Kurbaan

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : 13th Nov, 2009
Time : 165 minutes
Director : Rensil D’Silva; Writer : Karan Johar & Rensil D’Silva; Music : Salim Sulaiman
Starring : Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Vivek Oberoi, Kirron Kher

Pure drivel and tommyrot in the garb of a slick and serious film. An extremely patchy script, pathetic ending – and I mean not just the end but the whole sequence, and weak acting leads to a film which makes you wonder, after its over, what was the message, what was the point it was trying to make ?


A very clichéd and hurried romance in Delhi leads to a Hindu professor, Kareena getting married to a co-professor, Saif, a Muslim, and then jetting off to NY as Kareena has an offer to teach there. Saif proposes to teach a course on Islam, which is accepted by the same univ. They also make friends with some neighbours, also Muslims, and soon Kareena realises there is something wrong going on. And then she realises Saif is involved. And Vivek Oberoi is the person who has to make things ok.

The plot is filled, I mean really packed, with implausibilities…the FBI, for example, has a photo of a terrorist but is struggling to locate him even though he has a Social Security registration, is likely to have a driving licence and is registered to teach as a prof in a univ ? Vivek Oberoi knows who are the terrorists, its clear that they’ve killed a person and bombed a flight but chooses to try and handle them himself vs calling the FBI / cops ? There are so many silly scenes – a shootout with cops that’s lame / implausible (cops cant use the registration # to locate the terrorists ? And burning corpses erases dental records ?). And don’t even get me started on the whole ending sequence…its lame, downright silly, filmi, and even from a relationship point of view, didn’t make any sense at all.

Saif looks stony and old. His romance with Kareena lacks the warmth & mischief which he normally brings to such portions. Vivek Oberoi was a huge casting mistake as his character needed to be able to emote, not just look like a scared scarecrow, which was pretty much his expression throughout most of the second half.

Om Puri and Kirron act well. Kareena is probably the only one who looked good and acted well. For her, respect !

The film made me squirm uneasily throughout its length. The directors point of view regarding Islamic fundamentalism was also unclear. Which side was he on ? What was the message he was trying to convey ? There is a sequence in Saif’s class on Islam that leaves you confused – is he actually supporting what the fundamentalists are doing ? ? And just because the Americans are doing it – in Iraq and Afghanistan – does that justify terror strikes against innocent people ?


Senseless, the film is even potentially dangerous in terms of its lack of message. The only target audience I can envisage enjoying this currently live in caves in Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan…

Tum Mile

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 13th Nov, 2009
Time : 132 minutes
Director : Kunal Deshmukh; Writer : Ankur Tiwari; Music : Pritam
Starring : Emraan Hashmi, Soha Ali Khan, Sachin Khedekar, Mantra
One of India’s few ‘disaster’ movies, the only other ones I could think of were oldies like ‘The Burning Train’ & ‘Kala Pathar'. This one combines a love story, the chance meeting again between two old flames, Emraan and Soha, caught in the turbulence of the Mumbai downpour of 2005, when for a couple of days it seemed like the heavens opened up and the city drowned


I really liked the way they wove both the stories in literally within the first few frames, and then through repeated flashbacks intercut with the present kept us engrossed to whats happening on the screen. The dark grey skies of Mumbai are also contrasted cleverly with the sunny blue cheerful skies of Cape Town (where most of the romance is shown) to ensure we don’t feel too weighed in by the darkness. The music is nice, the title song in particular v hummable. We’re spared item numbers and no song stops the story, but actually progress it.


The water scenes, mostly second half, were well shot. Couple of good shots, showcased in the promos, of the special effects, which show the city grinding to a standstill. The second half dragged a bit, especially the love story. When one of the characters, Emraan in this case, is shown to be introspective, its never really clear what he’s thinking and why the relationship is bothering him. It was kind of inevitable that the couple was heading to a breakup and could’ve got there, perhaps, with a few frames to spare.


Also, in terms of the ‘disaster’ angle, they exaggerated it as far as they could – buses toppling over, raging currents on a street, a wall breaking down – but they obviously couldn’t provide a spectacle that wowed you…a big moment that took your breath away (like the destruction of Empire State building in Armageddon). A disaster of scale is required also for the lead pair to discover something about themselves that was not known before and that was lacking. The night of the rains passes all too quickly and it seems life will revert back to normal equally quickly.


Soha & Emraan look good together, Cape Town looking as lovely as always and a friend, Mantra, keeps us smiling with his one-liners. Its worth a one time watch, as at least its attempting something different, a genre rarely explored by the industry.

