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How can any movie review blog be complete without mention of a movie that is based on the tradition of Spring Break where students and other young people in USA gather on beaches and explore each other in many different ways !! Watch at your own peril....I do not know how much of the semi-nude stuff actually happens on beaches. I did visit a US beach once wearing shorts and a T-shirt and ...
Note: There is nothing even remotely resembling this tradition in the country where I grew up (India)..and thankfully so !!
Meru is an impressive documentary with a very personal touch. [You feel you know the climbers.] What is new is the way they attempt to climb this forbidden rocky peak in the Himalayas. There is an avalanche that demonstrates the great risk the climbers take to achieve their goal. One might wonder about their sanity in pursuing the climb in spite of the danger.
The team rests and sleeps in small tents that hang from the side of the rock, only supported by ropes, and nothing but a steep fall below. They jump around tethered only by ropes and take pictures as if they are the cleaning crew of a downtown high rise while we the audience panic at their carefree attitude!
There is even a shot of a milky way arm in the background ...
At first glance, this movie could be interpreted as overtly 'sexual' movie for 'perverts' and is embarrassing to watch with your Asian family. But upon closer examination, I interpret this as a study in contrasts between sexes, upbringing and cultures. You have a mild mannered devoted American father, a young American daughter and a always whining American wife living in a suburban house. The family seems to fall apart as they become frustrated with each other and seek comfort in relationships with other people.
The dad shows interest in his daughter's young friend when he notices that she is interested in him. The young school going teenager friend openly discusses her 'sexual' interest in the dad causing the daughter to be embarrassed. That makes the movie 'real' because I have overheard conversations similar to the ones that the girls have in the movie, here in USA.[Because of this budding February-October romance, many old ladies in the audience might develop psychological problems!!]
The mom has a relationship with another man (a neighbor) which is accidentally discovered by her husband!
The young daughter develops a relationship with the new neighbor's son. [The son sells drugs without the father's knowledge and earns thousands of dollars! ] The son has a stressful relationship with his dad and in spite of being a grown man, is physically beaten by an overly aggressive father at each encounter. [The father takes his military experience too seriously]. There is nothing more the rigid dad has to offer except abuse! When he spies upon the son having a conversation with the neighbor ( our hero dad) from his window, he assumes there is a homosexual relationship between the two because his view is partially blocked.
Towards the end, the hero dad is considerate enough not to take advantage of his daughter's friend because she is young and inexperienced. The frustrated wife has other plans. She borrows a pistol and shoots her husband/hero-dad, I believe.
However, because only a hand holding the pistol that was fired is shown, I cannot be hundred percent sure as to the identity of the killer. The movie later shows the army-neighbor with blood soaked t-shirt causing confusion; did that army guy kill the neighbor or did he kill his son assuming the son had killed the hero dad? Were three bullets fired or was it just one bullet heard by three people at different locations when the hero-dad was shot ?
The scientist, Mr. Nash, whose life is portrayed in this movie died in a car crash in 2015 along with his wife. That is a sad ending to a Nobel prize winner's life after suffering from paranoia and hallucinations , if you want to believe the makers of the movie!!
[I say, 'if...' because I have been 'accused' of the similar disease and though I do not fully agree with the diagnosis, people have been doing 'strange' things around me as well. It might be a method to cover-up the stuff, the 'authorities' do not want exposed and call the whole thing a hallucination. And it soon becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, even if you were normal earlier when you are extra sensitive, isolated from your family and live 'inside'. ]
While he was a student at the campus, Nash develops a loving relationship with his roommate and roommate's niece. He is super-intelligent though somewhat eccentric. A government agent seeks his help in deciphering Russian codes and Mr. Nash accepts the job. Soon he becomes obsessed with it and has room full of newspaper clippings about the Russians. Nash comes across a pretty lady and marries her. Lo and behold, he is told to see a psychiatrist because there is no 'roommate' friend, no little niece and no government agent who hired him to decipher Russian codes!!!! These are all 'hallucinations' that Mr. Nash continues to see even while he is being treated. Not believing the doctors, Mr. Nash, struggles and revolts against the treatment. He is forced to accept the treatment in the end and chooses to ignore the 'hallucinations'. He restarts his life on the campus and soon wins a Nobel prize and respect from his colleagues. That is where the movie ends. Russell Crowe does a commendable job portraying odd 'Nash' as an introvert - with the help of his make-up artist.
