Movie Review: Magnolia (1999)

"Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours".

Magnolia is an epic story of many characters whose lives intersect on a particular day. All the characters are in the life long search of either love or forgiveness. The film basically highlights the atrocities on children by their parents and its severe consequences.

This movie totally stands out as a true masterpiece and is certainly one of the best movies produced in "drama" category of all time. This is one of those very  rare movies which totally binds its audience even after having a length of over three hours.

Key Ingredients:

1.We have seen movies with two or three parallel stories running at the same time but in Magnolia, we have nine different plots running at the same time which keep on intersecting. Not only that, throughout the movie the screenwriter has ensured that the mood of each and every plot is the same which has helped the editor to easily switch from one plot to the other plot without using a blackout transition or breaking the movie into parts. I think it is an outstanding job to do so because even though your anxiety level is at peak while watching one of the plots you don't criticize the editor for making a cut to a scene from a different plot because the other plots also at that moment have the same anxiety level. So, in this way none of the plots are weaker or stronger as compared to the other plots. 

2. The soundtracks were created by Aimee Mann . The background scores were created by John Bryant which helped a lot in connecting the scenes. The central theme being- "Regret & Disappointments due to futile attempts in search of love and forgiveness". The soundtracks have really helped to add to the tension created for the viewers. The soundtracks work well for all the plots as the emotional peaks and troughs occur simultaneously for all the plots.  

3. The reason I call it one of the best movies in Drama categories I have ever watched is because of the actors. Paul Thomas Anderson  decided to go with the same cast he used in Boogie Nights which could be risky but turned out to be a very good decision because for a movie of this magnitude and having so many characters you have got to ensure that your cast understands you and your script very well.This is probably the reason why one can't rule out one of the plots as a weaker one. You know what would be the toughest question you could ask someone after watching this movie,  It would be which of the plots would you drop/cut down to reduce the movie-length from over three hours. Try it!

4. Even though the movie is full of scenes which have extraordinary dramatization, there are a few scenes that i would like to highlight in particular :

a) Julianne Moore's outburst in the medical store when she goes there to collect the medicines and the store-guy "forgets his decency".

b)The kid's refusal to answer the quiz questions in the T.V show.   

c)Frank's lecture about seducing and destroying women. This is undoubtedly Tom Cruise's best performance in any of his movies that i have watched! 

5. A large number of connecting elements have been added for the intersection of various plots. The T.V show being one of that which allows the editor to jump from the T.V kept in one scene in a particular plot to another T.V in a completely different scene from some other plot or may be to the T.V show itself being shot. There is a particular sequence in which every character is singing Aimee Mann's "Wise up". But the totally unexpected part is the climax when frogs start falling from the sky. The phrase "Its raining cats and dogs" was being repeatedly used in many scenes.All of a sudden,you realize that the phrase actually converts into reality.

Legends :

1. Donnie Smith: Quiz kid Donnie Smith was the winner of a T.V show back when he was a kid. But all his income was spent by his parents and he has been left alone without any support. He had a job which he loses. He is also getting himself braces to impress a guy at Bar whom he likes.(Apparently this guy also has braces) And his desire to love this bar-guy even compels him to do a robbery.

2. Stanley: He is the current Quiz kid who is under a tremendous pressure from his dad to win the game show but unlike Donnie, he refuses to accept the things his dad wants him to do and outbursts on the set of the T.V show.

3. Earl: He is an old guy on his death-bed who had ditched his first wife and his only son for useless things and seeks forgiveness from his son.He is also the producer  of the T.V show.

4. Frank: He is Earl's son who has led a terrible life due to his father's negligence and who now has turned into a chauvinistic womanizer who lectures men on how to conquer and destroy women.

5. Linda: She is Earl's new wife who married him just for his money but ultimately falls in love with him and regrets for betraying him while he was on his deathbed.

6.Jimmy Gator: He is the host of the Quiz kid T.V show. He had molested his own daughter but he is ironically introduced as being very good to kids.

7.Claudia: She is Jimmy's daughter who got separated from her dad because she believed he molested her. She has totally submerged herself into drugs and ruined herself by "whoring around" as put by Jimmy.