Antaheen

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 6th Nov, 2009
Time : 120 minutes
Director : Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury; Writer : Shyamal Sengupta; Music : Shantanu Moitra
Starring : Rahul Bose, Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore, Radhika Apte, Kalyan Ray, Shauvik Kundgrani, Shalini Apte
This is a beautifully shot and crafted film which deserved a better resolution. In the eyes of the writer / director, Aniruddha Roy Choudhury, we are always waiting for someone, our special someone. For him, this is the unending wait…Antaheen. He shows dysfunctional couples, couples who’ve separated but are still bound by an umbilical cord and another who’ve chosen to remain strangers on the internet. None of them are happy in their relationships


Most of the film is extremely bright, chirpy and fun. It celebrates Bong-ness, even pokes gentle fun at Kolkata. Beautiful shots of rain, lovely long tresses, relaxed parties with people who are comfortable in their own skin. Even a villain who’s not really one…


We meet Rahul Bose, an articulate, quick thinking, well-mannered and intellectual cop, the type who in his spare time is either found sipping his coffee and a book in CCD or chatting on the net with a stranger. And he prefers to remain a stranger, though its clear, there is a strong connection between the two. His internet chat-mate is Radhika, pretty, vivacious, feisty, works for a news channel, is an investigative reporter, is the one with the dark, curling tresses.
Currently her big assignment is to investigate the flouting of norms by the ‘El Dorado’ project, which is being brought up by a new builder in town. The project is resulting in relocation for a lot of people and also has certain aspects, which if become known to media or NGO’s, would create havoc. Aparna Sen plays a photographer & romantic at heart, who now runs the TV channel our reporter works in. Age seems to have made her more practical, while earlier going off to Tibet for a photo-shoot is how she preferred to get her kicks. And despite being separated for many years from her husband, Kalyan Ray, she still thinks nothing of dropping over, cleaning / tidying his house and can get upset if he doesn’t help her with an important decision. She is also Rahul’s sister-in-law.


There are some more characters – Sharmila is the mausi who looks after Rahul, while the builders wife is still struggling to cope with the loss of her daughter. Aparna’s estranged husband lives the life of a happy loner, enjoying his Chivas, books and the stock exchange.


Each of the characters is extremely well-painted, very likeable and understandable. The camera captures well the dilemma each one faces, the life each one chooses to lead. And we see a beautiful Kolkata, rain-kissed, where even the beggars carry a smile and bright, radiant red roses, where a man in starched white kurta pajama, who has tea at a roadside stall everyday, manages to radiate such peace and calm, that it affects those passing him by. And even though this is a film about relationships, it moves along at a nice clip, involving you in its world without letting the pace slacken. The music is lovely – maybe one song too many but lovely to listen to anyways

What I didn’t like was the end. Unneccessary, I thought. Revealing once again, the darker, tragic sensibility that seems to lurk in every Bengali person and film…


For someone who could find such beauty, even in the splendid ‘ruins’ of Kolkata, I found it amazing that he chose to focus on the dark side of relationships. But maybe its just me…I remain a sucker for happy endings and even I’m old enough to know that life isn’t always like that…

Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 6th Nov, 2009
Time : 165 minutes
Director & Writer : Rajkumar Santoshi; Music : Pritam
Starring : Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Darshan Jariwala, Zakir Hussain, Govind Namdeo

Goofy.

Its silly, its implausible, it starts off quite badly and suffers from some clichéd slapstick. But all this is overcome by some great, really funny laugh out loud moments and an excellent performance (slightly over the top) by Ranbir, who almost single-handedly carries the film on his shoulders.


Prem (Ranbir) is good for nothing but is happy being the President of ‘Happy Club’ where he chills in the company of four of his friends. His Dad wants him to do something useful but his mother pampers him as only Indian screen and real-life mom’s can their sons. In Prem’s existence steps in Jennifer or Jenny, an adopted daughter who is constantly reminded of her status by her cruel step-mom. They both become friends. Prem helps Jenny a lot. But Jenny is being forcibly married to someone else and later, tells Prem a secret that makes him fall off a balcony. And Prem continues helping her, battling cruel dons (Zakir Husain), opportunistic Hindutva spouting politicians, Jenny’s parents and assorted other troubles that afflict her.


