just watched ‘The Pianist’ finally few days ago. it’s one hell of a movie. the guy’s really a great actor and got a very well deserved oscar last year.
Roman Polanski did a great job capturing the human emotion, misery and brutality. however i think Jews today are doing worse than what was done to them during the holocaust.
i often wonder why no one ever stands up and makes similar movies on the rich history that we have had right here in the subcontinent. with the same technical, artistic abilities and budgets. anything on the great divide with less political coverage and more human emotions of an individual, or a family or a few families. something like the classical Urdu short stories of Khadija Mastur and Hajra Masroor. or perhaps life during the raj before hindu and muslim differences were put on high heat, when only the ‘farangi’ was the inhuman oppressor and hindu muslim ‘bhai bhai’. i think people in India and Pakistan like Shoaib Mansoor and Shekhar Kapoor have more than the potential to produce such films.
sometimes i just have this urge to get into film making, i have this passion, but i’m directionless…
any of you guys know any more such great movies or even books that so accurately and so artistically portray man’s extraordinary feats in surviving, playing with emotions, in romance, in family life through the ages in different cultures and society?
I think it comes down to financial backing and which companies will buy the rights to show the film. I can see Miramax doing it as that is one company that is into artsy/international/historical types of epics (The English Patient, Talented Mr. Ripley, Elizabeth). That combined with overall 'media'/'industry' support for such a flick. Also, writers need to come up with good scripts. I think Shekar Kapoor who directed Elizabeth should do a film set in India ... but again, it has to have a solid script. I don't know if anybody has really focussed on the sub-continent/middle east area. I know that movies called "Sahara" and "Shehrezade" are coming out soon ... set in Morocco or somewhere in Northern Africa ... but am not sure if they are fantasy based or historical types of movies. I think there are more books based on what you are talking about than movies.
I also heard a while back that Oliver Stone was going to make a movie in Jerusalem from the Palestinian/"human" point of view. At least, I think it was Oliver Stone .... can't remember clearly.
A while back, I started a thread in Shor Sharaba about a Palestinan movie called 'Rana's Wedding'. It is really good! It focuses on the human element and all the political drama of everyday life for Palestinians is used as a backdrop. You should check it out.
Sorry i have an awful memory. Is "The Pianist" the same movie in which that little boy hides in that metal 'container' while his father is pretending that they're playing a game so his son doesn't get scared? If it's the same movie, i don't think i could ever watch that again. i went through a whole box of kleenex on that movie. It was ... just too sad.
[quote] any of you guys know any more such great movies or even books that so accurately and so artistically portray man's extraordinary feats in surviving, playing with emotions, in romance, in family life through the ages in different cultures and society?
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This may not be what you're looking for, but i would recommend 'Children of heaven', it's a 1999 Iranian movie by director Majid Majidi; i think it was nominated for an Oscar. More importantly, it's quite good... different. Not really the historical subcontinent type if that's the genre you are more interested in. More about children and life in Iran from the perspective of a 'poor' family...but done in a very non-documentary way so it doesn't bore you at all (or at least it didn't bore me at all).
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any of you guys know any more such great movies or even books that so accurately and so artistically portray man's extraordinary feats in surviving, playing with emotions, in romance, in family life through the ages in different cultures and society?
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There are heaps of foreign movies,european, asian etc.. which fit the description..
but irani movies are the best.
As nadia pointed out one of Majid Majidi's film, i reckon you should watch all his movies. I just love his movie 'baran'.. about afghan refugees in iran.
Mehnaz
youre so right. the right support by the industry and scripts are of very high importance. I really think shekhar kapoor can produce a block buster on the subcontinent issue. he can easily adapt any of the famous literature about those years and mould it around for a movie. if he can make elizabeth and that other one about the war in Sudan he sure can do this too. Are 'sheherzade' and 'sahara' hollywood english? i think sheherzade would be about that princess sheherzade in the 'arabian nights' or 'alf lail' (thousand nights), which is one of the greatest fiction ever written.
i'll look out for 'rana's wedding'. Thanks!
