Back in Black
Film: Black Panther
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins
Rating: * * * *
The good thing about Black Panther is that it is not like a super hero film – it is much better, more meaningful and certainly more intelligent than the fare dished out by Marvel and DC with clockwork regularity. There seems to be deliberate shift in the studio policy to recruit fresh and lesser known directors and this is a welcome change. We saw it with Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins second film and first in almost 15 years), Thor: Ragnarok (Kiwi director Taiki Waititi first big film in Hollywood). Close on the heels we have Black Panther helmed by Ryan Coogler who made a mark with his debut film Fruitvale Station in 2013.
It is safe to assume that the studios sensed the audiences getting exhausted with the same content in different films – after a dozen and a half films in the Marvel universe, they have turned to Black super hero. Better late than never as the old saying and sweet are the fruits of patience.
This film is more about Africa, Blacks, Tribals and allegories. Oh yes, there is a fair bit of action and humor as well to go with it. The story is set in the fictional place called Wakanda in Africa, where they have just crowned a new king T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who turns into Black Panther when he wears the bodysuit.
Wakanda is in interesting place – it is a reference to what Africa should have been considering it was the cradle of civilization and has been rich in minerals. From the outside, it looks like any other African place and that is just a camouflage but inside, it is one of the most technologically advanced states you will see, thanks to the supply of the most sought after and ultra-powerful element called Vibranium. T’challa’s younger sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) doubles up as the IT geek and also plays a Q like character. Lupita Nyong’o plays his love interest, Angela Bassett is his mother while Forest Whitaker plays the elderly gent of the tribe.
Just when everything looks hunky dory, there is trouble in the form of a stolen Wakandan artifact from London which lands in the hands of a dealer Klaue (Andy Serkis, playing a human being for a change) and then to Erik (Michael B Jordan) who decides to take over Wakanda and then settle scores with the world for what they did to Africa.
Martin Freeman plays a CIA agent who is in awe of Wakanda and along with Serkis (Bilbo and Gollum anyone?) they make up for the only two white actors who have a role of any significance in the film. It is not just Black Panther but the other characters that stand out, including the lady General of Wakanda (Dania Gurira) – the women kick ass and how. Forget the other universe, Marvel should make films on these characters.
Ryan Coogler is just 31 and he has made one of the best, if not the best, super hero films – more to such directors.
Beauty and the Best
Film: The Shape of Water
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon
Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro
Duration: 2 hrs 2 mins
Rating: * * * *
Director Guillermo Del Toro who flirted with those big budget action thrillers Hellboy (I & II) and Pacific Rim, returns to form with The Shape of Water – this is closer to Pan’s Labyrinth than anything else he has done after that 2006 film.
There is a certain beauty about Del Toro’s film that was evident even in Crimson Peak, more of a fantasy, horror film. But it would be hard to pin down The Shape of Water to a particular genre – it can be called a love story, a fantasy drama, a fairy tale, a musical or a even a monster flick, on the lines of those B-grade movies.
But everything about the film is A-grade, particularly Del Toro’s direction. Not surprisingly, the film has got 13 nominations and it won the top prize at the last Venice Film Festival. Few films impress you with the visuals and strike a chord with the emotions, like The Shape of Water does.
The story per se is not exactly novel but the execution is. The story is set in the 60’s – the Cold War is on and the space war is also heating up along with the civil rights movements. In other words, a lot was happening in America at the time. But initially, not a great deal is happening in the life of Elisa (Sally Hawkins) a mute cleaning lady who works at a research centre.
She lives alone in a building which houses a cinema theatre and has two friends in her life – one, her neighbor and confidante Giles (Richard Jenkins) who also narrates the opening of the film, and the other is Zelda (Octavia Spencer, her second consecutive Oscar nomination after Hidden Figures last year) who works at the lab. One day, an amphibian creature, fished from South America is brought there – the officials think that dissecting him may give them an edge in the space war. He is chained and kept and while he can survive outside, he needs to be kept in water from time to time. Michael Shannon plays a tough guy who is in charge of his safekeeping.
While the beast doesn’t mind chewing off somebody’s finger or two, and more if he desires so, he forms a bond with Elisa – or rather, it is the other way round. They both can’t speak but yet manage to communicate with each other like soul mates. Their relationship develops gradually in the most charming and poignant manner – she is forced to rescue him from the clutches of the bad guys.