Some of the hilarious, unmissable moments.
• Salman’s guest appearance, especially the repartee about who’s girlfriend is
Katrina
• The whole sequence where Katrina invites Ranbir for a dance party. Its funny for two reasons, Ranbir keeps dancing non-stop (trying to impress her with his dancing) even when there is no music playing, really crazy steps, a mix of John Travolta / Elvis on speed. And how he keeps rebuffing Katrina’s suitor, the parental choice one.
• There is a brief shouting match between the Dad’s, egged on by the mom’s
• The way Ranbir’s mom delays his Dad from going for a bath leading to the fashionable top Ranbir then has to wear
• The part where Ranbir takes a job to impress Katrina, his dress, demeanour and how he works / changes dress etc is wonderfully picturised…
• The sensational ringtone of the politicians secretary
• The special appearance by Jesus (I’m waiting for the Christian Society to protest though)

In a way the above moments are what truly make the film, the rest is ordinary / ok.


This really is Ranbir’s film, after the forgettable opening sequence he shines and is almost perfect. Anyone else would’ve faltered in this role but he gets it spot on. Katrina flutters her eyelashes a hundred times and does it decently. The supporting cast does their bit with great gusto. There is a harum scarum ending, complete slapstick, some funny moments there too. But it’s a bit too long. Upen, in his brief role, was very forgettable, especially the voice. Songs were ordinary, nothing that sears itself on your mind.

Zany, crazy, fun, slapstick. Be prepared to relax and enjoy it. Like I said before, goofy…

London Dreams

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 30th Oct, 2009
Time : ~180 minutes
Director : Vipul Amrutlal Shah; Writer : Suresh Nair & Ritesh Shah; Music : Shankar – Ehsaan - Loy
Starring : Ajay Devgn, Salman Khan, Asin, Ranvijay, Aditya Roy Kapur, Manoj Pahwa
Didn’t quite know what to make of this one. Interesting premise – that of a serious guy who aspires to be a musician, works towards it all his life but then finds naturally talented, happy go lucky friend coming and usurping his band / fame and even girl (Asin) – is partially undone by v weak ending and a minor descent into the dark side which involves self-flagellation and drugs…


London Dreams is nicely set up by two kids who act naturally and look their parts. Ajay’s family is strictly against music and beat him to stay away from it, while Salman’s chases him to take it up. Ajay is taken to London by a relative after the death of his father but when he realises the same antipathy towards music, he makes a dash for it and starts to live on his own (as an aside, the ‘dash’ takes him from LHR to canary wharf…he clearly missed a career in athletics and maybe his relatives wouldn’t have been so upset about this one ?). As they grow, Ajay’s character becomes a bit too intense and broody while Salman’s retains fun and spontaneity. In fact the highlight of the film was Salman’s plane ride to London and the best parts involved him (I cant believe I’m saying this but its true).

The camera angles bring out the vibrancy of Punjab and London quite well. For a musical though, the quality of songs was quite uneven. Khanabadosh and Man ko Ati Bhavey were very nice, very well picturised but the others are merely indistinguishable background stuff.


Surely there are simpler ways to deal with the situation Ajay faced other than the route he chose ? Surely then, the ending would be different vs the clichéd one shown ? Surely they could’ve given Asin a slightly meatier role – what did she feel about the whole thing anyways? And equally surely, couldn’t they’ve done away with the various implausibilities shown in the film – hushing up a ‘drugs’ case in Amsterdam, being a penniless kid on the streets of London not knowing English being ones which I can talk about without giving the story away ?


Thankfully, the director here focuses on the story rather than the clothes, look and accessories of its stars. So brownie points for that. He makes the characters behave consistently through the film so brownie points for that too. He makes us laugh with Salman which was a good thing. He tries to make us connect with Ajay but then, maybe due to the way I am, I never connect with such introverted dry personalities. And he presents a soppy, implausible ending which spoils it big time.

Still, not a bad effort and lets rejoice in the good rather than dwell on the bad…

Aladin

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 30th Oct, 2009
Time : ~135 minutes
Director & Writer : Sujoy Ghosh; Music : Vishal-Shekhar
Starring : Riteish Deshmukh, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sahil Khan

This is a kids movie, one which they can enjoy but lacks any depth or even a story to be able to appeal to anyone older. The makers here unfortunately assumed that suspension of disbelief and rampant implausibility are one and the same thing. And they forgot that simplicity, explanation of superpowers is key to the enjoyment of any ‘super hero’ film – ie what can or cant the Genie do, what does the villain want to do & why are treated with a cavalier-ness which bemused me.


