Change Your Image
Parth_IMDb
Reviews
The End We Start From (2023)
A decent watch. slow burning, never quite picks up.
Spoilers after first two paragraphs:
Filled with bunch of really nice scenes, including one of the best opening scenes, great use of sound and overall imagery, and Jodie Comer! Some scenes are shot so well, you can almost feel the dampness in the air.
Despite all this, the movie never quite picks up! It's a slow burning movie, which keeps promising but doesn't really deliver. It was great to see the post-apocalyptic world from the perspective of a new mother. There are some brilliant and even heart-wrenching scenes scattered around. However, the movie doesn't quite seem to tie together these bits and pieces.
Spoilers ahead.
Overall the narrative would appear to be leading somewhere, but before it reaches its peak, it peters out or is cut-short.
For example: the shelter section, things start building towards something, you see the progression, and then it is cut-short. Same pattern for the commune section, narrative is just starting to dip into what it is like to be there, but it cuts short again! Then a relatively quick and easy return to the main city (easier than one would think it'd be).
*Somethings which personally irked me*
(1) This is a post-apocalyptic world. People are practically killing each other for food. But there seems to be no issues for cigarette supply whatsoever! I'd think cigarettes would be treated like a currency in this damp, flooded, post-apocalyptic world.
(2) In all these absolute chaos, apparently the woman is carrying a lot of different onesies for the baby! Again, I'd assume that it is difficult to carry weight while they are walking/running for miles and they'd rather carry food/water than a lot of clothes. And we are also talking fresh, new and super clean onesies, different patterns each time! :p It somehow just takes the viewer out of the scene because it juts out so much!
*Climax*
This was the final nail for me! The husband magically appears in the end, perfectly healthy, and everything is well! ... ok! :p.
The Danish Girl (2015)
So beautiful, so sad!
A story of bravery, of love and, of sadness.
Powerful and poignant dialogues, great acting and many stunning shots. The narration might feel slow at times to some viewers, but is very engaging nevertheless.
Eddie Redmayne with one of his career best performances. Absolutely nailed the role. Alicia Vikander was amazing as well. Great casting overall.
The characters have been portrayed beautifully with all their human flaws and struggles. The relationship between Einar/Lili (Eddie) and Gerda (Alicia) turbulently evolving, as they weather life. Movie leaves you with an immense sadness and a sense of hope. A beautifully sad love story.
"You made me beautiful. And now you're making me strong. Such power in you" <3.
Echo of Everything (2023)
An earful of wonders
A well researched and well made documentary about how music works and the history of music. Does not fall off for even a single scene. Great story telling, really amazing writing and of course good music.
We follow the director's journey to "understand" music, a fascinating journey, complete with the surreal black & white scenes in between.
The most engaging and important part was that it doesn't only looks at music scientifically but looks at the nested socio-historical context around it. It draws from multiple different perspectives, not overly relying on one method.
The writing was really strong as well. A compilation of some of the lines would make a nice little book!
Must watch for all music heads and people interested in knowing about history and how stuff works. A great watch for cinema students too to learn about story telling and sequencing.
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (2023)
A brilliant piece of work
Excellent storytelling and great handling of a historically significant subject matter. Sound design, voice acting, lighting, graphics, narrative building, all aspects are designed marvelously and with much care.
Multiple aspects of Shere Hite's life and her persona have been captured beautifully and truthfully. The other side of being a public personality who is fighting an oppressive system can be heartbreaking. Props to the editing team for cutting it so tight and engaging. Gives the viewer much to ponder upon and, forces one to draw parallels to the current socio-political scenario. Hopefully the movie proves to be "The Reappearance of Shere Hite", bringing her enormous contributions to light and, her books into print again. Needed now more than ever.
Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016)
An Uncensored Treat
*** This review contains spoilers ***
Lipstick under my burkha, feels like a sandpaper being rubbed against your skin. An sensational piece of cinema by Alankrita Shrivastava and team.
Movie starts off with a girl dressed in burkha shop lifting from a mall which we learn is the first of four protagonists, the other three soon make an entry, With character introduction scenes of their own.
Enter voice over. It might take couple of minutes to fully grasp the context and hilarity of the voice over, But it is doubtlessly one of the if not the most important element of the movie.
From Rehana's frustration against the system, Shireen's suppressed anger, Leela's ambitions to Buaji's Desperation and loneliness everything is portrayed quite terrifically. What makes it poignant is they can be just any other person you know. The realistic portrayal of everyday life makes the movie uncomfortably relatable and forces you to question the norms.
All four characters are at quite different stages of their life and are facing different set of problems, the root of which can be zeroed down to what is acceptable by society norms and what is not. Alankrita has managed to show the ugly side of India without getting into the poverty and 'slumdog millionaire' zone. The ugliness of a society and the methodical hypocrisy which has become part of life to an extent that we don't even notice it anymore.
whether it is happily unaware Manoj patiently waiting for her fiancé while she is having sex with her boyfriend, or a potential romantic interest of Usha being forced to call her Buaji (aunty ji), Movie is filled with dark humor and intense scenes.
Though I personally feel music could have been much better, Cinematography is commendable. The sound of Rehana's sewing machine and the dimly lit room where she is forced to work. One can almost smell the musty damp smell of cramped air. You can not help but appreciate the little details like the change of Buaji's pastel shade bed sheet to a bright colored and rose patterned bed sheet after she starts chatting with Jaypal and the mosquito net she has put on around bed as means to limit visibility.
Overall it is an uncensored treat as Alankrita and team has gone all out with all guns blazing, covering lot of issues from a trouble a middle age lady faces in buying swimming costume to something as serious as marital rape. Lipstick under my burkha shows it exactly how it is. Kudos to entire team for such fantastic job. India needs more movies like this.
P.S. Not that it is the golden standard of good movies, but this should be India's obvious entry to Academy awards.