Before The Rain - Movie Review

8:12 PM Shanky 2 Comments

When we think about time scientifically it is the unit used to specify rates like the rate of change of velocity is acceleration . Philosophically, I think it is circular. Circularity of time has many takers and nature is one of them. The repeating of seasons, day & night are all examples for cyclicity of time. We also observe cyclicity of time in the stages of man's life as depicted by Shakespeare in his seven stages of life which is also incidentally described in Sanskrit vedas (Remember the Rajnikanth song about stages in life?). But when I look at an hour glass, the past is so vast (the bottom of the glass) and future is so vast (the top, of course) while the present is a tiny narrow opening with constant change. It is like everything that happens in life is compressed to a single point in time that our human brains cannot comprehend and hence is expanded by us to experience and enunciate the happenings at that point of time. I know you are wondering why am I blabbering this in a movie review. I am not blabbering! This is what happened inside me, the argument that my mind was having with itself, pulling its hair, searching for more philosophies about time and existence. This is what you will be doing after watching this great movie - Before the Rain.

The film is in three parts - Words, Faces & Pictures. Each word perfectly describes each part with both subtle and in your "face" cues. Each part portrays a love story that is affected, either directly or indirectly, by the conflict happening in the Balkan region. Except for the second part, in which the story is based in London, the other two are shot in Macedonia. The Macedonian born director & writer,  Milčo Mančevski, has done a master piece that is quite possibly one of the best movies that you never heard about! After watching the movie you might either dismiss it as a noob's directorial venture where he did not even pay heeds to editing or you might appreciate his delving deeper into the philosophy of time. One sentence "Time doesn't wait and the circle is not round", that is repeated in the movie either pictorially or verbally, is the corner stone of the movie which eliminates the doubt about the editing skills deployed in this one. 

This is one of those movies which ought to be seen with friends and later to be discussed over drinks. Many sites or so called movie buffs have discussed the genius of Nolan and his idea in Inception while a similar euphoria might be absent for this movie it has done well in international circuits. Everytime I have tried to watch this movie, which is thrice in the past week alone, I have discovered something that I had missed earlier that is obvious. When I tried to decipher the movie, with my brain that has been trained in linear thinking and sequential philiospohy of time in which one thing leads to the other, I laughed like a mad person. I won't analyse more about this movie or the cinematography or music. It will not do justice to this very well made movie to say the least. All I can say is that this movie will drive you nuts in a good positive way, make you want to travel to the shores of Adriatic and make you wonder why are such movies not screened let alone made in India!?

2 comments:

The Long Road Home

6:04 PM Shanky 0 Comments


This is a continuation from my travelogue about Kanchanaburi . 

After a great trip to Kanchanaburi, the paradise that is almost forgotten by tourists, it was time to pack the bags and hit the road home. Have you noticed that the start of the trip is always full of energy and it gets to zero towards the end. What took like 2 seconds to reach the destination from home seems like 2 years while returning!? Well, I guess we all feel that way. But this journey back from Kanchanaburi was as eventful and adrenaline pumping as my onward journey was and hence this day turned out to be an awesome one with good lot of experiences in itself. whoever said that the journey is as important as the destination was a genius!

A pleasant surprise awaited me when I boarded the bus at Kanchanaburi which will take me to Suphanburi. The bus was loaded with Dutch, Deutsche and Brit backpacking students (Of course all girls). I could not believe this! This is the perfect platform to complete Operation Good Indian. I am just disgusted or frustrated by the foreigners who think they know all about India and Indians and pass 'smart ass' judgements. I am seriously pissed! I have been browsing the Lonely planet's thorntree forum for sometime now and the kind of image that foreigners have of India(ns) is pathetic. I just kept to myself and my book till the conductor was asking them 5THB extra than the usual 45THB. Now is the time to be the good samaritan and make my country proud! I jumped in (albeit in a less than heroic way) and asked the conductor in my master class Thai about the extra he was demanding. He explained that these ladies are going to Singburi and not Suphanburi. I got confused and asked him if this bus goes till Singburi and he said yes (or so I thought). I then explained the 5THB difference to them and they were happy. After that two of the girls were chatting with me for a few minutes and everything was silent again. Mission Good Indian accomplished!

