Flick FINDER

With the Fifth Cinefan film festival on at Delhi and the Second Asian Film Festival round the corner in Mumbai, we take a look at the best o...

With the Fifth Cinefan film festival on at Delhi and the Second Asian Film Festival round the corner in Mumbai, we take a look at the best on offer.

Hero Zhang Yimou?
Chinese master Zhang Yimou8217;s latest may be produced by Miramax and have a cast that includes star Jet Li, but his beauty is uncorrupted. Yimou8217;s Hero is set in ancient China and tells the story of a king who fears only three warriors8212;Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Sky. Then one day, an enigmatic county sheriff, Nameless, visits the king to narrate how he vanquished the three. Only, the king already knows just who Nameless really is. Yimou, maker of gems like Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern, transfixes us all over again. At Cinefan

Osama Sedigh Barmak
The first Afghan film to be screened at Cannes, the hard-hitting Osama walked away with a Special Mention this year. The film is a telling picture of the brutal Taliban regime. A mother is forced to dress up her 12-year-old girl as a boy when the Taliban rules that no woman can leave her house unless accompanied by male family. The terrified girl has a close shave when she makes a small mistake at the prayers. Director Barmak, himself, was forced to go into exile in Pakistan when the Taliban came into power. At Cinefan

Whispering Sands
Nan Achnas
This lovely film see-saws between the bitterness of unrealised dreams and the hope of new ones. In Whispering Sands, Daya is a young village girl trapped by an overly-possessive mother Berlian. Daya lies on the sands and dreams of meeting her father, a travelling medicine peddler, who deserted them years ago. Berlian fears that her bitterness will stifle her daughter8217;s dreams and struggles to let go. At Cinefan and Asian

The Blue-Veiled
Rakshan Bani-Etemad
The Blue-Veiled is a classic Iranian slice of life. Rasul Rahmani is a widower and owner of a tomato farm. He selects Nobar Kordani among several girls to work on his farm. When her younger brother and mother are arrested, Rasul goes out of his way to help Nobar. But he has to now extricate himself from the 8216;liaison8217; that his suspicious, furious family believes in. Rakshan Bani-Etemad, maker of Canary Yellow and The May Lady, weaves yet another story. At Cinefan and Asian

Cinefan is on at India Habitat Centre, Siri Fort Two and French Cultural Centre between July 18-27. Asian Film Festival is on at Y B Chavan Centre between August 2-9.