So, we are treated to a beautiful special effects created city called Khwaish where a character named Aladin, because his parents believed in the magic lamp (as did his grand dad, proving once and for all that madness is hereditary), is still tortured by classmates to rub lamps. One day a pretty young thing, an exchange student named Jasmine, arrives on campus and becomes the object of affection for Aladin and his chief torturer. Soon after Aladin is actually given the magic lamp and soon disbelievingly encounters a very hip genie named Genius, who wears cool threads and goes ‘Yo, Bro !’. All should be well, happily ever after, except there is a weird character called Ringmaster, accompanied by some dangerous circus freaks, who also want the lamp.


The special effects are nice. The circus freaks interesting in their conception. I applaud the fact that they made it without any A-list stars. Sanjay Dutt imparts as much life as is possible to the Ringmaster’s role. And Amitabh Bachchan probably imparts a tad too much life into the genie. Jacqueline looks pretty as intended while Riteish looks weepy, behaves like a wimp throughout the film and it comes as a surprise when she falls for him in the film (proving once again beyond doubt that ‘love is blind’). We never understand why the ringmaster wants the lamp or the connection of the comet to the whole thing, we never realise the extent of the Genies powers or the force field that magically comes around him when certain conditions apply.

The names, Genius, Khwaish imply a degree of childishness. This is confirmed by the lyrics of most songs like ‘Aladin, din din de taali’ and the quality of dialogue throughout the film…I mean, how many times can you use ‘agar usne palat ke dekha to matlab who tumse pyaar karti hai’ ? It was cute in DDLJ but that was 14 years ago !


I know you shouldn’t compare but in the Disney cartoon, Aladin was a street smart, lovable rascal. You cheered for him, felt elation at his success. In this film, the makers chose instead to make us feel pity for him, to be touched by his loneliness. On that one account alone, the film loses its spark, its life.

Give me the Disney cartoon of the same name anyday.

Main Aur Mrs Khanna

Rating : 2/10
Release Date : 16th Oct, 2009
Time : 130 minutes
Director & Writer : Prem Soni; Music : Sajid-Wajid
Starring : Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sohail Khan, Nauheed Cyrusi


This film shouldn’t have been given the censor certificate. All the paying audience, about 30 of us in the show I attended, should’ve been given our money back. Implausibility follows implausibility, stupidity follows asininess before an end that makes you cringe…the film is so bad that I’m lost for words


Salman meets Kareena and there is love at first sight. After a really stupid / implausible ‘separation’ of sorts, Sohail meets Kareena and again falls in love. Yet, he doesn’t tell her but chooses to help her, while she waits for miyan to return. Silly plot element follows dumb twists – including Bappi Lahiri as a duty free shop owner, a person pretending to be a Julia Roberts look alike and Preity Zinta pretending to be an item dancer a la Kajra Re…but not one character evokes sympathy, credibility or even a shred of connect with the audience…

Even the two points are purely because Kareena looks hot and because they’ve used a lovely song (from Saregama's collection, Bade Ache Lagte Hain…from the film Balika Badhu) twice in the background score…Sohail was decent, but he can be so much better. I can’t believe UTV bought and distributed this one… The film is so shallow that my toe couldn’t skinny dip in this pool…

All The Best

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 16th Oct, 2009
Time : 144 minutes
Director : Rohit Shetty; Writer : Robin Bhatt, Yunus Sejawal; Music : Pritam
Starring : Ajay Devgn, Fardeen Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Mugdha Godse, Bipasha Basu, Johnny Lever, Mukesh Tiwari, Ashwini Kalsekar, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Patkar, Atul Parchure


Its silliness will get to you and make you laugh. The plot is nonsensical, implausible. Half the jokes will not appeal to you. But the other half will, so you’re assured a fairly decent two hours spent, watching the antics of Ajay, Fardeen and Sanjay sparking off each other, while watching the widely assorted supporting cast of Bips, Mugdha (who looked slightly ill at ease), Asrani, Johnny Lever, Atul Parchure and Sanjay Mishra, prance, dance and get beaten


The story is irrelevant so I wont get into it. Lets just say it involves a rich brother, mistaken identities and eccentric villains, tenants, music bands and a car race. The film is actually just a string of assorted gags, jokes and situations. Sample : What is a PhD : Phata Hua Dhol. MBA : Maha Bekaar Aadmi. When someone serving tea asks, ‘kitne chamach ?’, pat comes the reply, ‘bhai, chamach to ek hi lekin cheeni do dena..’…

The male trio here, Ajay, Fardeen and Sanjay are the ones who really carry the movie on their shoulders, reducing all others to necessary extra’s. Ajay’s laconic nature and deadpan expression suits him well as does the Sanjay’s more expressive nature. The antipathy between the two is nicely built up and provides for several of the funnier moments. Fardeen does a good job in his role but is second fiddle to the two seniors.

