SOLD - the forgotten girls of India/Asia!

This movie is akin to some documentaries we see on the subject of trading of young girls in India and Asia! I do not know if many people here will have the patience and tolerance to watch this movie but I did! It is based on a book with the same name by Patricia McCormick.

The drunk father of a very poor Nepali girl sells her to a lady who promises better life across the border in India. The girl seems to be about 10 years old and unaware of what is going on ! She is taken to a house in the poorest parts of Calcutta and introduced to some mean ladies who run a brothel made up such young girls. The crowded streets like the ones shown in the movie look familiar to many Indians who have stayed or visited poorer and denser areas of these towns and cities. This is a world of brutal poverty!

There is no inch thick makeup on the girls and ladies, their nails are uncut and hair has no frills as is true of many real Indian ladies ! The shocking details of how the girl is forced into prostitution better be left unsaid! By magic or by design two Americans and an Indian social organization turn up to rescue the girl and the end of the movie is better than the middle parts where you see the girls being beaten and tortured with red chilies when they do not comply or try to escape!

This movie shows the inner world of the poor girls and equally poor clients which might not be familiar to most middle class and educated Indians including myself! The brothel has a temple in one corner of the kitchen with picture of Kali goddess and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa! Education and population reduction might be the long term solution for the girls so they can be independent and find better jobs for themselves! Even that seems like a tall order in these highly populated areas! As one young girl tells us, even the cruel brothel madams help her when she needs money for medicine for a family member!

Gillian A. of X-files fame plays a journalist in simple attire unlike the sophisticated and strange characters she plays in her movies and TV shows! I do not know what happens here  in America regarding the topic under discussion. Maybe it is all part of daily life here well hidden behind the mobile homes and old cars, seedy hotels, fancy desks and corporate hideouts ! Or maybe it is just my hallucination - nobody sleeps hungry and naked here except for the very rich on a diet!

And why do some people here in USA use foul language similar to the one used by the ladies in the Calcutta brothel ?

PASSENGERS - A LOVE AFFAIR IN SPACE AND TIME...

This is a story of a time in future when 5000 passengers are travelling to a planet 120 light years away from earth They are all asleep/hibernating in pods in an impressive large luxurious space vehicle that seems an improvement on the one in 2001 A Space Odyssey. 

A passenger, (Chris Pratt) wakes up 90 years too early and goes crazy living alone. In desperation, he wakes up a pretty lady author (Jennifer Lawrence) and the two fall in love. They share some disasters in space and manage to survive all of those. There are some scientific facts on display here, using special effects, like the effect of loss of gravity when the heroine is in the swimming pool (please read my Science Hows And Whys link on the blog Menu) and their leap into the starry sky, flying past a sun-like star etc.

LION - A miraculous escape from the slums

LION is a true story based on the life of a very poor slum-like dweller's life in a small town called Khandwa,India before he is adopted by Australian parents. The first half of the movie looks very real to me because I am familiar with the social environment in India.There are poor kids like the ones shown in this movie in every city of India.

The two poor brothers steal coal from a moving train to help their poor mother. The young one, probably 6 or 7 years old, gets separated from his brother when he accidentally locks himself in an empty  train 'car' and screams for his brother for help but to no avail until he finds himself 1700 kilometers away in Calcutta. Scenes of his experiences in Calcutta, homeless and filthy, are amazingly real  ! That an innocent boy who does not understand the world around him and even where he is, seem heartbreaking! Once he is discovered and delivered in Australia by an Indian social worker, the movie becomes like a regular Hallmark movie! If everything is true as shown, this is an extraordinary story of a poor boy's resilience against unsurmountable odds and a God given miracle!

THE ACCUSED - A Rape Case In USA !!

This could be considered an educational films for ladies who get too close to strange men in a provocative 'dress' and lead them on until they loose control. The current string of sexual abuse cases make the movie topical.

The movie might also be considered an education for parents serious about their kids. And also an introduction for those interested in understanding the US legal process.[ They, of course, do not show the big fees the lawyers charge for their service including the meetings, depositions etc.]

