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Reviews
Yôjinbô (1961)
Kurosawa is a rich director to steal from!!
"Good Artists copy, great artists steal". This quote, often attributed to Picasso is apt for Yojimbo whose scene by scene, lift off of "A fistful of dollars" spawned a whole genre of Westerns. So perhaps some would regard Sergio Leone as a "great artist" whose "cheat" have inspired so many movies that any random Hollywood Western movie buff must have watched the formula scenes when a lone cowboy walks in a deserted town, sharp shoots his way into the audiences heart then finally triumphs in the one- on-one duel with the villain. But for serious audiences wondering about the derivation of the formula, have to watch amongst other Samurai movies by Kurosawa, Yojimbo- definitely amongst the most entertaining of the lot. Audiences who enjoyed the samurai sword play in "Kill Bill" should get their teeth into Yojimbo. Kurosawa, incidentally belonged to the family of Samurai. The fight scenes are few and far between, but so vividly picturised that they deliver immense impact without being grotesque or should I say Tarantinoesque. Camera work is of course the forte of Kurosawa who started out as a painter just as one of his other illustrious Asian contemporary Satyajit Ray. No wonder his scenes seems to spring out as a flipping of a series of sketches- with Japanese musical instruments enhanced music, electrifying the visual delight.
I wish I could compare Yojimbo with Maula Jutt and give a critical comment on the influence of Japanese Samurai movies on Punjabi "western" cult movie, but I am afraid I have not watched the latter yet. Wonder what " Maula ko maula na maare to maule nahin murda" in Japanese would sound like.
Dayereh (2000)
The circle of women's lib argument
Loved the ingenious technique of the film where the camera starts following one distressed woman to another till all of them are seen together at the end in jail. Nargess Mamzadeh was striking as Nargess, a former convict trying to evade the police.
I dont agree that the film should be taken as a symbol of opression of women particularly in theocratic Iran. Most Eastern societies, especially third world ones, are patriarchies the status of women would appear to be depressed particularly through the liberal lens. A number of issues that Western women face are not there in the East. A more balanced work in this regard would be perhaps a documentary to see the pros and cons that a patriarchy has for its female members.
Dev.D (2009)
Posterboy of modern Indian love
The poster itself is a stark warning about what this film is about: a modern take on classic love . Just as liquor and dance was a panacea for unrequited love a century ago , in today's Kashyapian world of drugs and sex. And what a fantastically artistic world it is - with creative use of camera angles, seamlessly interwoven music and racy dialogues . A movie sen to be believed.