Movie reviews

The story is simple, and dialogues by Sanjay Chhel are appropriate, fitting well amidst the film’s mostly young cast. There is also some splendid hand-held camerawork which gives the film a very in-your-face feel, almost allowing you to be a part of the on-screen goings-on. While the cinematography here is not as brilliant as that in Sivan’s own Terrorist, it ought to be remembered that Halo required none of that stark lighting and grim feel which were the highlights of Terrorist. Also, made several years before Terrorist, evidently Halo is an experimental effort on the part of Sivan. There’s ample humour in the movie, the laughs arising not out of slapstick situations but everyday comic circumstances. Followed from the perspective of both children and adults, at times the film is a true reflection of real life.

Undoubtedly, it is the uplifting performances in the film, that make Halo a must-see. Film-maker Rajkumar Santoshi is an absolute natural, who displays a fine flair for comedy and timing. Almost the entire supporting cast (particularly the little bald boy who plays Sasha’s neighbour) pitches in impressive deliveries. The show, however, belongs clearly to Benaf Dadachanji who is perfectly cast. Exuding the right amount of innocence and vulnerability, Sivan extracts a commendable performance out of the little girl who is an absolute delight to watch.

Here’s a film about children that deserves to be seen not just by the little ones, but also by every adult with a little time on his hands.

The Beach

In “pursuit of pleasure” travel to Thailand with Richard, the typical American tourist, complete with floral shirts and the rucksack. See the world through his eyes, meet his friends and join the hunt for paradise.

When Alex Garland wrote The Beach in 1997, it was a bestseller. Garland tells a simple story, with a lot of soul searching thrown in for good measure. Three people meet in the toursit bylanes of Thailand, are bored with doing what tourists do and decide that they just have to find the elusive paradise beach that everybody talks about but very few know where it is.

Now Richard has a whacky roommate in the dingy hotel he stays in. Daffy Duck, brought to life on screen by Robert Full Monty Carlyle, does Richard a favour before he kills himself. He gives Richard a map to the island. Just what Richard had been looking for and with his two recently-made French acquaintances, one of whom he is smitten by, he sets out in search of paradise.

They find it, have a ball and then things start going wrong. In the second half of the movie, the cool characters will come across as weird. But then paradise can do that to you. The dream destination turns into a nightmare by the end of it all. What the film says is that life in the perfect world, where all one has to do is fish for some food and spend the rest of the day partying, smoking dope, doesn’t last forever — not when there is an iron hand controlling everything. I mean, how long can you just fish and eat and play cricket on the beach and sleep and smoke. Forever, you might be tempted to say, but the film says otherwise.

The book and the movie compliment each other. For those who haven’t read the book, Richard playing GI Joe in the jungles will be very disorienting and puzzling. But when you read the book you will realise that Richard goes through life pretending to be part of the Vietnam war. He dreams it, pretends he is in it and when left alone, like on the beach, he lives out his dream. Which is why you have him behaving in an odd manner, considering that he comes across as the sanest character in the story. So now you know.

A beautifully made film. Just the long shot of the “paradise beach” will make you want to pack your bags and head for one yourself. Leonardo Di Caprio is the true American tourist and the rest of the cast looks good and has cartloads of fun. Also, you will be saved the excrutiating details in the book of a dream turned sour and instead will get an abridged version of paradise lost. A good getaway over the weekend.

Girl, Interrupted

The first thing that strikes you about this film is that it is not gloomy. It is about a mental institution but the director has steered clear of using hues of grey. In fact, all the patients come across as normal people at some point or the other, forcing you to ponder about the thin line that is said to divide the sane from the insane.

Based on a book by Sussane Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted

looks at life in the ’60s from the point of view of teenagers and their parents and the circumstances they live in. It tells the story of people who have “confused a dream with life”, about the blues and the ’60s and trying to fit in.

Sussane (Winona Ryder) is a confused teenager who has a headache one day and thinks a bottle of pills will help. This attempt to commit suicide finds her a place in a mental institution, where she is diagnosed as having a borderline personality disorder.

Susanne walks into a world nobody wants to be a part of. In the company of a pathological liar, a bulemic self-cutter and a lesbian, she tries to figure out whether life in the institution is better than having to deal with people and problems in the real world.

Of course, being around Lisa (Angelina Jolie) doesn’t help. “A lifer” at the institution, Lisa is hip and happening as far as the other patients are concerned. But she is also trouble, as Sussane later discovers.

The interesting thing about the film is that Lisa helps Sussane realise that being part of the world where the high point is a midnight escape to knock down some pins is not really great. Once Susanne realises that life in the real world is the real thing, the entire story falls into perspective.

The film is a string of snapshots, woven together nicely. A lot of things the characters in the film think are unnervingly close to reality. And it takes a while to realise that the characters are in fact ill.

There are two reasons why you should see this film. First, because Angelina Jolie won the Oscar for best supporting actress as Lisa. Secondly, because Winona Ryder is brilliant in the film and should have been up there with the other nominees for best actress. Ryder looks like a teenager and has worked on her mannerisms. Fits the bill of the confused teenager looking for answers and trying to fit in.

ANURADHA NAGARAJ