quest. As they head to the streets, the men pair off in twos, grab their heavy travel bags, and head away to their assigned locations. Meanwhile, a young father (a year-old daughter and a baby on the way) named Arjun (Patel) rushes away to his job as part of the wait staff at the exclusive Taj Mahal Palace. He’s nearly sent home by the restaurant’s stern but understanding chef Oberoi (Anupam Kher) when he reports in wearing black sox and sandals (a dress shoe fell out of his backpack) until the master chef loans Arjun his spare set (smaller, of course). It’s a big day at the hotel, as they await the daughter of a prominent local family. After much prep, they check into one of the biggest suites. It’s a romantic getaway for Zahra (Nazanin Boniadi) and American hubby David (Armie Hammer), who also have a toddler and an old friend serving as a nanny, Sally (Tilda Cobham-Hervey). She stays behind in the room with the baby, while the newlyweds head to the in-hotel restaurant for a cozy dinner. Things go well, despite being seated across from crass Russian buisnessmanVasili (Jason Isaacs) who is loudly ordering his evening’s “entertainment” on his cell phone while flipping through a folder packed with 8X10 glossy photos of the local “talent’. Across town, the nightmare begins as two the young arrivals unzip their bags, pull out pistols, grenades, and automatic weapons and begin firing into the crowds at a packed train station. A mile away another two toss a grenade into the Leopold Cafe, then execute the survivors. The panic in the streets makes its way to the Taj, as the manager opens up the lobby to the frightened throngs. Unfortunately, there are two wolves amongst the scared sheep, and the Taj is under attack. What of the guests in the above floor restaurant? Can they hide from the killers? But can the Zahra and David stay put while Sally and their baby are in danger? Can any of them survive until the rescuers arrive?

Patel smoothly switches gears, from last week’s downbeat, surly thug for hire (in GUEST) to warm, hard-working family man as the kind-hearted Arjun. He’s a quiet, soft spoken “everyman” whose endless reserves of compassion and courage prove invaluable when the unthinkable happens. From his tender moments with his wife and daughter to the “tough love” encounters with his boss, Patel makes Anjul a compelling but reluctant hero. This is true in his rescue run with a wounded guest, but also when he must calm down another guest whose prejudices take over. It helps that his screen “father figure’ is the equally gifted Kher, who becomes the calm, composed “rock” that all those adrift swim toward. Oberoi stands tall in the face of doom, determined to protect the “guests’ while not insisting the staff stay put (and one or two do opt to take that secret service tunnel to the street). Kher’s another hero as he tries to calm the panicked as he formulates a way to get past the intruders to his “home”. Another unexpected heroic character is Isaacs, the crude, but courageous Vasili (in Vegas the casinos would consider him a “whale”), who will take the brunt of the abuse from the killers to “buy time” for his guests, refusing to cower at the end of a gun barrel. The same could be said for Hammer’s David who chooses his child over a relatively space hiding spot (although he’s not the “Die Hard” hard case the poster might have you think). Boniadi has much of that same determination as the defiant, smart Zahra, standing up for the home she loves, while her pal Sally tries to shelter a crying child eliciting believable hysteria from Cobham-Hervey.

First-time feature director Anthony Maras (who co-wrote the script with John Collee) maintains a sense of tension through most of this gripping docudrama thriller, letting the “white knuckle” moments suddenly burst through the quiet like a violent tidal wave on a calm beach. Even before the gunplay erupts, Maras produces a feeling of impending doom as we hear that voice prodding the crew, even telling them to keep the phone line open so he can hear the death rattles and blasts. And though the American and British actors are played up the marketing, they don’t overshadow the Eastern cast, particularly true as we follow two local police who slowly enter the Taj even though they know their pistols are little match for the crew’s near unlimited firepower. And though the loss of life and banal cruelty is heart-wrenching, the story is almost hopeful, even life assuring as we see staff and guests throw away their class distinctions and truly bond in order to not give in to despair. Though evil runs rampant, shooting flames and smoke into the dark skies, it never truly triumphs despite the body count. And that’s the real spirit that rings through the hallways of HOTEL MUMBAI.