There are plenty of slapstick moments – you get the ‘dog chasing a guy in boxers’, the ‘man on man moment’ etc but thankfully the bulk of the film relies more on the silly, goofy moments and snappy one liners.


Decent, worth a watch and you’re assured a few laughs…you may try to resist, but the silliness does overcome all stiffness and eventually you join the ride…All the Best…

Blue

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 16th Oct, 2009
Time : 117 minutes
Director & Co-Writer: Anthony D’Souza; Co-writer : Jasmine D’Souza; Music : A R Rahman
Starring : Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Rahul Dev, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif (special appearance)
The audience verdict on this one is likely to be split. For the people like me, who are completely in touch with Hollywood, who’ve seen films like ‘Into the Blue’, who’ve seen National Geographic and Discovery undersea documentaries, we’re going to find nothing new here in terms of locales / settings and a very weak storyline. For all the others, it promises to showcase the beauty of the big blue, as never seen before on Indian screens and a story that is about average when compared to most other Indian films and so likely to be a commercial hit...


The story involves the mystery of a treasure ship, ‘Lady in Blue’, a mysterious character named Aarav (Akshay) who seems to be rich, but no one is sure of how much or even how, Saagar (Sanjay Dutt), who is befriended and employed by Aarav, but has a mysterious reluctance to share the whereabouts of the missing treasure ship. Then there is Sam (Zayed Khan), Saagar’s younger brother, who wants to be all mysterious and cool but ends up coming across like a spoilt brat, the kind who are good for nothing and assume the world owe’s them a living. All he does in the film is get the bad guys to come after the good. Gulshan (Rahul Dev) is the official bad man, a role he plays well. Mona (Lara Dutta) is the official eye candy, while Katrina tries to be the eye candy but the miniscule length of her role and her dreadlocks seem to impede her from doing so.


What the film does well is the underwater shots – its beautiful, nice, aesthetic and sensuous. Apparently, the first question Akshay had asked when the script was narrated was ‘can you pull this off ?’ and here his worries proved to be unfounded as debutant director Anthony D’Souza manages to get this part right. My only crib here, in fact would be that there wasn’t enough action sequences set underwater. It also does justice to its two locales, Bahamas and Bangkok, capturing the relaxed Bohemian spirit and the natural beauty of the former. And the contrasting concrete jungle, seedy underbelly / steaminess of the latter.



Where it is a let down is in terms of the script / story…too complicated / unnecessary sub-plots (involving the parents of some of the characters) and even worse, not enough done with all the ‘mystery’ – the answers to the treasure / Aarav’s past / Saagar’s reluctance are too trite, lacking depth and therefore leave you with an incomplete feeling. Also, none of the characters are built up well enough – you feel nothing for any of them – it is critical for us to care for the main leads of an ‘action’ film else they become nothing but ‘action figurines’, which sadly enough, they do in this case.


Finally, casting is a serious issue in terms of Sanjay Dutt, who I fear is no longer suitable for action roles – he is clearly overweight and unfit and it shows. Also, his nickname in the film is ‘Sethji’ ? What was that about ? He is also way too old for Lara and so their romantic scenes together leave you bemused more than anything else. Akshay is fine but here he was let down by his poorly fleshed out role and also, once again, by his desire to look cool – his goatee doesn’t suit him and neither do some of his costumes. Rahul Dev, in the most uncomplicated / straightforward role, is actually done well. And Lara is lovely – bubbly, easy on the eye and refreshing in a bikini. Always looking good.



This film seemed intent on spending a lot of money. The whole sequence with Kylie was unnecessary, fitted even less into the story than Denise Richards in Kambakkth Ishq. There were several vehicles blown up, which didn’t need to be. They should’ve spent more time and money fixing the script, maybe even eliminating some of the characters (Zayed ?). Then, even with possibly half the production budget and definitely a fourth of the marketing budget, it would’ve been a better film and a bigger hit.

Das Leben der Anderen

Rating : 10/10
Release Date : March, 2006
Time : 137 minutes
Director & Writer: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck; Music :
Starring : Ulrich Muhe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Charly Hubner, Volkmar Kleinert

“Because they decide what we play. Who is to act. And who is to direct “

“The state office for statistics at Hans-Beimler Strasse counts everything, knows everything.
How many shoes I buy a year…. 2.3.
How many books we read….. 3.2.
How many pupils graduate with straight A’s…. 6347.
But if you ask the office about the number of suicides per year, the statistics department on Beimler Strasse falls strangely silent”

“Prison Conditions for Subversive Artists. A dissertation. Did you know there are 5 types of artists ?”

