The theatres are full, the PIFF buzz is spreading and never thought people are so interested in slow-paced, non-commercial cinema. We had to rush to E-square, struggle with parking, complete the registration with photos arrggrh, and miss a few minutes of the Shyam Benegal classic Mandi. Nevermind, here’s how it went:

Film: Mandi
Director: Shyam Benegal
Country: India
Year: 1983

What I felt:
It has the best actors from Indian cinema viz. Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Saeed Jaffrey, Om Puri, Neena Gupta and so on. A wonderful touch of humor, brilliant photography, and Shyam Benegal’s style make Mandi one of the best films. The whole story shows why it deserved so many awards. Every scene is unique and well done, with a significant appeal to it.

Mandi is like a portrait of life, with no particular message. Neha had the same feeling, “What does this film want to say??”, where I replied like some big thinker , “The film says what you want it to say…”

- Badal Dixit

Film:All About my Mother
Director:Pedro Almodovar
Country:Spain
Year:1999

What I felt:
The film is a women-centric one….women ranging from mother to actress to friend and even transvestites. It tells the story of a certain Manuela whose son dies on his 17th birthday. How she goes on to find his father whom she’s left years ago, makes new friends and brings back some meaning and purpose to her life is what the story mainly deals with. I think Almodovar is an exceptional storyteller. The movie spans several years in a woman’s life, has many characters in it who are explored in pretty much detail and yet the film finishes in 1 hour 45 minutes with nothing left incomplete. Truly captivating cinema. I would definitely like to point out that the opening titles were amazingly thought out. They had a ‘water’ theme to them which really worked. Infact even the titles of ‘Bad Education’ were really well thought….they had a storyboard kind of appeal to them. Doing good cinema is one thing and managing to make great titles is a skill of its own standards.

Film:XXY
Director:Lucia Puenzo
Country:Argentina
Year:2007

What I felt:
The film deals with a hermaphrodite who is coming of age….her social,mental and physical problems. Certain inevitable truths of life in teen age are explored and dealt with extreme maturity and sensitivity. I loved two things above all in the film…one was the cinematography. It was truly exceptional. Certain scenes were captured with angles that made the viewer believe that he/she is actually present on the scene. And more than anything else I loved Ines Efron for playing Alex with such a lot of conviction.

Film:Hunabku
Director:Pablo Cesar
Country:Argentina
Year:2007

What I felt:
Lucas is a 13 year old boy who moves with his family to a snowy location. The glacier, the natural beauty and his undying curiosity awaken the ever-questioning nature that he always has. He starts understanding the relation human beings have with nature and starts to experience the inner-most energies of the Earth and unearth its deepest secrets. Cinematography was of world class standards in the film largely owing to the picturesque locales. But above all I loved the style of storytelling…..the films shows something and has a hidden meaning which is altogether something else. Very abstract, Hunabku is a treat for lovers of cinema that forces you to use your otherwise unused brain. Truly a masterpiece.

-Aneesh Kamat