3.5 Out of 5

THE WEDDING GUEST (2018) – Review

Spring arrived (finally) just a few days ago, so what better time for a flick about one of the season’s most frequent events and celebration, a wedding. From the title, we gather that it must be a “rom-com” romp with all the chaos and confusion associated with “tying the knot”. And since it comes from writer/director Michael Winterbottom, the man who helmed that hilarious THE TRIP trilogy and stars the energetic Dev Patel from the Marigold Hotel movies, it’ll have lots of laughs and warmth (maybe Coogan and Brydon will cruise in). Well, you’d be mistaken if you gathered all this from the title, or to quote one of the better songs from MARY POPPINS RETURNS, “The Cover is not the Book”. No, this is an Eastern trek into classic film noir territory as we strap ourselves in for a road trip with THE WEDDING GUEST.

Said title character is a British-raised Indian Muslim named (well, it’s what he answers to) Jay. As we meet him, he’s just flown into Pakistan, informing the authorities that he’s going to a wedding. He proceeds to rent a car for two weeks (perhaps turning the trip into a vacation). Jay then stops off in a small dusty village to purchase two pistols (uh oh), then buys a roll of “very strong” duct tape (double uh oh). A few miles up the road he parks his car and rents another one (wha-) and completes the trip to the wedding locale, an opulent estate outside another tiny town. After renting a room, Jay embarks on his trek’s true mission. Evading the gate guard, he climbs the fence, enters the home, and abducts the intended bride, Samira (Radhika Apte). A flash of violence complicates Jay’s plan, but they make it back to his vehicle. After tossing her into the trunk (she’s bound, gagged, and hooded) they speed away into the night. Making it back to the first rented car, Jay lets Samira out of the trunk and informs her of the plan. If she wants to go through with the nuptials, he’ll leave her by the side of the road near town. But if she wishes to be reunited with her London love, Deepish, he’ll take her to him in India. Samira chooses the ladder, and after a quick clothes change, they head across the border to India. But things soon go “sideways” as Deepish (Jim Sarbh) gets “cold feet” when the big “bride-napping” makes the news. But Samira insists on seeing him, and Jay just wants to get paid for the job and its “complications”, one being the attraction between abductor and captive. And what was the couple’s big “endgame” involving Deepesh’s family business of precious gems and stones? Will this triangle take a deadly turn?

The lead role is a big departure for the usually sunny, cerebral star of this dark tale. Patel (who’s also one of the film’s producers) embraces that darkness giving us a determined calculating criminal-for-hire, one hoping to avoid violence but is prepared, nonetheless to strike first in order to survive and collect his bounty. Jay is a mystery, a man full of contradictions, stopping off on the way to the job in order to do his daily prayers, then quickly back in his deadly “professional duties”. Has he always done this “sort of thing”? Where did he acquire these “special skills”? We, along with the other characters, never find out, as Patel builds a secretive, protective wall around Jay. And Patel is completely believable in this complex, but brutal role. Now what Jay is not prepared for is the alluring Samira played by Apte unlike a typical noir “dangerous dame”. She slowly turns from timid captive to calculating partner, knowing that her face and name are all over the news. Apte, through her large expressive eyes, conveys Samira’s almost fear of Jay morph into an emotional bond. Of course, much of this is escalated by her weasel of a longtime beau Deepesh played with an oily arrogance by Sarbh. He’s a smooth-talking wild card, showing his “true colors” when things go awry. Sarbh’s so convincing that we wonder what Samira ever really saw in him. This is one twisted talented trio.

Winterbottom has concocted a unique crime thriller that’s mixed with a “budding friendship” road picture. As mentioned earlier it’s an exotic spin on the classic noir films with plenty of double and triple-crosses and a tough, rough, “all-business” pro whose “hard edges’ slowly soften via a very smart ‘skirt”. The suspense builds from the mysterious first act as we’re pondering the motives of Jay as he gathers his “tools”, finally exploding in the nearly botched mansion invasion and “grab”. From there’s it becomes almost a “travelogue’ as we view the gorgeous locales from all manner of transportation (cars, trains, even a “sleeper” bus) and accommodations (from “dirty dives” to swanky plush suites). This builds to the inevitable meeting of the three principals, which, as feared, quickly goes “south”. And as James Cain reminded us, “The Postman always rings twice”. Though the plot has familiar elements, the cast and settings make THE WEDDING GUEST an engaging “slow boil”.

