Cast- Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance Directed by Francois Ozon Genre – Psychological Drama My Parental Guidance Rating – X Rated
Swimming Pool was short listed for the prestigious Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival for the year 2003.Rated 83% fresh by the critics freshometer at rottentomtoes.com,dreaded for its tearing apart of movies,I started watching this film with a great amount of anticipation.This was one of those films built up to be a near masterpiece on an artist’s creative process being portrayed on screen.
After sitting through its run time of 1 hour and 43 minutes I was left wondering had I seen anything other than a well disguised porn film?Terrible movie – I have no other words for it.I mean 1st there is this frustrated mystery novelist(Charlotte Rampling)who goes on a holiday to France to get ideas for her next book.She makes herself cozy in a villa with you guessed it,a swimming pool.This sensual beauty (Ludivine Sagnier) lands up from nowhere and the skin show begins .The cameraman indulges on the anatomy of Sagnier who is seen topless every other scene and there are these different men who land up every night and some very erotic (the arthouse types will say‚’’realistic’’),scenes unfold.
Somewhere in between all this a murder takes place(or does it?)and the two leading ladies are out to find the truth and the movie concludes with an ending which is supposed to facinate you like the conclusion to The 6th Sense.And Oh! There are some scenes which are supposed to showcase Fraudian repression which seem only an excuse for further skinshow.Admitedly Charlotte Rampling as the on the surface conservative novelist comes up with an underplayed and briliant performance.The symbols such as a crucifix being removed and coming back on or the reflection on a mirror, of the writer,work partially. But I don’t see in what way they represent the blurring of the lines between reality and fiction.
If you are the kind who finds those pathetic cubic images of Picasso fascinating Swimming Pool may interest you.If you want to be seen as having an interest in art house cinema again you might want to watch it,as the film is a critics darling,going by the reviews I have read. I saw Kalvanin Kadhali starring that unpretentious,badshah of dirty jokes,S.J.Suryah a few days back. I would any day watch his films than a too scared to admit it is a bit padam,which is what Swimming Pool is.
My Rating of the film - * out of * * * * *
Verdict – Terrible
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Swimming Pool
Cast- Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance Directed by Francois Ozon Genre – Psychological Drama My Parental Guidance Rating – X Rated
Swimming Pool was short listed for the prestigious Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival for the year 2003.Rated 83% fresh by the critics freshometer at rottentomtoes.com,dreaded for its tearing apart of movies,I started watching this film with a great amount of anticipation.This was one of those films built up to be a near masterpiece on an artist’s creative process being portrayed on screen.
After sitting through its run time of 1 hour and 43 minutes I was left wondering had I seen anything other than a well disguised porn film?Terrible movie – I have no other words for it.I mean 1st there is this frustrated mystery novelist(Charlotte Rampling)who goes on a holiday to France to get ideas for her next book.She makes herself cozy in a villa with you guessed it,a swimming pool.This sensual beauty (Ludivine Sagnier) lands up from nowhere and the skin show begins .The cameraman indulges on the anatomy of Sagnier who is seen topless every other scene and there are these different men who land up every night and some very erotic (the arthouse types will say‚’’realistic’’),scenes unfold.
Somewhere in between all this a murder takes place(or does it?)and the two leading ladies are out to find the truth and the movie concludes with an ending which is supposed to facinate you like the conclusion to The 6th Sense.And Oh! There are some scenes which are supposed to showcase Fraudian repression which seem only an excuse for further skinshow.Admitedly Charlotte Rampling as the on the surface conservative novelist comes up with an underplayed and briliant performance.The symbols such as a crucifix being removed and coming back on or the reflection on a mirror, of the writer,work partially. But I don’t see in what way they represent the blurring of the lines between reality and fiction.
If you are the kind who finds those pathetic cubic images of Picasso fascinating Swimming Pool may interest you.If you want to be seen as having an interest in art house cinema again you might want to watch it,as the film is a critics darling,going by the reviews I have read. I saw Kalvanin Kadhali starring that unpretentious,badshah of dirty jokes,S.J.Suryah a few days back. I would any day watch his films than a too scared to admit it is a bit padam,which is what Swimming Pool is.
My Rating of the film - * out of * * * * *
Verdict – Terrible
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Survival of the Fittest
- a curtain raiser to Pudhupettai
Pudhupettai Selvaraghavan's 4th feature film is about "the rites of passage of a don"in the director's words.Those familiar with his style of film making will know that Selva's films showcase a brooding,on your face,realism.I have compiled below some links which attempt to give a balanced perspective about the man who is hailed to be "the poor man's Mani Ratnam" by some and among the best things to have happened to South Indian cinema by others.So here goes -
Birth of a don ,preview of Pudhupettai.
Watch the Pudhupettai trailer here.
The Hindu's review of Kadhal Konden.
Guru Subramanian,blogger on Kadhal Konden .
Why some good films are wrong films! -by Sudhish Kamath,journalist on 7g,Rainbow Colony.
Visit the official website of Pudhupettai.
What can we expect to see in Pudhupettai?I would say an unsullied,birds eye view,of Chennai's underworld,by the man who sees the world in shades of grey.
Monday, March 13, 2006
15, Park Avenue
(above) Konkona Sensharma as the mentally challenged Methi, in a still from the film.
Cast - Shabana Azmi, Waheeda Rehman, Konkona Sensharma, Rahul Bose Genre –Drama Directed by – Aparna Sen Story in brief – A tale of two sisters – Anu (Shabana Azmi) and Methi (Konkona Sensharma). Anu is a divorced Physics professor living with her mother and schizophrenic younger sister. Methi had led a comparatively normal life (albeit with traces of abnormality) until she went on a reporting assignment in Bihar where an incident changes her life forever.
Performances – Konkona Sensharma as Methi comes up with a performance that at once touches you and disturbs you at the same time. Her struggle to separate the delusional from the real is very, very, realistically portrayed. While all the other actors give good performances artistically there is very little for them to explore or portray. Needless to say ,both Rahul Bose as the guilty ex-fiancé, and Shabana Azmi as Methi’s sister who places her life on hold, stand out. The Ending – Will leave you totally stumped. Literally an ‘open’ ending! I quite liked it though. As most of the characters lead incomplete lives the inconclusive end is apt. My Verdict – I really loved the film. Though for the record I must state not in the same league as Mr and Mrs Iyer I was deeply moved by Methi’s struggle to find the elusive joy in her life.15, Park Avenue - a place that does not exist - becomes a metaphor for Methi's search for stability and permanent joy in her life. My Rating - * * * * out of * * * * *
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)