From Rags to Raja

http://www.slumdogmillionairemovie.co.uk/

SPOILER WARNING!

This is not the first rag-to-riches story, nor shall it be the last. We've got it all in there: trouble and strife, even torture and finally the happy ending with Bollywood touches. Still I find it disturbing; as my friend said, the disturbing thing is that it looks real. The poverty, the slums, the gangster underworld, the rubbish dumps, all of it. There was a lot of media coverage of Mumbai slums because of this film and it does like that. OK, the film may exaggerate and concentrate it because we have to focus on one story, but still. And yes, this is not the only slum area in the world, it probably isn't the worst. But that's not the point. The point is: Jamal's life story played out in a bunch of random questions in a mainstream TV show watched by millions. I think that's the best thing about this film: that it manages to compress a human life in a multiple-choice TV game, but in order to diminish it, and yet through it we see the pain and effort each right answer has cost Jamal. He knows the answers not because he is smart, or highly educated, or because he cheats. He knows them because he has lived through these questions: he knows who invented the revolver because his brother said the name when he threreatened him with one, he knows what Rama holds in his right hand, because he's seen it the day his mother was killed, etc. The police inspector recognizes this and finally lets him go.

And again, it's about choice, it matters not what you're born, but what you grow up to be, as it's said in one of my favourite book series, Harry Potter. Jamal and his brother have the same background, but choose differently, and so they live differently and bear the consequences. It is written.

All in all, the script is great, the classic story and yet not quite. This is not a mainstream film, not that it is expected with Danny Boyle at the helm. Boyle's creations include The Beach and Trainspotting (I still don't think I can live through the whole of it; I've tried, but this film does not agree with me ... maybe when I live to 90 and nothing material and worldly can impress me anymore ...). As I said, Slumdog has a very realistic feel, live action shooting or whatever they called this shaky on-the-spot-kind-of shooting as well as the sweeping shots of Mumbai contribute to it. The soundtrack suits it a lot giving the ending a lively tribute to Bollywood. Actors suit it as well, the children are naturals.

In any case, this is a film worth seeing. I understand why it got so many Oscars (though I haven't yet seen the other nominated films), though I cannot but feel a teensy surprise at this choice. The most glitzy, glamourous and commercial awards in the film industry do not go to mainstream, blockbuster Hollywood (not that they always do), but to the ... Slumdog in Mumbai. I don't disgree, but my thoughts on the Oscars night are another story, which I'll be telling later.

3 Twilights

SPOILER WARNING!

http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

Yeah, well, I've already seen Twilight three times and it's not enough. Not in the sense that the plot is complicated or disjointed, no; or that there are too many cinematic things to watch out for like camera angles, lightings, etc. This is more of a feel-like film; it creates atmosphere and that's why I'd see it again. Its soundtrack and panoramic shots are very expressive, though the script is pretty good as well (with the odd exception I mentioned in a previous viewing).

I've listened to Bella's Lullaby from the soundtrack and it's ... it's not typical. (I think, am not so sure, but somewhere in the book it was said that Edward composed it for Bella and that it sounded somehow familiar to her even the first time she heard it). It sets out like it's for the opening scene of some epic film, but then it changes course. It's not sweet or tender, it sounds encompassing, expansive, it gives a sense of freedom. And Bella frees Edward in many ways: from loneliness and especially from his fear of eternal damnation. (Basically, he thinks, at least initially, that he is a monster and will burn in hell for that).

P.S. The Cullens are great; hence their picture goes into this post:)))

The Sweet Side of Cologne

Some of the more extravagant choc-choices:

Testing, Tasting ..

Doubt

http://doubt-themovie.com/

This is a superbly played film. I think that the Academy Award nominations are fully deserved, especially by Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

It's a bit strange to see Meryl in this serious role after seeing her last year in Mamma Mia -- I'm more convinced than ever that she can play anything.

As for Philip -- I don't like his roles generally, but I must admit he's a very good actor.

Now for the film itself -- well, all this set-in-stone moral certainty is a bit scary in the sense that it can go to extremes and adversely affect people's lives. It hasn't been definitively proven that Father Flynn (Hoffman's character) was guilty of anything. And as it turns out, even the most certain people have doubts and there's some truth in that doubts brings us together, as Father Flynn says in one of his sermons. But so do joys and misfortunes.

What I like about this film is that in a comparatively short time (less than 2 hours), a truly complex story unfolds -- we see the strict discipline of a church school in the late 60s in Bronx, we see the complications arising from the first black student there; we see the family problems this boy has, we see the inner squables, the tensions between the priesthood and the nunnery, etc. It's quite a multi-layered snapshot.

Worth seeing.

Not for cheering oneself up, though.

Just Throwing it In

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0345413350/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0

I've wanted His Dark Materials since last summer when I saw the series in Dublin. Twilight was priority then and I couldn't squeeze everything in my luggage. But Pullman's time came last week in Cologne.

I've started The Golden Compass and am reading happily along. It's got a sense of mystery to it which turns the pages, though the amount of detail gets me pausing from now and then, but I expect this will stop when I am better acquainted with the world of the book.

From my cursory internet research on Pullman and the trilogy, it seems to me that it's not pure fantasy; Pullman put quite a lot of science fiction in it. I'm not a huge science fiction fan generally, but we'll see.

What originally caught my attention was the daemon idea. I enjoyed The Golden Compass film as well. I hope there's more of daemon theory in the course of the plot.

I'm still not sure if Lyra is my type of character. I hope she is, because I like books better when I like the characters in them:)

Cologne Revisited

I spent almost six months in Cologne, Germany more than ffour years ago. As it happened, together with a friend, we retraced our steps this past week.

I didn't notice any major changes, it's as colourful and multicultural place as it used to be. (OK, a bit on the grey side, but that's because it's winter.)

All the same, I was struck anew by the Cathedral. It's imposing and huge. You can't take one look at it and be done. The amount of detail that went into its construction was amazing.

Here it is:

Other favourite towers and turrets:

But Cologne is not only about spires. It's also about chocolate. The best place to learn about it is the Chocolate Museum:

Irresistable spots (especially in rainy, windy weather):

And of course, it's not only Cologne we went to. But that's for another post.

P.S. A mystery unsolved:

Why do they lock the rubbish containers?