8.Phil Parma: He is Earl's nurse and he actually fulfills Earl's last wish by getting Frank to meet him. 

9.Officer Jim: He is an honest officer who is just the perfect man any girl would want but even at the age of 31 he has not been able to find anyone who would love him. This has made him a bit desperate in his attempt as he dates Claudia even without figuring out what is she like.

Even though one could point out that Paul Thomas Anderson hasn't been very experimental in this production apart from his typical long single-takes which he used in Boogie Nights too. But i would still say that the screenplay didn't demand that and rate this movie 9.5 on 10.

Secrets Of Screenwriting

As defined by Wikipedia, Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media. I will start with the most basic thing in screenwriting and that is the "Acts". There are three acts in screenwriting :
1.Set-up : The first act in which you develop the character of your protagonist. Now it is important to discuss here that the protagonist does not simply mean the main male/female lead in your movie.It may be a dog, a cat, a cardboard, a group of people. It can be anything. It depends upon the story you are writing.
2. Confrontation : Once you build the character, the next act is your protagonist's trouble. The protagonist has to face a situation which disturbs the protagonist or any conflict which makes the movie interesting or the viewer binding.
3. Resolution : Finally comes the third act- The third act depicts how the protagonist tries to tackle the situation.Whether or not the problem is solved is not important always. Some writers leave an open ending for their viewers to interpret. Ashghar Farhadi, an Iranian screenwriter & director does it beautifully in many of his movies.

Apart from these Acts, screenwriting can be explained through 4 P's :

1.People : "People" here refers to the characters in your movie. If you are writing a script with "Black & White characters" , that is you want the characters to be judged by the audience just as good or evil, then you have to build the characters accordingly. You will want your audience to root for your protagonists and against your antagonists. A section of writers also use "Colored-characters" characters as they want their audience to change their perceptions at certain points so that everyone doesn't end up picking just one side. R.R.Martin has done the same in "Game of thrones".

2.Plot : To drive a story/movie you need a conflict. That doesn't mean your story needs a villain. That's not a compulsion. Conflicts can be shown and tensions can be created in many ways. A number of films have been made on the complexity of human nature highlighting the internal conflict of mind.

3.Purpose: There should be a purpose of your story/movie. It may be hidden or shown in a very complicated manner as in many of the surreal movies. If the production team is certain about the purpose of creation, the outcome is always satisfying.

4.Place: A suitable location can add depth & Intrigue to your characters and story. It has the potential of visually communicating a great amount of information in a short period of time.When choosing a  location take care of the following things:
a)Relevance to the character/scene.
b) Comfort-ability for shooting the scene both for actors and the crew.
c) Space, lighting & noise-level conductive to a good shot.

The architect of dreams: Dali

Modern art as we see it, has not come up all of a sudden. Everything around us, the clothes we wear, the books we read, the food we eat, the buildings we live in, the cars we drive, even the way we think is a consequence of the influences from our past. Let us take a stroll to find out who actually was Dali and how he revolutionized the way we think!

Salvador Dali : 

Salvador Dali was an artist in true sense who excelled in almost each and every aspect of modern art, be it paintings, be it fashion, be it sculpture, be it cinemas or television. He had a very different way of seeing things, right from his childhood. As a child, Dali used to go for boat-trips around the coastline of Cadaques. There looking at the extraordinary rock formations he used to make-up surreal images in his mind and paint them. That was the beginning. Years later he came up with this!

This was one of his most iconic paintings. It revolutionized the thinking completely, back then in 1920s when art was either supposed to look good, simple and attractive or very complex such as large canvases with colours spread all over in artistic fashion. But this was completely insane, this was like a dream. Stopwatches melting, who could even think of that!

But the historic moment was when Dali moved to the theatre! When he painted he could just paint a frame, which could just give the essence of what the dream was like but now he could tell you the story, you could actually see what the dream was really like! And that is how he became a renowned architect of dreams. Even famous directors like Alfred Hitchcock and businessmen like Walt Disney were exhilarated by the display of his art. Both of them even hired Dali to design dream sequences in their movies :
1. Walt Disney's & Salvador Dali - Destino 2003
2. Hitchcock - Spellbound dream sequence

 What initially appeared creepy to the world was now a sensation, a fashion, a passion. Dali opened the gates for a completely new generation of artists. Writers were now free to write whatever they wanted to, painters painted whatever they dreamt about, the theatres and films flourished like never before! Experimentations reached an all time high and so did (un)Expectations! Dali was the creator of all the fashion shows which we have today. His work motivated the designers to include surrealistic elements in their creations which has continued to amaze us even today!