A pretty, though somewhat rough woman, gets raped in a bar filled with suspicious men where she and her friend seem to be the only females. She walks into a bar and makes friends with a man. They hug and kiss. The lady gives a provocative dance performance. This leads to a forced rape because the girl did not expect to be that close so soon, I guess. This 'carrot and stick' approach might be unique to  western culture and/or the mod rich crowd! What is further abhorring is that she gets raped by three men/boys which makes her a sympathetic character. A dozen or so men encourage the rapists with their repulsive comments as if it was a soccer game !

The rape scene is quite explicit and one feels that Jodie Foster must have tolerated a lot  of abuse while filming. It is embarrassing and angering to watch that scene.

Disclaimer: My comments above do not imply that I approve the behavior of the rapists and of the cheering men. However, any steps taken to prevent such rapes from occurring by dressing appropriately, not making seductive comments and keeping at a safe distance from unfamiliar men should be considered seriously.

SPANGLISH - A HAPPY HALLUCINATION!!

This 2004 movie could have been a friday night comedy on one of the networks. Tea puts lots of energy into her character and gets a little humor injected into the screenplay. Everybody else acts as expected except for the young girl actor named Bryce. She is superlative in my estimate due to a special connection I see between her and a young Indian girl I know, who is about her age and was also born in Texas. Bryce's facial expressions, her hair and her mannerisms in the movie match that Indian girl's almost exactly including the 'you have ruined my life'. I was shocked to see the similarity because I know that Indian girl since birth. It is as if somebody minutely observed that Indian girl and trained Bryce to act accordingly.

I bet the psychologists and psychiatrists and NAMI people are jumping up and down with joy. One more delusion/hallucination from Ravindra Loomba...hee,hee!!

THE SHALLOWS - Jaws + Castaway with a much prettier face !

I had seen Blake Lively on TV but not in a movie so I picked up this DVD just to see her acting talent. The first shock you get in the movie  is not because of the shark but when Blake appears in her swimming suit - she has an appearance of a grown lady but with the body of a teenage girl!!

Shark attacks happen occasionally to real people as reported in the news media. So this movie is a reminder to those surfers and swimmers who surf near shark infested waters. We have seen movies like Jaws which are similar but go on the offensive by hunting the killer shark. This movie is more about survival and bravery - Blake's character is stranded on a small stone island just a few hundred meters from the beach because of the killer shark circling in the area. She almost looses her leg but manages to climb onto this stone island just in time. The big wound on her leg and the gushing blood seem very real, thanks to the  make-up and special effects people. And Blake does a good job of acting brave under the circumstances! (that she was having fun while shooting is obvious from 'behind the camera' features included in the disc) . The cinematography of the actors surfing and of the shark attacks is excellent.

WAG THE DOG - All In A Day's Work, Folks!!

This movie is a complete package - presidential misconduct, dedicated covert operations, complaint news media and a 'stupid' Hollywood producer! The movie seems very realistic and straight from the headlines !

It is time for re-election and the president of US is in trouble because of allegations of sexual misconduct! So this anonymous spin doctor, after learning about it at an airport terminal, while waiting for a flight, decides to save the president by diverting attention from the main issues! He contacts a Hollywood producer and they manufacture a story about a bomb from the country of Albania that is about to enter the US via Canada and US efforts to save a war prisoner from there. The happy team creates segments of the whole story in a studio which is fed to the compliant TV media!They hire a young actress, dressed in traditional Albanian costume,to represent the suffering Albanians.  The so called war hero is really a criminal on drugs who gets shot while being transported on the 'rescue' plane. The story is then changed to say that he is now a martyr with appropriate shots of a military burial on TV!

After the dust has settled and the 'emergency' is over, the Hollywood producer decides to confess that he produced the whole thing in a studio ! Next we find this producer dead having suffered a 'massive' heart attack !!The president makes guest appearances, with the seriousness of a clergyman,  on TV when it is time to inform and 'appeal' to the public.

This is not a fast-paced, loud Hollywood type of movie. R. DeNiro and D. Hoffman act without any make up on and their uncut hair, bad teeth etc plus the acting and dialogue make them appear very down to earth. The supporting cast of Anne H. and others does a commendable job!!

This raises questions in my  mind, as a common man, is this how politics works these days ? Is everything manufactured to pull wool over the eyes of the innocent public ? In my personal life, sometimes this seems so, ever since I entered the 'big' league of lawyers, money managers and big technology companies !

Do you still want me to trust everyone ? [Once I even had a  'visual' of a handsome sardarji resemble Osama, after Osama was reported dead !!]