Nadia,
hi! i'm not sure it's the same movie as the one you mentioned a scene from. Pianist was about a jew guy in Poland who was a pianist by profession but when the ethnic cleansing against the jews began back in the late 30s his whole life from a modern city worker changed to a hungry limping, sick man over a period of few years with all his family seperated and so on. the 2-3 hrs or so are worth watching. it's a true story.
if you remember the name of the one you mentioned, do let me know, it sounds like something worth watching. thanks for the name of the Iranian 'children of heaven'. i'm actually most interested in anything that shows reality, and emotion in the most natural way. stuff that is often known as 'art movies'. i guess mnay indian movies from the 70s with naseeruddin shah etc fall under that category e.g. masoom.
Mystical_miss,
Thanks! i'm planning a trip to the video stores now. i hope i get the iranian ones. do let me knoe the names of any other real good ones you know too.thanks alot!
There is a movie called Ararat by Atom Egoyan (He’s made some great movies) that I plan to watch soon. As soon as I feel like I won’t get too depress by seeing execution of thousands of Armanians by Turks. It’s set in World war I era. Looks good.
Mystical Miss, oh wow i wasn't aware that Majid Majidi has produced or directed other movies. Thanks for mentioning 'Baran', i'll definitely check it out Insha'Allah. Isn't Majidi just an amazing director..the way he captured the emotions in Ali's little face in the movie 'Children of heaven'.
Haris, Sorry as UTD mentioned, i was thinking of "Life is Beautiful". If you are into artsy movies, definitely watch this one. You will cry, i almost guarantee it. Another good one but a very different geographical setting is "Dry white season" (big shots worked on this one - Marlon Brando, Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon (?)). It's regarding apartheid in South Africa... based upon a novel by Andre Brink.
You posted a thread about journalism... i think you would like this one as well: "A tribe of his own: the journalism of P. Sainath". A 21st century journalist with an extremely unique manner of undertaking his work. He's won a bunch of awards, mostly human rights ones like Amnesty etc.
i would definitely, definitely recommend "Rabbit proof fence" (i mean if you haven't viewed it already). i loved it.
UTD, Thanks. :)
By any chance, did you get an opportunity to watch the ones i recommended?
Nadia,
thanks alot for the names. after a long time i have a good 'to watch' and 'to read' list. hope i get them easily. iveheard alot about 'life is beautiful', havent had the chance to watch it yet, and cant wait to watch it now!
what's 'rabbit proof fence' about?
[QUOTE] Originally posted by Haris Zuberi: *
**what's 'rabbit proof fence' about?
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It's based upon an actual story. Up until the 1970s, the Australian government had a policy of forcibly taking away children from Aboriginal parents and taking them to missionary schools to 'civilize' them, i.e., teach them Christianity, dress them in 'proper' clothes, make them learn English, force them to 'forget' their culture, their native languages, etc.
"Rabbit proof fence" follows the story of two such sisters and their cousin who were removed by Australian authorities. They make a plan to escape the school and return to their home by following a massive fence that was erected (to keep rabbits out)...
i know people who didn't like the movie.. but it made an impression upon me. The music is by Peter Gabriel...and if you have heard some of his instrumental pieces before, then this one is no different. Just as moving.
wow, it does seem catching and a must watch...thanks nadia!
the discussion brings to memory another movie that i saw many years ago named "After the promise" it's from the 80s i think. have no idea who the actors were, but it was one hell of a movie. i was very little when i watched it but it was very touching. about a large family, their mother dies and the father tries hard to keep the kids together who are very young but the US authorities take them away for 'proper care'. it was so good, now that i remember it again, i want to watch it again. have you seen it?
Is it about two kids brothers and sisters....they wanted new shoes coz their old ones were broken and the brother ran in a race hoping to win a prize which were new shoes he tried VERY hard and he won but the top prize WAS NOT new shoes.
Yes - i know exactly which movie you are referring to, although i remember it by a different title. "Who will take care of my 10 children" - the mother passed away from cancer, but made her eldest son promise that he would try to keep the whole family together, not let them get adopted in different homes. It's about the struggle for the whole family to stay together. If i am not mistaken, there were two little girls, around 12/13, who were adopted by another family. This one is from the '80s as you stated.
i bawled my eyes out in that movie. It was based on a true story. Depressing depressing depressing.
Little Human, You are thinking of the right one. That's it.