But this does not end here for us. As it happens, the bus did not go till Singburi and the conductor pocketed the extra 5THB per passenger in his pocket. His beer for the night has been sponsored by naive farangs. I was sure by now that the girls looked at me as an accomplice to the sham. Shame on such people, be it Thais or Indians who make others look bad! But fate did not let me ponder too much on this, he had better plans. Once we alighted the bus, we saw a deserted bus station and the tuk tuk guys were literally all over us offering a ride to the best hotel. Yes, the last bus has left for the day and we were stranded in Suphanburi for the night! Though I knew that cheap taxi exists only in an utopian world, being the optimist I am I led the group (of me and the girls) inside the bus station to fend for taxi or any such alternative. Of course, it was exorbhitantly priced and we had to reject it. But the trouble was I was talking in broken Thai and the girls did not understand a bit. They only understood the outcome, which was that they cannot afford the taxi at that price. Here is a stranger who looks like he is helping but there is nothing coming out of his acts. Obviously anyone would be suspicious now and they started giving me the looks (Of course the nasty ones). 

I ignored those vile looks anyway, I had a bigger problem to worry about than their looks. I am a guy and they are girls. Obviously the whole world will be ready to help them while people will be laughing at my problem. India Vs Rest of World is over and Boys Vs Girls has started in my mind! I come out of the bus station dejected, trying to flag down a car or something! Just then I saw a familiar face. But that guy was trying to hide or at least get out of my view. My heart was jumping with joy and did a reverse somersault. I blurted out pointing my finger at him - "Hey you! you are Taxi driver from Ang thong?! I know you". He just replied with a wide eyed shake of his head. This was my lucky break and I cannot let it go, so I persisted "I know you. You take to Karaoke". Now he identifies me, "Yeah! But no taxi. Taxi in Bangkok flood!" I muttered a few expletives at the flood this time and asked him "How you go Ang Thong?" Now, to communicate to a Thai who "knows" English, you need to talk like them. It might be perceived as mocking but what the hell, it gets the job done better! So screw the grammar. Make it a lean sentence with only essential information so that his brain can process it quickly. It really helps!

Now, after this he agreed to call his friend who has a pickup truck and drop me at my colony doorstep. He is the guy who my friends and I used to hire when we felt like going to the Karaoke bars in Ang Thong for a weekend drink. So we have given him a lot of business and he better not mess with me :P We are to split the pickup truck cost, to which I happily agreed. Now, the girls were there when the negotiations were happening and have by now confirmed I am a total jerk who in the mask of helping them was trying to rip off money from them. Now that I cannot, I am just fleeing. So, after securing myself it was Mission Good Indian again. I asked my taxi driver "friend" if he has any more friends with pickup trucks to help these lovely ladies. He gave them some numbers and asked them to call. By that time our pick up truck had come. I guess the numbers had worked cause the two who chatted me in the bus were now smiling and waving. Dear Farangs/Phirangs, Indians are not bad. We stare at you because you are different just the same reason why you travel to India (and stare at her) because she is different. 

Falcon calling Mother - Operation Good Indian complete. Returning to base!

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Kanchanaburi - Forgotten Paradise!

9:06 PM Shanky 2 Comments


5th Tier of Erawan Water Fall

It has been three weekends and no travel! I was beginning to get antsy and was bitching about the floods that has got every frickin road out of Ang Thong closed down. But enough is enough, I am going this weekend and noone can stop me - not the floods, not the manager who refused to give the vehicle to the next town, not even the guest house manager who was paranoid about me drowning and dying in a foreign country! My friends and I had chosen Kanchanaburi for the weekend. With so many national parks, the river Kwae and cheap accommodation it is a great place to unwind after a hard working week or even a partying week. Getting to Kanchanaburi from Bangkok is a no-brainer, as is getting to most places in Thailand from Bangkok. But getting to Kanchanaburi from Ang Thong requires extensive research and mastery over google technology. By google technology, I mean your ability to vary your search string based on the output and finally hitting jackpot based on trial and error. Being an MBA and having done this for most of my projects - data research and otherwise, I can safely say I know a little something about Google tech.

