War is Over

Happy Birthday, John.

We still love your songs.

I think we've lost him, Mr Helpmann

Familiar with the eccentricity (or just plain madness) of Terry Gilliam, I was not too surprised at the out of this world experience that is Brazil. Powerfully performed by an amazing cast, the film made quite an impact. Set in a 1984-type world, it is similar in storyline too but from then on, it's an original and unique piece of cinema. Michael Palin, despite his daytime job, is all smiles and good humour. Jonathan Pryce plays a government bureaucrat, Sam Lowry who leads a rather dull and unfulfilling life by day but at night, in his dreams, he is a knight in shinning armour, fighting demons in pursuit of a nameless damsel in distress. He goes on robotically, until a chance meeting finds him face to face with the girl from his dreams. In pursuing her, he encounters a rebellious repairman, bureaucracy at its finest, and the dark underbelly of a very sinister brand of "Happiness".

It seems almost impossible to follow the train of thought of the movie, and it feels almost okay to not bother, and simply enjoy the incredible sights and sounds of a madman's imagination.

Within the Orchard, Beyond the Trees.

Women without Men is a film by Shirin Neshat and is set in 1950s Tehran - specifically during the Musaddiq crisis and the ensuing people, albeit male dominated protests. The film charts the lives of 4 women - the spinster sister of a strict, religious, conservative man; her innocent, naive friend who is unwittingly thrown into the bitter reality of life; a disturbed and deeply damaged prostitute; and a woman in her 50s who discovers life late but discovers that maybe it is all just a little too late.

The role of women in Iranian society and politics were carefully and delicately addressed - how they were (and arguably continue to be) omitted or at best sidelined from mainstream politics, how they satisfy roles as lovers, wives, mothers, and sisters. What emerges is not a bleak portrait of women as submissive creatures, but as human beings who are strong, beautiful, determined, and defiant. Even though at times, the price to be free is just too high to pay.

It is a film of little words and dialogue is kept to a minimum. Instead, the plight of Iranian women are addressed by stark images, haunting music (provided beautifully by one of my childhood heroes, Ryuichi Sakamoto), stunning as well as painful scenes. It has a slightly dreamy and eerie feel about it, which adds to its sense of poignancy and loss. It did not overwhelm the audience (I was personally pleased with the length of time), and left us all with the need to reflect on our own society, coming of age, and how we can escape or come to terms with our own pre-determined fates.

For more information, this is the film's website: http://www.womenwithoutmenfilm.com/.

If it will do for a mug...

Pomegranates bruised and ripe.
Contemplation and revolution,
Over our water-pipe.

For the Workers

Happy May Day.
I know it is a day late. But every day is Worker's Day. You. Me. All of us. Every one of us.

Easter

Happy Easter.

Blessings to you all.

The Constitutional Revolution of Iran

The Constitutional Revolution.

Preparation time: 1905-1911 

Several sprinklings of Bread Riots 

1 wasteful trip to Europe by the Shah and his entire family 

3 Secret Societies 

1 arrogant foreign financial advisor
A spoonful of political discontent
A teaspoon of economic improvement
Several alliances between civil society and the hierocracy 

A helpful serving of political awareness and exposure 

Mix well. Best served hot. 

So strange, yet beautiful?

You take a perfectly successful musical. You add ten years, technology, a new place, bathing suits, hot ait balloons and well, you get Love Never Dies.

The story takes us to Coney Island, New York where freaks and stars mingle. The place for the Phantom as you can imagine! Roaming fairly freely without so much as a second glance, he still hurts from losing Christine. He sends for her - after all a bait of money and music is much too much to be refused, especially for Christine and her need for music, and the Phantom. Bien sur. She arrives in New York, with husband Raoul (who has turned out to be a drunk, gambling-mad blaggard - hmmm, surprise surprise) and musically inclined (hint, hint) son, Gustave. 

She is "shocked" to find the Phantom there and they reminisce about some moonless night. Madame Giry and her daughter, Meg are also around Coney Island, as the Phantom's business partners for his spectacle, Phantasma. Meg, has developed a little bit of a crush on the Phantom, as do all of us after all. Christine regrets her choice of Raoul and realises, perhaps too late, that she has been in love with the masked genius all along. The Phantom, as always as always, will always always love Christine so he, determined to get her back, makes a bet with Raoul - if she sings the aria he wrote for her, it would be proof that she needs him and the music, and if she doesn't then she can leave with Raoul and a handsome trousseau. 

I shall leave it there - after all, any blogposts about the Phantom should have a little mystery, don't you think. As for the ending, there are some happy points, especially with regards to choices but some tragedy as one can expect, judging from the Phantom's track record.The music is, I can say, excellent. There are some hints of the classic but a really good score. Ramin Karimloo as the lead, is in a word - phantastic. Truly, a voice of gold. 

Give yourself to the Dark Side

A recent delve into my geekish side, has revealed what I suspect to be an old fascination with the villain we all hate to love, Darth Vader. As a child watching the Star Wars movies, I was drawn to his voice (lent lovingly by James Earl Jones of course) and his cool demeanour (after all, how much emotion can one show in a metal black suit with dials), but really more interested in the cuddle appeal of Chewbacca.

But I revisited that old classic, which has spawned games, t-shirts, Lego sets (I admit my ownership of one or two of these with my own pocketable Darth with red glowing lightsabre attached), and again, my interest has perked. Perhaps because I need yet another distraction - perhaps? But no, I stand true to his appeal. It is his boots, his gloves, his anguish and his temper. Trying to translate him into a present-day setting is a little difficult and I can only imagine that we are simply drawn to his human-like qualities behind the mechanics, which manifest in fatherly concern, the desire for redemption, confusion, and conflict.

Ah, whatever it is. He is pretty cool.

Hey Hey What What

Happy new year to everyone: all the boys and girls, all the sad and happy people, all the optimists and pessimists, all the loved and unloved, all of you and all of me. May 2010 bring us what we want, what we pray for and what we dream of.

I recently rewatched an old favourite film: The Madness of King George. I forgot how good it was: it tells the story of how George III of Hanoverian England lost his mind. We see him degenerate from a jovial, overly excited, well liked monarch to a foul-mouthed, deranged lunatic. With an ambitious Prince of Wales (played by Rupert Everett in all his oily and wigged glory) waiting in the wings to become Prince Regent, it becomes highly important for the mad king to find his sanity. He is aided by William Pit (the younger) and a parson-turned-doctor who uses unconventional methods to treat the poorly sovereign. Wonderfully portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne, the cast also includes a German accented Helen Mirren who plays Queen Charlotte, the devoted and patient wife of Farmer George, as he is lovingly known as by his subjects.

It is also a play by Alan Bennett, and as you can imagine, the dialogue reflects his usual wit! An interesting look at lunacy and how it affects even the highest of kings.