VIDEO SOURCE: Amazon Prime I had read about Charles Darwin 'way back when' I was in school. Upon watching this biographical movie from BBC, it dawned on me that while he had a nice family and enjoyed their company, he was sick most of his adult life as was his eldest daughter Annie. Tragically, Annie dies and Charles goes mad. He sees Annie again and again (hallucinations!) post death; if the director/doctors are to be believed ( this might be a license that the director takes to show his mental instability) ! There was some confusion for me at this point because of the juxtaposition of scenes which seem to go back and forth in time.
It must have been the physical contact with birds and other species - however pretty they appear from a distance - that caused him to be physically ill. The old hydro bath treatment, in lieu of a waterfall , is interesting to watch. Then there is the argument between church, religion and the jungle law, which tilts in favor of 'survival of the fittest', well illustrated in the movie by the preying upon of a rabbit by a fox and the scene of a helpless baby bird that falls from a tree and gets eaten by insects. The movie also shows the conflict between rational Charles and his religious wife - how easy it is for Charles Darwin to justify the killing of the rabbit and the baby bird as part of the food chain and how difficult it is to bear the loss of his own child !! However, in the end Charles finishes his landmark 'Origin Of Species' and his wife becomes his admirer. After watching the movie, it is hard for me to believe that a scientific mind like Darwin could be so broken up and unstable...yet come up with the theory of progression of species on earth from the sea to the land .
I remember watching this movie with my parents when I was in High School almost 40 years ago. This movie broke boundaries as far as the conservative Bollywood cinema of the time is concerned by showing a heroine in short skirts and a bikini. This movie was the first movie for the two main actors : young Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapur, who is the son of the producer director Raj Kapur. They later became major stars of Bollywood. The songs in the movie became very popular as well.
Raju is deprived of the love of his two busy parents and is sent to a boarding school. When he returns to his parents for his 18th birthday party he becomes attracted to pretty 16 year old Bobby who is the daughter of his nanny old Mrs. Braganza. It is love at first sight. However, Bobby's father is a simple fisherman of Portuguese descent I believe. Mr. Braganza is happy that Bobby likes Raju but the big question is will the rich parents of Raju agree to his marring a nanny's daughter ?
The answer is obvious - Raju's parents prohibit him from meeting Bobby and even insult Mr. Braganza by accusing him of scheming to get at their wealth. To add insult to injury, they even offer him money to keep his girl away from Raju !!
The obstinacy of the parents causes the kids to elope and even attempt suicide. That is the gist of the story.
That is what is unusual about the movie - the subservient short son (Danny Devitto) and his domineering mother who sits on a rocking chair and commands him like he is a peon. He has to make sandwiches for her and find TV remotes otherwise she 'Hollers/shouts' at him. DD has developed dislike for her and wants her killed but he is afraid of doing it himself . This could have been a 'Psycho' like crime movie but it is not - in fact, it is a quite refreshing comedy from a period when comedy was 'king' (1987).
'The Night Is Moist And Humid'
DD attends a course on writing a novel and develops friendship with the teacher (Billy Crystal). DD is obsessed with writing the novel and does not hesitate in contacting this teacher at all odd hours of day !! The teacher tries to encourage him by asking him to watch a particular TV show. After watching the show, our crazy DD erroneously concludes from the show that the teacher wants to get rid of his girlfriend! He (DD) kills the teacher's girlfriend. DD assumes that the friendly teacher will return the favor by killing DD's mother.
