Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) (2011)

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Writers:  Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bige Ceylan, Ercan Kesal

Cast:      Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel

Language: Turkish

A group of men set out in search of a dead body in the Anatolian steppes.

The film at two and half hours is a slow burner but it is a very rewarding experience. It is a masterpiece. It won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Back story is not given but a general picture of each of the character's inner turmoil is formed by the end. There are a couple of standout sequences, especially the one where the Mayor's daughter serves all of them tea, I guess.

Rating: 5/5

También la lluvia (Even the Rain) (2010)

Director: Iciar Bollain

Writer:    Paul Laverty

Cast:      Gael Garcua Bernal, Luis Tosar, Karra Eleejalde

Language: Spanish

As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.

It is made in a documentary style and the story is shown in a slightly metaphorical way to show history repeating itself. Good to see Gael Garcia Bernal that has no ego and takes a slightly lesser role in the film. One problem with the film is that it slightly lacks warmth. It is shot in exquisite locales in the Bolivian Andes.

Rating: 3.5/5

Trois couleurs: Rouge (Three Colors: Red) (1994)

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers:  Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Cast:      Irene Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frederique Feder

Final entry in a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns a model who discovers her neighbor is keen on invading people's privacy.

This is Kieslowski's last film as he died two years later. As a standalone film, it is the best film of the trilogy but its better to take the three films as a whole. It is similar to Double Life of Veronique in the sense that in this film also by the end you will realize that a single character resides in two bodies. It is the most Lynchian Kieslowski film.

Kieslowski had announced retiring after this project but was working on a script for another trilogy with his collaborator Piesiewicz with themes Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. First one was later made by Tom Tykwer. Three Colors trilogy and Decalogue alone is enough for Kieslowski to be considered among the greatest of them all. Shame that he died early at the age of 54. 

Rating: 5/5

Ted (2012)

Director: Seth MacFarlene

Writers:   Seth MacFarlene, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild

Cast:       Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlene

As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John's side ever since- a friendship that's tested when Lori, John's girlfriend of four years, wants more from their relationship.

It is fucking shit with some sporadic laughs in between and none of which you will remember after watching the film.

Rating: 2/5

Trois couleurs: Blanc (Three Colors: White) (1994)

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:  Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Cast:      Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy

Language: Polish, French

Second of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society shows a Polish immigrant who wants to get even with his ex-wife.

The film's theme is equality which is represented by the white color in French flag. It is a dark comedy with the two characters having a love-hate relationship based on the power they command over the other half. Back story to their relationship is not given and the film starts with the divorce proceedings. It can be seen as a metaphor to the condition of immigrants in a developed country. The first half for example can be seen as the attitude towards Polish immigrants in England and the second half, attitude towards the millionaires from Russia/Middle East buying up property in  London.

The sympathy we feel towards the characters change as the film progresses. By the end we feel equally good or bad towards both the characters and in that sense equality is achieved. 

Rating: 4/5

The Conversation (1974)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Writer:    Francis Ford Coppola

Cast:      Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield

A paranoid and personally-secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple he is spying on will be murdered.

Saw it again the other day. Sandwiched between Godfather 1 and 2, Conversation is a film that gets overlooked by many. It is almost as good as the other two and it is sad that Coppola petered out after Apocalypse Now. The film came out before Nixon resigned because of the Watergate Scandal but the film's creation was not influenced by the scandal. Coppola had cited Antonioni's 'Blow Up' as an inspiration for this film and it is one I want to get my hands on.

Rating: 5/5

Trois couleurs: Bleu (Three Colors: Blue) (1993)

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:  Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Cast:      Juliette Binoche, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Emmanuelle Riva

Language: French

First of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns how the wife of a composer deals with the death of her husband and child.

I saw the trilogy initially on TV in UTV World Movies some 4-5 years back. Decided to watch it again seeing that the guys at Auteurcast are going through Kieslowski films now. The films are named after the three colors in the French flag: Blue, White and Red representing Liberty, Equality and Fraternity respectively which are also the themes represented in film. 

As it is usually the case with Kieslowski films, there is not a scene wasted and is shot beautifully using colors, lights and reflections well. The story is quite straight forward and some characters that appear in later films in the trilogy are also seen briefly.

Rating: 4.5/5