After extensive research I found that the route is Ang Thong - Suphanburi - Kanchanaburi. The good thing about Thailand, though rarely documented, is the connectivity between provincial HQs. There are myriads of options at regular intervals. Only downside being they close quite early! Last transport can be as early as 5pm and after that you are stranded at the place searching for cheap shelter or cheaper taxi. Chances of getting a cheaper taxi is as much as sighting moon on a new moon day. I started very early on Saturday morning so that I can have maximum time at Kanchanaburi for the day. Cheap bus option from Ang thong took me to Suphanburi and cost me 27 THB and 60 minutes. Suphanburi has a decent bus station with eating options and a clean restroom. From suphanburi it took me 45 THB and 1.5 hours to reach Kanchanaburi. 

Bridge Over River Kwae
After a futile search, for Sam's guesthouse, on the bike taxi all along the Thamakarm road I gave up and asked the bike guy to drop me at the deathrailway. This is the site of famous bridge over the river kwae; shot into popularity by the hollywood movie of the same name. The place does have a vibe to it, especially after having read so much about it. Clicked some pics, had Thai style grilled chicken, Thai coffe and then off to War cemetry. In true backpacker style, my walk to war cemetry was broken by Sams. I had found it!! I went in, booked a room and the AC was more convincing than the noon sun. So I decided to catch a nap which also meant I will not be able to see the cemetry in this trip. Meanwhile my friends from Bangkok had arrived. After lunch we hired a taxi to take to hell fire pass, Sai Yok National park and a cave. The route to Sai Yok was scenic and had lots and lots of landscape photo op!

River Kwae
We finished the night with some great drinks at the cracker's aussie bar. I am always fascinated by these expats who leave their country and settle down in another country for retirement. The owner of this bar was a jolly fellow from Aussie land and we had some Brits for company as well. Man Utd was playing that night and we witnessed heated discussion about Aussie rules football vs real soccer. I tasted Malibu for the first time and fell in love with it! It was good night time and we had to start early as those guys wanted to sneak a peek at the bridge and then go to Erawan National Park. 

Next day was awesome for more than one reason (reasons in the next post). We took the 8 am bus from Kanchanaburi to Erawan and reached after an hour's ride. The journey was scenic and a little tiring. We had a 3 km trek ahead of us (both ways) to cover the entire park and see all the seven tiers of the Erawan water falls. The falls, the water, the jungle - the setting is just mesmerising and you will not repent the 200THB park entry fee. It has been well maintained as well with clear directions to each level. The hike gets a bit tricky after tier 4 and is not for casual/relaxed sauntering. While coming back I was tired and rejuvenated myself by taking a dip in the second level water fall infested by hungryfishes that will nibble at your dead skin. We were descending from the seventh level around 12pm and could see why it is a good idea to reach this place early. Tourists, Ze Germans in particular, swarm this place in huge numbers from noon. It is like the mongol hordes raiding the wealthy nations. You see hot german blondes to grandmas in their swim suits and bikinis complete with Spanish style flower on the side of their head begin to crowd the pools of the waterfall.

Painting on the wall of restaurant
After the tiring hike we headed to one of the restaurants near the bus station in Erawan. This place served the best Khao Phad Khai (chicken fried rice) that I have had till date. Maybe it is the fatigue and hunger! I also loved the paintings in the walls of this restaurant. It was time to leave and we went separate ways after reaching Kanchanaburi; my friends to Bangkok and I to Ang Thong. So time to head back home and another run of the mill week at work. But the travel bug is back with a vengence!

2 comments:

A Rainbow in the Night - Book Review

9:09 PM Shanky 2 Comments


Even as a kid, my fascination towards the big cats was unexplainable. I have no clue why, but I think it might be due to the character of Bhagira in Jungle book. As I grew up, I was fascinated by the countries which had these big cats in large numbers. That and reading about Gandhiji's ashram in SA and colonization of African countries increased my fascination and a sense of brotherhood towards African nations. I think they will be able to understand the Indian way of life better because they have suffered the same difficulties that we Indians have suffered. This fascination and the sense of brotherhood drove me towards buying "A Rainbow in the Night: Mandela and the tumultuous birth of South Africa" at the Mumbai airport when I was waiting for my Kolkata flight almost 5 months back! 