3.5 Out of 5

THE WEDDING GUEST opens everywhere and screens exclusively in St. Louis at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas and Tivoli Theatre

2019 Oscar Nominated Film Shorts Programs

Once again the general public will have to opportunity to view something that was a regular part of the movie experience for many decades, the short subject. Throughout the “Golden Age” of Hollywood, the studios produced these smaller films (generally under an hour) that were usually shown in between two films (the great double feature). There were the cartoons made by the studio animation departments (Bugs Bunny from Warners, Tom and Jerry at MGM, and so forth), and the live-action shorts, often comedy (Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges) mixed with some closer to documentaries like the newsreel (pre-TV filmed events) and the travelogue (a film tour of world locales). With the advent of TV, most theatres stopped showing them and the major studios closed their divisions. The shorts then became the primary domain for independent filmmakers and continued to vie for Oscar nominations. Now, with the increasing streaming platforms and cable outlets, shorts are becoming more accessible now than in many years. Still, big screen programs, aside from film festivals, is a real rarity. With the Oscar ceremony just weeks away, film fans can indulge in a “cinema smorgasbord” and indulge in a buffet from three categories.

The most popular may be the films selected as Best Animated Short, though, like their live-action narrative brethren, most of these films share a theme, call it “parents and children”. Well, there one exception, of course, that would be the witty entry from the National Film Board of Canada (producer of many wonderful award-winning animated films for nearly 70 years) called “Animal Behavior”. Rendered in a magazine (New Yorker mainly) style, it looks at a group therapy session (chairs in a circle) for animals (a pig, a leech, a praying mantis, etc.) with a dog in charge trying to deal with a new member, an annoyed gorilla. The rest fit squarely in the “theme”, the best known being “Bao” which did run in theatres last Summer paired off with INCREDIBLES 2 (Pixar nearly always runs a short before each new feature). It’s a fable (the only one in the group told in rounded 3D CGI style) in which a lonely woman is stunned when a dumpling she has prepared for Dinner, suddenly springs to life. Naturally, she raises it as her child (a son), and we see them dealing with the whole maturing cycle from infant to teen. A very different look at parenting is shown in “Weekends” in which a grade-school aged boy lives with his harried single mom during the week and is picked up on Friday by his fun-loving pop and whisked away to his high-rise apartment/funhouse. There’s almost no dialogue and the art has a “scratchy” rendering looking like ballpoint pen scribblings in a school notebook. The program’s two highlights are “Once Small Step” which begins with a young Asian-American girl watching that famous newcast, fueling her dreams of exploring space. The dream is encouraged by her single dad who works below their home as a shoe repairman (hmmm, another fairy tale nod). Again no dialogue, but with slick multicolored outlined characters that seem right out of a polished children’s’ book. The parent/child roles are flipped in the final entry “Late Afternoon” which centers on an elderly woman enjoying her visit from a caregiver (but is she more than that). While the lady sips from her tea, each image around her triggers distant memories (running along the beach, writing in the sand,etc.) until her fog is lifted in the heartwrenching final moments. The art is a lively mix of simple line drawings, bright vibrant colors, and gorgeous watercolor-like backdrops. Each film has something to entertain and recommend (I’d have a tough time choosing if I were in the Academy).