This is the best film I’ve seen since I’ve begun reviewing and is a gripping watch, one which tests your bladder as you fear missing a single scene.

‘The Lives of Others’ is set in GDR, a few years prior to Glasnost and shows us the working of the Stasi, the East German secret police with 100,000 employees and 200,000 informers, whose mission is “to know everything”. This much we learn in the introductory text. The rest is learnt through five key characters.


1. Minister Hempf. A slimy, loathsome creature, much like most of our politicians, unable to look beyond personal interests. Rude to his subordinates, throws his weight around. He has a sweet tooth for an actress and unfortunately the Stasi cultural division, entrusted with spying on artists, reports into him.
2. Herr Grubitz : the person looking after the cultural division, reporting to Hempf. Only concerned about his career advancement. Is also repulsive but quite a few degrees lower than Hempf. And his intellect is not to be trifled with…his instinct usually leads him to the right answer…Also, in deference to the Minister’s wishes, he has to place the actress’ house under surveillance.
3. Christa-Maria Sieland (CMS) : the unfortunate centre (maybe I should say victim ?) of the minister’s attention. She’s very good-looking without being stunning, is a very good actress but not very sure about herself and realises she needs to be on the right side of ‘the system’. Lives with, loves and is loved dearly by Georg Dreyman
4. Georg Dreyman : one of the best writers of the GDR, writes plays and occasional books / articles. Is so good that he could easily go to the West but chooses to stay on. Knows where to draw the line, and doesn’t write or say anything inappropriate, to be treated as subversive, but does it without compromising his creativity. Loves CMS, who also stars in his play. He knows about the minister’s crush on her and has to find a way to deal with it.
5. Weislar : The man in charge of the surveillance on Dreyman / CMS. Grubitz’s right hand man since their early days in Stasi’s school, where he now teaches part-time and in the opening sequence is shown demonstrating how he breaks down prisoner #227 systematically, efficiently and remorselessly. He leads a spartan, grey and unloved existence but seems absolutely at peace with it. But as he watches over the Dreyman house, he begins to get involved…



In this film everything was perfect. The casting. Everyone was brilliant. Each of the people above, and even the extra’s, including the jovial Udo, who is assisting the surveillance and prefers to watch over artistes vs priests and peace activitists because of their ‘extra-curricular’ activties. Or the assistant in the Stasi canteen, who recites a joke with unfortunate consequences. Or Jerska, Dreyman’s preferred director who is now unfortunately blacklisted for the last seven years. Or his friend Hauser, who cannot always keep his emotions under control and encourages Dreyman to take a stand. Or even the script expert who knows all there is to know about typewriters.


But the person who stands out, who’s steady, unblinking gaze conveys a thousand thoughts and steely resolve, who steals the show and holds the film together, lending it much of its gripping quality, is Ulrich Muhe as Hauptman Gerd Wieslar. This man deserved an Oscar…not just for ‘Best Actor in a Foreign Film’ but ‘Best Actor’ per se…However, as the recent Nobel Prize decision has shown us, not all juries are as impartial as they should be.

There are also three other things which transform this film from very good to really great. First is editing. The pace of the film, about something as boring as surveillance, never lags and even though no character ever breaks into so much as a jog, the film simply breezes through its 2 hour duration. The second is the dry German humour, beautifully exemplified in the dialogue, from place to place, very naturally, which ensures the film never gets too heavy. And third, probably the most important, is the script. Fantastic for its simplicity and for the depth of characters it paints, the amount of emotion it makes us invest in each of them. And for the numerous twists it throws up, especially when you least expect it. Like the end, which leaves you with a touching, bitter-sweet smile on your face. This film re-invigorated my belief that if you have a great script, the rest can fall into place…

Just as The Shawshank Redemption is set for the most part inside the four walls of a prison but its ultimate message is about hope, this film is set in an entire country (GDR) which functions like a prison with a literal wall guarding a border…and yet, offers the same message. Amidst all the greyness, all the desolation, all the grime, sadness and systemic oppression. Hope. That most powerful of human emotions. Which almost never dies…

BTW, this did win the Oscar, for Best Foreign Film in 2007…but I stand firm on what I said above about the 'Best Actor'