Not just paintings, not just jewellery, not just museums, not just theatres or films, Dali was everywhere. His creations were now in use as everyday items- as toys, as clothes, on walls as graffiti, as food-items. He made the world live his dreams and the world continues to do so even after him!

Why not me: The last cry

This letter is part of a short-story, i wrote.

Alisha,

You are a part of my fanciful dreams and my excruciating nightmares.Even the thought of the sensation your touch excites me. The thought that you are still there after all the wrong i have done to you, as you would put it, makes be exuberant!
What hurts me most is how much i used to think about you and how little you think about me.Even just now while you are busy hating me, wondering what i would do next to embarrass you, i am busy here writing this for you to make you immortal, at least as long as this piece of paper lasts!
You are smothering me, making me insane, forcing me to fake friendship, "act normally", hide my love for you! I can't take it any-more. I have gone numb, i have lost interest in everything else now, everything that is not you, everything that is not yours! I hate every taste that is not like your lips, i hate every aroma that is not your savour, i hate every other sight that is not you!
You are the only summer of my life and i wish you don't take too long to get back. I 'll be there for you, always there for you, the very place you left me alone in the darkness of winter.Come back, i  am waiting!
I am quite sure that you are not just another chapter in my life, but the book itself! I knew it the very moment i saw you! I just wish i was equally appealing to you as you are to me!
I am not daring. I can't try hard! Do you expect me to? This is all i can do. Sit back, write this for you. Such a coward i am! I don't see anything from here, i am lost, i can't see you, why don't you try? I know you are here, close to me. My ears crave for your whisper. At least give it a try. Do it!
I tried to get you out of my mind, forget you. All in vain. I love you. There is something very magnetic in you that keeps on pulling me towards you and i promise to always hold you tight. I promise to care, i promise to share, i promise i 'll always be there, i promise to love you like this for years!

Samar


PS:(A letter from Samar, the male-protagonist  to Alisha, female-protagonist. I have excluded the plot.)

Film Review: Submarine (2010)

"Literature made me forget about my own troubles, like a submarine and the sea, they submerged me so perfectly"

"Submarine" is the story of  Oliver Tate's transition from a lonely and confused child who submerges himself into literature to escape from his troubles into an adult as he struggles to make his parents' marriage work and sustain his own relationship with Jordana Bevans, his first crush.
It is based on a novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. I haven't read the novel but while watching the movie i could easily relate as the screenplay is very powerful. Moreover the names of the characters- "Oliver Tate" , "Jordana Bevans" are typical British names and the happy ending(Spoiler Alert).All these were obvious hints.

Key Ingredients:

1. One of the most laudable ingredients of "submarine" is the use of  satirical comedy! There is too much to mention but one of the scenes which made me laugh insanely was when Oliver says-"Mom you look good, i mean, you look good for a 40 year old".                                                                               
2. Another ingredient which i appreciate is Over-dramatisation of some of the scenes which were very appropriate to avoid dullness and clicheness. For instance what could have been a simple kiss was shown very appealingly! The first kiss between Jordana and Oliver was over-dramatised, accompanied by suitable camera movements,cuts and very appropriate sound(A train moving over a bridge).Even the location suited the mood of the scene. It really makes you feel what it is like to get kissed by your only crush. Jordana, smiling, holding the cigarette in style and directing Oliver to close his eyes and kneel down after she almost bullies him to hand-over the camera and then the warm feeling over his lips!click!click!click! Just look at the kiss scene between Aliya Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor in "two states" trailer, this is what i call a total failure in contrast to this scene!                                                         
3. The third key ingredient is very distinct and inventive style of direction.For a director, a debut like "Submarine" is very propitious.Some of the cuts are though are very random but the sounds have beautifully pulled off such cuts which itself has filled the movie with life!                                                                                                                          Some of my favourite cuts:                                                                                                                                   i."Why don't you go fuck yourself, fucking big gay?" 17:59 sound- crow caws                                                     ii.44:24-The camera angle slightly shifts forward and expression of a much later stage shows that the mother has been there for a while and she has been thinking about the conversation she just had with Oliver.                                                                                                                                                                                                            iii.The cut in the dream sequence from the hospital to the bridge.                                                                        iv.01:05 The very abrupt cut has been excellently pulled of by the soundtrack(ticking of a watch).The soundtrack starts just after Oliver Tate introduces himself .This cut doesn't only set the mood for the rest of the movie but also introduces Oliver Tate more than just his name.                                                                 
4. The fourth ingredient is Alex Turner's soundtrack. The light-indie-rock music perfectly suits the character of Oliver Tate as well as the mood of the movie. You may wonder that the songs were already the part of the screenplay! Just complete watching the movie. You will automatically fall in love with this character and won't stop humming these songs!