Along with their story, Del Toro also gets the other peripheral elements right – an episode in the bar reminds us about the treatment of blacks and there are other references as well, right from the musicals to biblical epics. Right from the opening credits to the finale and several scenes in between, like the bathroom filled with water, Del Toro is a master craftsman at work.
Along with the visuals courtesy cinematographer Dan Lautsen (who also worked with Del Toro on Crimson Peak), there is a memorable music score by Alexander Desplat, not to mention the soundtrack with a cover version of Alice Faye’s ‘You’ll Never Know’ playing during the end credits. The film is also backed by solid performances by Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer. Sally Hawkins has a meaty role on hand and does full justice to it.
Still water runs deep.
In The Army Now
Film: Aiyaary
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Siddharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet Singh
Directed by: Neeraj Pandey
Duration: 2 hrs 40 mins
Rating: * *
Director Neeraj Pandey who started with that tense thriller A Wednesday, has made some interesting films subsequently where either the story (Special 26 for instance) or the direction (MS Dhoni) kept you engaged. Sadly, Aiyaary has very little going for it. With a screenplay that can put an insomniac into deep slumber, the flashbacks and sub-plots of the story will confound those who are awake.
A film about army and patriotism comes with its own baggage but Aiyaary doesn’t have that – the biggest baggage that it carries is that of boredom and not too long into the film I felt indifferent to the proceedings.
Basically, the problem is about two army men who work for a unit involved with covert operations – colonel Abhay (Manoj Bajpayee) the leader of the pack and the young rebel Major Jai (Siddharth Malhotra). The bottom line of the story is that the latter is assumed to have gone rogue while a sword is dangling on the former as well questioning his loyalty. All this takes way too long to unfold and the pace is so leisurely that there is time for romance and songs as well, Rakul Preet Singh plays the love interest and she is a hacker that with exceptional abilities. Here is one example of the clunky writing – just as the action is about to unfold towards the end, the girl asks Jai, “Kya hua?” to which he says “Kuch nahi, ek kissa yaad aaya” and then it cuts to a flashback about an incident which doesn’t have much significance –certainly not at that point in the story. In the climax the Adarsh housing scam is highlighted and it is ironic that in real life, everyone involved got away scot free, while in the movie they supposedly pay a price. But that aside, this army saga just doesn’t have the fire power.
Tasty Treat
Film: Gulabjaam (Marathi with English subtitles)
Cast: Siddharth Chandelkar, Sonali Kulkarni
Directed by: Sachin Kundalkar
Duration: 2 hrs 6 mins
Rating: * * *
Sachin Kundalkar is one of those directors who started his career with a couple of lovely films – Restaurant (2006) and Gandh (2009) with Nirop (2007) in between which was also a decent effort. After that it went downhill when Bollywood came calling with Aiyya (2012) and he had a tough time picking up the pieces – Happy Journey (2014) and Rajwade and Sons (2015) were both lackluster and Vazandar (2016) showed some signs of the erstwhile Kundalkar.
Gulabjaam is by far one of his best films – it is more heartfelt and you get the sense of the director’s conviction in making the film.
After dabbling with smell (Gandh, Aiyya) he turns attention to taste – films with food or cooking as the backdrop are as rare as the pig nose frog. Siddharth Chandelkar plays Aditya, a 27-year-old who works in London but on a visit to India, he decides to stay back. From Mumbai he lands in Pune – his aim is to learn authentic Maharashtrian cooking and start a restaurant in London. Given the lack of authentic Maharashtrian restaurants in Maharashtra he could start one there but that is beside the point. On savoring a gulab jamun, his childhood memories are triggered in the Proustian moment – the sweet dish was in the tiffin of his mates. He traces down the lady who runs a small business of cooking food – Radha (Sonali Kulkarni) appears feisty initially but turns out she is a lonely soul with a tragic past. Aditya pesters her to take him under her wings and after following the predictable storyline all is well that ends well.
Apart from the food, which does make your mouth water, Kundalkar also tries to build the individual characters and their chemistry – it helps that both Chandelkar and Sonali Kulkarni sparkle.
Besides, this is not just about food – it is also about nostalgia, identity and belonging. A common bane in the screenplay of the recent films by Kundalkar is that he likes to set up what is coming up next – there is a cue in every scene which will lead to next one. But those nitpickings apart, there is a fair bit to relish in this film.