Some books/authors try to analyze a situation from what they see now and try to behave like they are the messengers of god - giving out solutions and how the problems can be resolved. Most of the self help books fall into this category and I try to avoid them. Some books look deeper into the situation try to analyze what was the starting point, take a macro view and then drill deep into the current state of affairs. I love such books and in fact that is how even I think sometimes. Asking why is a disease that I have developed over the years and I am truly happy to have contracted it. Dominique Lapierre hits the bulls eye in this book with his approach to recording the notorious events that marked some of the dark times in South African history. The narrative is a mixture of story telling and reality TV styles. In story telling he transports you to an era where the Voortrekkers first embarked on a historic trek across Africa to find the promised land for their race. The reality TV comes into play when he describes the real life stories of some of the unsung heroes of the apartheid period. 

Success of any major movement has three very essential ingredients - A designated leader, non-designated leaders and supporters. By supporters I mean sympathisers from the other side of the table who see the rationale behind the movement. Take independence movement in India - M.K. Gandhi was the designated leader, Subramaniam Bharathiyar, The trio of Lal, Bal, Pal and many others were the non-designated leaders and there were many sympathisers from the British side who helped as well. Identifying all of these group gives you a clearer picture and is the least that humanity can do to pay respect to the movement as whole! M.K. Gandhi might be the father of the nation but without the other two ingredients he might have just been another brick in the wall! This book (don't let the title, Mandela and the tumultuous birth of South Africa, deceive you) does exactly the same. It tells you why Mandela is a celebrated leader of SA, who were the unsung heroes and who are the sympathizers who made it possible for the nation to reemerge from its ashes. By identifying the sympathizers there is one other important duty that this book or any such book performs. It eradicates the backlash of hatred and reduces stereotyping!

I always thought these designated leaders are just overhyped! I mean, they could not have achieved what they achieved without the help of others, is it not? I had a similar notion about Mandela and I held the notion for most part of the book. But during the later parts, when SA just gets rid of apartheid and grapples with the myriad problems that comes with sudden freedom, this book highlights why Mandela is a leader! Instead of writing a whole lot about it, let me just say Mandela is an awesome leader! Invictus gave me a peep into his leadership qualities and this book just seals it! When you hear an idea and think "That's so simple! I assumed that might have been tried already!", it means that is the most simplest yet most powerful idea to solve the problem. One such is the idea of doing away with courts and implementing something even more basic - a reconciliation center for the crimes committed during apartheid. Imagine, someone having the conviction and courage to think of such a bold idea! Such was the audacity of the non-designated leaders that Mandela could turn to in times of crisis. Man in point - Desmond Tutu, Nobel prize winner. How strong must a Caucasian woman (Speech therapist) be to adopt an entire black township which lacks anything that will be labelled as basic amenity in today's world. She not only adopts it but also transforms the women there to unleash the potential leaders in them. 'Mama' Helen gives us all a lesson or two about transformational leadership. Many such personalities, ideas and leaders adorn this book. 

This book will emote you, inspire you and make you think about how you treat everyone around you. It orders you to be humble, requests you to show compassion and respect to others. Any day I will recommend this book. A definite must read for any human being who can read! Regarding the downsides, I could not find any. Next time you go to a book store just grab a copy of this book and read it! It is better than the average bestseller novels and is definitely not boring like the documentary type history books. Dominique Lapierre just stormed into my list of favorite authors and I am definitely going to read all his books starting with Freedom at midnight next :)

2 comments:

Eat Pray Love - Movie Review

4:51 AM Shanky 3 Comments

If you want to wager with me and win, here is the secret: Show me a Julia Roberts movie and challenge me not to fall in love with her acting/character. You can even extort my entire salary at times! She is so good at what she does. Be it the struggling mother and activist in Erin Brockovich or the high flying actress in Notting Hill or the distressed lady in Eat Pray Love, Julia does it supremely well. The movie based on a book by the same name revovles around her and is another Julia Roberts treat for her fans. But is it enough for others?