Legends: 

1. Oliver Tate: He still has to figure out who he is! The writer very beautifully conveys the message with these lovely dialogues - "I tried smoking a pipe, flipping a coin, listening exclusively to french crooners, i have even had a brief hat phase but nothing stuck".He fantasises about Jordana and is willing to give up his principles in order to get closer to her which works fine for him.                                                   
2. Dad(Lyod): An ocean biologist, he is emotionless, boring, under-expressive and looks weary.He behaves in a deadpan manner- even his happiest moment in weeks (when oliver gets a girl) is actually so usual.He is not at all romantic and so lost that he doesn't try to save his own marriage even after Oliver pushes him to.                                                                                                                          
3. Jordana bevans: A pyromaniac, having dumped by his boyfriend she wants to use Oliver to take her revenge but ultimately falls prey to his innocence, his truthfulness and his very silly attempts to woo her.                                                                                                                                                      
4. Mom: She is smart, but worried about his son a lot as she feels he is having those teenage delusions ( mental disorders). It is pretty obvious that Oliver has got those spying mannerisms as a genetic gift from his mother.Sick of her husband's sick behaviour and her monotonic life, she finds solace in Graham, her first love.                                                                                                                         
5. Graham: He is professionally a mystic but actually a total pervert who does weird things to woo women.He is over-expressive, a womaniser in a mysterious ways as he handles a single victim at a time.His seducing techniques are those of a "Rake" where he portrays himself as a victim seeking help from his victims.

 The acting is flawless, the direction inventive, the screenplay powerful and the soundtrack delusional, makes me rate this movie 8 on 10. 

Shutting down social media

The recent ban on twitter in Turkey is a gruesome effort by the Turkish government headed by its scandalous
Prime Minister Erdogan. After a year long struggle by the disappointed citizens, the frustrated bureaucrats have just added to their ever-increasing pain by putting an end to their freedom of speech.I wonder what kind of democracy does that to its citizens?
In defence has come this statement- "We were afraid that the social media could be used as a breeding ground for haters.Social media has a very good reach and it may efficiently give a handsome look to awful things".I sense an increasing authoritativeness by the administration.
When social media was shut down in China, i silently thanked god for letting me be a part of such a great democracy and look what has happened now! There are stains all over our very own system! When we chose democracy over dictatorship we compromised with "development", we compromised with the "pace" and a hundred other things! So what is wrong with it? Has the time come? Do we need a better system?

Democracy has become a "substandard". This is disheartening! It took us thousand of years to figure out things and finally arrive at a system which for everyone was like "We got the biggest piece of the cake". Democracy is the rule of the people by the people for the people. I have started to sense the ugliness in this very definition.A rotten branch has grown out of a noble tree, and i am scared to think of it rapidly proliferating! Democracy has become rule of certain people for the masses! And when there is an opportunity everyone rushes to grab it, misuse it! 
 
        

A character based plot on Bob Biswas

Bob Biswas!! Wait, you have heard the name!Have you?Sure you have!!So, you might think, why all of sudden, am i talking about this character?Well as i thought to put up my stories over this blog, i thought it would be better to start from the scratch! Well technically it is not possible for me to just forget everything and start re-writing things! So, i thought i would share with you one of my first writings!                                                                                                         Bob Biswas was my ticket to the film-club (Technology Film-making and Photography Society, IIT Kharagpur).