For the Best Live Action Shorts, the previous theme is a twisted variation, you could say (with a nod to the classic Who rock anthem) “The Kids are Not All Right”. Indeed they are in dire, deadly danger in all but one entry. that one is the sweetly nostalgic “Marguerite”, Like “Late Afternoon”, it’s a French-Canadian tale of an elderly woman and her visiting caregiver/nurse. Their conversations sparks her mind to recall a forbidden, unrequited love from long. long ago, reminding us that the “good ole’ days” were not so “good” for so many. Now, on to the “rough stuff”. From the same land comes “Fauve” about a lazy day in the country (climbing an old train car. running around a construction site) turns into a race against doom for two pre-teen boys. Speaking of a “race to doom”, that sums up most of the Spanish entry “Madre”. As the title infers, the main subjects are mothers (yes, the plural). The main setting is an apartment where a woman and her mother pop in to bicker and change for Lunch. Things take a turn when the home owner’s six-year-old son makes a frantic phone call to her, which puts both mother and grandmother nearly into hysterics. Like the recent films LOCKE and THE GUILTY, the story is told via one part of the phone conversation (leaving us to imagine the caller’s dire straights just as the main characters). But where’s the USA, why represented by “Skin”, which centers on a young boy of eight or nine, the only son of a young couple who are, as said in LADY BIRD, from “the other side of the tracks”. Though they dote on the lad, we soon find out that the couple (the dad particularly) are violent racists. After a horrific attack ( a true hate crime), a “Tales From the Crypt”-like revenge plot is put into motion, resulting in an “O Henry” twist at first funny then whiplashing into true tragedy. The real standout of this batch comes from Ireland. “Detainment” is the controversial docudrama whose dialogue is directly taken from Police interview tapes of the two ten-year-old suspects in the infamous 1993 “Baby James” crime in Bootle, England. Though difficult to watch (I can’t imagine a full-length feature). the film hits with the impact of cinematic sledgehammer aided in great part by the two young lead actors: Ely Sloan as the emotional, terrified Jon and Leon Hughes as the cold calculating Robert. Never exploitive of the crime, the film is a testament to the police officers quest to learn the truth while having to deal with the parents , who were required to be on hand for the questioning (it’s quite the tightrope walk as they must navigate carefully). All of these films are compelling, even as the viewer is put through the “emotional ringer”.

Finally, the Best Documentary Shorts also share a theme (well four of the five) as they profile people battling against overwhelming forces, in short, “struggle”. Most unusual may be the entry from India, with a title ripe with many meanings, “Period. End of Sentence”. It begins with an overview of a subject not really discussed in that society: menstruation. Interviews bring home the lack of knowledge (it’s a mystery to most men on camera) and the problems facing young women. The film shifts gears as we meet a man determined to bring hygiene to the villages via sanitary pad vending machines by hiring local women to produce the pads and be traveling suppliers. It’s an engaging look at a culture that’s finally changing. The majority of this program comes from the USA. “Lifeboat” follows a German barge that helps rescue fleeing refugees at sea (many don’t survive on the makeshift rafts, barrels, and tubs). There’s a message of hope despite the near unending stream of desperate, nomadic peoples. Those rescue crews are heroes, as much as the staff of the Zen Hospice Project we meet in “End Game” as they ease terminal patients into their last days. We meet four or five of these residents, but the film’s heart may be with one that decides to stay in the hospital, in hope of new treatments. The intimate scenes of Mitra with her family (her husband and mother often clash) and doctors are quite moving. A brief (seven minutes) history lesson shines a light on a now unthinkable incident from 1939. “A Night at the Garden” documents (using black and white home-movie-like footage and audio recordings) a pro-Nazi rally attended by 20,000 in New York City (the title “Garden” is Madison Square). Though touted as a night celebrating “American patriotism”, there are lots of swastikas on stage (on both sides of Old Glory) to frame the speakers spewing anti-semitic rhetoric. Hatred is a big topic in the most compelling of the program, UK’s “Black Sheep”. In stark close-up, Cornelius Walker tells the story of his Nigerian family who moved from their London high rise apartment (after the high-profile murder there of a schoolboy from their homeland) to one of the”safer” remote villages. Walker relates his shock at the casual bigotry he faced, which led to a brutal beating by a local teen gang. With great emotion, Walker then tells us of his shocking response. Rather than retaliating, he believed that in order to survive he needed to join them, even bleaching his skin, spiking his hair, and wearing bright blue contact lenses. The tale is both compelling and heartbreaking, with Walker’s monologue illustrated with dream-like recreations. All five are engrossing while sharing a similar spirit among different times, locales, and subjects.

Any or all of these programs are well worth any film fan’s time.

The 2019 Oscar Nominated Short Films Programs are screening in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre