Back with a bang! We would have liked to start the editorial in this way, gloating about what all have been achieved after the gap of one year, during which time for the first time in its 7 year long history CIEFL (not yet TEAFLU/ TEFLU/ EFLU or what not) was faced with a non functional film club. We would have also liked to be self congratulatory and pat ourselves on the back exclaiming on the way the central university status has helped us in setting up great infrastructure totally conducive to the showcasing and appreciation of films.
All that, however, remain merely a "could have been". The ground reality still remains that the auditorium leaks, leaks right on top of the switch board, exposing the volunteers to a healthy chance of getting an electric shock. It also leaks above the seats. But these can be endured when one manages to screen a film. The projector remains as elusive as ever. The pre historic auditorium projector lacks bulb, which results in half a dozen volunteers running after various faculty members through the week, with the hope that someone will take mercy and lend us a projector. The media department had been one of those rare do-gooders, and are we not thankful enough?
This editorial could have talked about the recent documentaries that film club screened, and the intense interactions with directors Paromita Vohra, Stalin K and Sanjay Kak. The immense attendance at the screenings proves the popularity of those events and consequently, their need. The absence of a projector, however, does not allow one to go further into an exploration of these recent occurrences, and forces one to harp on the bottom line: We need a projector at the auditorium, otherwise this attempt at resurrecting the film club and keeping the only existing interactive cultural forum of the campus alive will subside yet again.
Over the last two months we have screened The Rules of the Game, Pan's Labyrinth, Jashn- E - Azadi, Winter Light, L'Aventura, In the Mood for Love, Goodnight and Good Luck, Cosmopolis: Two Tales of a City, Where's Sandra?, Q2P, Bommarillu, India Untouched, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.
Hundreds of participants and teaching/ non teaching staff have attended the screenings, and we still harp on the same chord: PROJECTOR!!!
October will hopefully have better things in store, and we will meet you with a more optimistic and 'filmi' editorial.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
From the Editor's Desk, October '07
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Was Stalin K.'s lengthy, oh so lengthy interaction with the audience really necessary? There must be some mechanism with which one can tell a person, no matter how acclaimed a director s/he may be, that enough is enough. No need to take away from the achievements of his film, which were great indeed: spanning the entire country, sort of a beginners' guide to the evils of casteism, extremely useful in our now-urban, primarily upper caste and therefore casteless campus.
But that said and done, was it really important to sit through his exposition of becoming a 'dalit': "A Dalit is one who is a gay-lesbian rights activist, protester against atrocities on women, a secularist, a human rights activist…" and so on and so forth. If embodying the ideals of liberal humanism in one person and taking positions was as easy as he says, then the evils in the world would soon cease to be structural and be mere "sicknesses" of the mind, as Stalin was quick to point out. Such an approach to structural inequalities imply that all we need is the right kind of education and the right kind of frame of mind to transcend earthly boundaries. History has shown us how restrictive and harmful such implications are, and one would expect a so called "sensitive" film maker to show more sensitivity in his thought and interaction (as he stopped short of claiming that this is not the film he set out to make, one can not possibly hold him to that).
Anonymous.
Dear Editor,
This was something I had to ask Sanjay Kak after the screening of Jashn-e Azadi:
In your docu, the resistance seem to have the language of Islam, also there is this reference to ‘Intifada”. Now, even though an influence of cable TV, intifada carries other connotations too, of an Islamic struggle against the infidel imperialists.So, what exactly is the role of Islam, is it a garb in which resistance carries itself forward? Or is it a programme in itself?Is Kashmir existing in a metaphysical space (of course, a resistance fighter was pointing to metaphysical battle) for the Kashmiris, in oneness with Palestine and Chechnya, or are they aware of the concrete geopolitics which then can’t avoid Pakistan from referencing? Can’t that be one of the reason why while West is so familiar to Kashmiris, South is so distant?
Shafeeq.
MACBETH: an Exploration of Horror
In Polanski’s film, both the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are played by actors much younger than has been the tradition. In the person of the 26 year old Francesca Annis, Polanski’s Lady Macbeth is a softer and tamer character than is usually seen in most productions. Although willful and seductive, this Lady Macbeth is a rather capricious and perversely child–woman, almost a Lolita type, who controls her husband by persistently cajoling him and playing upon his frustrated sense of masculine pride. Polanski explained his reasons for this particular approach to the character by pointing out - “directors always present the lady as a nagging bitch. But people who do ghastly things in life, they are not grim, like horror movie.” In a more audacious departure from convention, Polanski had Anis perform the famous Sleepwalking scene in nude. Polanski also takes the liberty of interpolating a scene that does not even appear in the play, one in which Lady Macbeth, now overwhelmed by guilt for all the bloodshed she has caused, tearfully rereads an old letter from her husband which she had received from him before their decision of murdering Duncan. It also underscores a bleak realization of how the two of them have needlessly and tragically destroyed their contented and pastoral life together in exchange for a tortured, wretched existence of ever increasing violence, isolation and paranoiac fear, as they commit murder after murder in continued boundless desperation to safeguard their ill-gotten position as king and queen of Scotland.
In the most significant departure from Shakespeare’s text, the film’s ending is unremittingly bleak. While Malcolm is indeed crowned as Scotland’s rightful King, his final speech is omitted entirely in favor of an abrupt wordless scene which presents his envious crippled brother Donalbain returning from exile and entering the witch’s’ lair as if to seek the counsel to usurp Malcolm through murder and treachery just as Macbeth had usurped Duncan. This begins the cycle of internecine bloodshed all over again. Thus the tragedy we witness repeats itself in a spiraling circular narrative framework.
Such nihilistic conclusion effectively renders the action of the play—and Shakespeare’s hopeful suggestion that virtue and justice will ultimately prevail as altogether meaningless and absurd. Polanski thinks, considerably alters and diminishes the psychological complexity and emotional grandeur of Shakespeare’s story. The end result is an irredeemable nightmare vision of a Hobbesian world engulfed in a permanent state of suicidal barbarism. Polanski’s radical revisionist interpretation of the play was influenced by the Polish drama critic and theoretician Jan Cott.
Now coming to the technical details, the film is composed of single camera establishing shots and subjective point of view shots, whereby the audience is made a vicarious (and voyeuristic) participant in the onscreen action. Much of the film’s dialogue lacks the emotive subtext of a traditional musical score. In many scenes all that is heard is the sound of the actor’s voice and sotto voice accompanied by curious atonal wails and drones of soundtrack. Macbeth confronting the witches for the second time and his glimpse to the enchanted cauldron is realized as a cryptic hallucinatory set piece montage. It begins with a vision of Macbeth’s Doppelganger warning him of the dangers at hand and finally culminates in a surreal visual allegory showing the eventual dynastic of Banquo’s heir. The symbolic use of mirrors to illustrate a proleptic vision of death may have been inspired by Jean Cocteau’s 1949 film Orphee.
The film grabs our attention by subtle suggestions. The sun rises through a red sky on a soundless deserted beach where the three witches appear. Immedia
tely a sense of evil is conveyed as the witches lug around a rope, digs a hole and buries a severed hand clutching a dagger. The crown is used as a symbol of Macbeth’s ambition. It’s on the floor when Duncan is murdered. It’s on the floor again during the fight with Macduff, which Macbeth picks up. Polanski’s Macbeth is set in a bleak medieval Scotland with dark skies and an unforgiving landscape. In this film, even the carcass of a baited bear when dragged off leaves a trail of blood.
Schedule for the month of October
13-10-07 Amores Perros
20-10-07 Classmates
27-10-07 Pirated Copy
Bommarillu
Bommarillu, starring Siddharth and Genelia, is a complete family entertainer. Siddu is the son of an over-protective businessman, played by Siddharth - a frustrated youngster, forced to live his life according to his father’s instructions. Prakash Raj as the controlling, yet loving father gives yet another convincing and fantastic performance. However, Genelia (Hasini) as the bubbly girlfriend often goes over the board. Her dialogues were overly cheerful to the extent of being irritating. The plot of the movie is nothing truly novel, but debutant director Bhaskar has developed the story well. The film focuses on the need for the realization of today’s youth to come out of the protective shell of one’s family and stand on their own feet. Catchy music adds spice to the film. All in all, it was an entertaining watch.
Amritha G.K.,
M.A. Ist semester,
October '07
Remembering Antonioni
The EFLU Film Club paid tribute to Michelangelo Antonioni as the world of cinema lost one of its widely acclaimed directors, Michelangelo Antonioni, the Italian director par excellence. He has left behind a wide selection of films that are considered as some of the most influential works in film aesthetics. He was often identified with the Neorealist movement and his films like Blowup, The Outcry and The Chronicle of a Love are hailed as masterpieces. Most of these films were neorealist in style and are semi-documentary studies of the lives of the common people.
Neorealism was a movement that began in Italy during the 1940s in the fields of literature and cinema and remained popular for some twenty years. Neorealist films told stories of the poor and the working class. They captured the everyday life of defeat, poverty and desperation in post-World War Italy. And because of this, the Neorealists were always at conflict with the Fascist regime of the times. Despite that, the movement flourished and produced many accomplished film-makers.
Michelangelo Antonioni was one such filmmaker. His films, like those of other Neorealist directors, dealt with the themes of poverty, loneliness and social alienation. His characters lived empty and purposeless lives or lived for the gratification of pleasure and accumulation of material wealth. Antonioni believed that even in this modern age of science, mankind lives within a stereotyped reality. Man recognizes this but is too lazy to bring about any change in society.
Following the Neorealist technique, Antonioni mostly used non-professional actors for secondary, and sometimes primary, roles – like Satyajit Ray, who too made prolific use of non-professional actors in his films. With the help of these amateur actors, Antonioni vividly captured the life of the impoverished, emphasizing realism without any self-consciousness of amateur acting. Another very notable feature of Antonioni’s films is the use of children to play major roles. However, his child actors were mostly observers than participants.
What is also notable about Antonioni’s films is the amount of screen time that he gave to explore the setting. Here as well, he followed the Neorealist trend of shooting outdoors, amidst the devastation of a war-ravaged Italy. In any case, the film studios at that time were occupied by refugees, which necessitated the use of outdoor shots. These were mostly shot in long takes. They are uninterrupted shots lasting longer than the conventional editing span. The technique is nothing but an extension of the Neorealist belief as he tried to portray life as it flows past in front of him. The shots were often accompanied by ambient sounds in the background, like the clanking of the wires in L’eclisse, where a woman stands staring at a post. Antonioni was also noted for his use of colours, which was a significant expressive element of his cinematic style.
Antonioni closely depicted life as it is and therefore his films had very little dialogue and the plots were also very simple. He wanted to capture life as he stood back and watched. Indeed, his films are a classic example of open-ended narratives. His stories raised questions about life but he never gave an answer. That was left for the audience to understand and realize by themselves. Hence, while films like Blowup and The Passenger are considered some of the best examples of Antonioni’s craft, his sparse style and his purposeless characters have not always been appreciated by critics.
However, Antonioni’s films influenced the making of many subsequent art films, and he set an example for other filmmakers to explore the immense possibilities of cinema.
Asmita Das,
M.A. Ist semester,
October '07
Wicked Wonderland
A brilliant colour palate enhances the impact of Guillermo del Toro'sfantasy that effortlessly incorporates various themes into a dense,seamless whole. The oscillation between the imagined and the real andsometimes the simultaneous existence of the two is defined by theperception of the protagonist Ofelia (Ivana Baquero).
The plot revolves around the allegorical tale of Ofelia who is asked by amysterious faun (Doug Jones) to complete three tasks in order toreturn to her underground kingdom. This quest is embedded in thebackdrop of post-civil war Spain where fascist forces embodied byCaptain Vidal's (Sergei Lopez) establishment seek to brutally crushnot only the resisting revolutionary guerrilla elements but also everysemblance of humanity in a country ravaged by conflict. An arrestingmedley of magic, terror, devotion, oppression pervades an atmosphereunderscored by the haunting notes of the lullaby.
The director wonderfully captures the degenerated condition of the fascist society and its reign of terror that exists together with Ofelia's journey towards that glorious destination which will liberate her from all human miseries. The construction of this parallel dream world reads more like man's desire for a perfect condition, free of the "whips and scorns of time".
The characters also help define the binaries clashing headlong in del Toro's recreation of Fascist Spain under General Franco. Captain Vidal's psychopathology and senseless cruelty are contrasted with the generosity of Dr Ferreiro. Lopez outlines Vidal's character with ease and force whileBaquero delivers a soft, charming performance. Pan's Labyrinthcombines sorcery, beauty, pain, fear and loss with tantalizingambiguity. The truth about the existence of the fantasy world offairies and fauns is left entirely to Ofelia's perception and theaudience's discretion. Was it all simply conjured up by a little girlseeking happiness? Guillarmo del Torro refuses to elucidate on that.
Debasmita Biswas,
M.A. Ist semester