It is the most eye-caching character (played by Saswat Chatterjee) in Sujoy Ghosh's film Kahaani.

Bob Biswas is not one of those usual contract killers that we usually see in Bollywood thrillers wearing funky black jackets and gloves holding a sharp long and shiny knife or aiming at someone from a multi-storeyed building. He is different.The peculiarity of his character is his normality.He looks innocent.He is a common man.He has a family to feed.He is one from the crowd and he is out there to get you!                                                                                                    

  

                                                                                  

  1. SCENE- BOB'S OFFICE(INSURANCE COMPANY)

Legends:

Boss- a south indian guy, 

Komulesh and Sharad babu are also agents in the same company, 

Kantababu- a naxalite returned to village who lives in jungle

Boss-(angrily) oye , biswas what r u doing my idiot ? every time on phone , who calls u man?  such an ass-hole u r. what do you do? sex-chat, huh?

BOB- (JUST )- no sir , no no , client sir , client , just doing my job sir.

Boss-(laughs) see the ass hole is on a job.(everybody in the office laughs just to  impress the boss) what job u do ,man ? and what job u all do ?(suddenly there is pin -drop silence in the office). Bob you haven't still got even single client this month , you are talking about doing job and all the things u never do. see if you don't get one , u will not get the salary this month , is that clear to u?

BOB- sir!!

KOMULESH- such embarrassing situations , we face everyday because of this idiot. why can't boss just throw him out?

SHARAD BABU- Arrey , that is not possible dada  , they have got the reservations everywhere .Tribal aache , case kar dega?(giving bob an ugly look) 

KOMULESH- Lets us do our job, iska to roj ka hai.

(BOB overhears the dialogue and scenes from past just start spewing all around.)

SCENE 2:

(BOB a 12 year old kid , crying)

Landlord(to bob' s father)- how come your son entered our area? now u will pay for this!

BOB's father- no , landlord no , i beg , i beg u , please don't punish him , he is just a kid, he would never do it again , leave my son , please , have mercy!!

Landlord- mercy,  u beg for mercy , okay if u want i will leave your son . come here , brave boy .

Bob-(walks slowly to the landlord)-hmm

Landlord-Nomaskar 

Bob- Nomaskaar

Landlord-(AFTER SPITTING)-Lick it. 

Bob- (making ugly faces) - sir ?

Landlord-(shouting)Just do as i said . 

Bob' s father- (requesting bob ) do it son , there is nothing wrong in doing that. our landlord is so humble .

Bob looks helpless.

CUT TO:
SCENE 1:

bell- ding , ding , ding ,ding    

Komulesh- (screaming) ok , i m done.Sharad lets go!

(BOB just comes alive at once)

Bob- (to himself)-okay , now i ll do my job.

Bob (dials a number)- hello , name and address?

Speaker- koustubh mukhergi , e-325 , ghama street. Do the job.

(Bob goes to the place mentioned.)

Bob-sir , Koustubh mukhergi?

Koustibh- yes.

Bob- 1 minute sir, (takes out the gun and shoots him , then matches from  the photograph)- thank u sir , oh u died. shit man u died in a single shot . nice to meet u sir , bye bye.

SCENE 4:

Bob reaches home , takes his food and goes to the bed(as usual)  and then again come such thoughts.

SCENE 2:

Then it just happens!!  this incident just shakes Bob. It creates a very deep impact over him . he just feels like killing  the landlord .

(The next evening he goes to the forest to meet kantababu, a naxallite and asks him to teach shooting and all kind of stuff required to kill anybody.He  daily practices it without telling anybody about it , not his family , nor any other family of his society , it was  the starting of his dual life and he was just so perfect at keeping this a secret. )

SCENE 5:

 (After 1 year)

(Local police recovers two dead bodies in the jungle , both shot dead - kantababu and the landlord. nobody knows what really happened but just BOB.

some people see a 13 year old boy going closer to the dead bodies.  it was BOB , nobody actually suspects that geek and simple looking kid.)

BOB-(murmurs) Namaskar landlord , (spitting over him) and sorry kantababu , i  had to kill u to make it a perfect secret, NAMASKAAR.