Elizabeth (Liz), played by Julia Roberts, is a professionally successful PR who is struggling with her personal life. When shit happens and hits the fan, she decides to travel and travel in style. She decides a theme for her travel, Lonely Planet/Globe Trotter style - Eat. Pray. Love. The movie follows Liz in her glorious journey to rediscover herself through new experiences and learns to fall in love again. Of course she did not know what will happen during her journey and she ends her journey with a new born belief in "connecting the dots in your life" theory. 

Peeping into her past gives us a few hints to how she chooses her travel destinations. Even without the flashback or the hints the choice of her destinations is not surprising. Liz chooses to eat in Italy, pray in India and love in Bali. The choices were quite apt/obvious considering the reputation for the these places in the US where the protagonist lives. She starts in Italy where she befriends a few locals and a swedish girl. The Italy that the movie portrays is the place of dream for anyone! Beautiful Roman buildings, street side bistros and mouth watering pizzas! The concept of crossing over explained through a single beautiful sounding word "attraversiamo" is excellent! But my favourite part about Italy is the one where they explain how to learn Italian! The series of visuals that describes the so called "Body language" of Italian language and the music that accompanies will definitely put a smile on your face. 

The movie then follows Liz into one of the most vibrant countries, India, to pray and seek some serious inner peace. You would naturally expect a riot of colors, festivities to be interlaced with the whole inner peace thing. You are in for some disappointing portrayal of India!This part of the movie is the most dullest. They never really show any part of India. Almost the entire part is shot indoors in some god forsaken Ashram. Nothing much to write about except for the realization of balance that Julia attains through her recitation of Gita and meditation. There is also this old man who joins Julia in a quest to get a new life at the Ashram. I could not see any chemistry or friendship between the two and he overacts in his last scene as far as I can say. Perhaps, this is what the real Elizabeth experienced and hence is best for the movie. Perhaps, this is the best part for a few troubled souls. But I did not watch this movie to get any gyaan and I was not happy with this part. I usually do reruns of my favourite movies or parts of movies and whenever I do a rerun of this movie, I am sure I will skip this part. By now I was a little bored and paused the movie a few times to refresh facebook and Gmail (hint).

Then comes magical Bali! As Liz's friend in Bali says, "Everyone has a love affair in Bali :-)" It is here that she meets an emotional, good looking, Spanish jewellery exporter by accident (quite literally). Of course, with the Spanish accent, his charm and an exotic, excellent bossa nova version of "S' wonderful" playing in the background Felipe,played by Javier, wins over Liz. Bali, like Italy, is shown in all its glory! The lighting is just great, the colors are vibrant,music is soothing. Perfecto! Bali gets such attention from the director maybe because the whole story starts from Bali. It is here a year ago, when on work, Liz meets a fortune teller (called Ketut) and he predicts that she will return in one year to Bali to teach him English. Also, it is here in Bali that Liz truly rediscovers herself and meets some interesting and wonderful characters - like the divorced traditional Balinese physician. Julia collects & donates a hefty sum to this divorced mother so that she could start a new life. 

Cinematography and music highlights the importance of the events in any movie; more so in a travel based one. Both these aspects are good and this is one of the movies whose background score also sticks in your mind. Not in an Inception kind of way but in a very softer mode. Julia, I will say it again, has done superbly well (Yes I am prejudiced). She beautifully portrays the plight of the protagonist in the scene where she abruptly wakes up from her bed and prays to god with desperation, "Dear God, I know we have not spoken that much. But I need you now. Just tell me what to do and I will do". I am sure all of us have had such moments of desperation when having to make difficult choices and we want someone else to make the decision and make it easier for us. Who better than God to confide to, who lest assured wont divulge your plight to others and make fun of you later! Casting of the supporting actors, whose interactions and interventions can elevate or destroy (as in the case of "No one killed Jessica")the movie experience, has been good in this movie. With the exception of the Old man in Indian Ashram and the divorced physician in Bali I liked everyone else. 

Bottomline - Is it a great movie? No. But its a decent enough movie which can be watched at least once. Will I watch it again - Yes, but without the Indian part :)

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