Man on Wire | ***** (5/5)

Man on Wire gets your attention from the get go to the very last scene like a heist movie. Its one of those movies that could inspire you to let go of the handle bar doing 70 or try doing a stoppie at the next red light, if you happen to ride a motorcyle to the theatre. But, Man of Wire was not just about a man wanting to walk between the twin towers. It was also a character study of the man, Philippe Petit, the man on wire, and the few people surrounding him in his Twin Towers "heist". The relationship between Philippe and his girlfriend was certainly typical of a relationship between a dreamy charismatic person and the girl who wants to weave her life around him. Such relationships prove to be the very core, the very support system for these people to pursue their dreams. The friendship between Philippe and his partner in crime, Jean-Louis Blondeau, also seem to suggest this kind of an unusual productive relationship. It was an assymetric partnership where Philippe's mind was set only on walking between the Twin Towers on a wire and Jean-Louis found satisifaction in helping Philippe achieve his dream. There would have been no man, nor a wire between the two buildings without any one of the two. The other relationships in the film are less intriguing. We want the society to keep us busy, or we will find weird ways to keep ourselves busy. The other two characters in the heist were in it for the adventure!

Theres the visionary, then there are followers who are are drawn towards the visionary, more than his vision. The documentary surprisingly brings this idea out, when Jean-Louis breaks down into tears when he talks about how the smile on Philippe's face, midway between the two towers, told him that Philippe was alright. People were drawn towards Buddhism not by virtue of what Buddha said, but by Buddha's beautiful serene smiling face! Philippe Petit spent 45 minutes on the wire and did almost eight walks between the two towers before he was forced to end it by the police. The people, half a kilometer below, could only see a small speck of a man, dressed in black, walking in the clouds!

"It's impossible, that's sure. So let's start working."

Vicky Cristina Barcelona | At last, a Woody Allen movie with a closure! | ***(3/5)

How many Woody Allen movies have you seen? How many of them can you distinguish based on the story line? The man has made over 40 movies, I paid my respects and walked into the shrine of Vicky Cristina Barcelona at a theatre somewhere in the distant suburbs of LA. A must watch for Allen virgins (If the man has left any!). A decent watch, certainly not a must watch for Woody Allen usuals. 

Certain aspects of the film were refreshing, certain boring for Allen usuals. The story definitely seemed to conclude very meaningfully for me. Vicky and Cristina, both realize that relationships are not made of something that's generally deemed of them to be made of. Lasting relationships are characterized by a certain fatal attraction for each other that may not always lead to constant happiness. In fact, the old(or new) adage, if everything seems to go well, then its not going well, could be used to describe the passionate relationships between Allenesque artsy souls! The secret ingredient in lasting relationships is infact the missing ingredient, the lack of which creates a certain continued fascination about the relationship and it's strangeness. 

"Who did they say was a genius in art school?"

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson | ****(4/5)

If you had to watch this, there's few other places better than San Francisco, just so that you feel you are part of something important. I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary from the very first scene to the very last. Well made, riveting and entertaining. My introduction to Hunter S Thompson, was a very late one, coming from India. But being in San Francisco, it was an inevitable one, I should say. I was glad to lay my hands on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas shortly after Gonzo.

Burn After Reading | **(2/5)

One word- music. This is another attempt at creating another dark comedy by the infamous Coen brothers, in the likes of Lady Killers. Where Lady Killers draws in a lot more, in terms of cinematic experience, providing a more wholesome experience, Burn After Reading did not deliver that typical Coen brothers experience. We've grown more used to entangled storylines that it rarely offers a freshness these days. You see two disconnected narratives and go- Oh, another movie drawing upon an inter-connected story.

Coming back to the starting point, the movie could have done a lot better with a much more suitable music. The background score was overdramatic for a comedy movie. We are dealing with serious issues here like alienation, loneliness and the lack of individual value in a community, but its a comedy for Pete's sake. A much more relaxed and funny approach to music wouldn't have alienated the audience from the characters and scenes on the screen.That said, the story failed to generate any sort of interest in what was going to happen next. Looking back, the movie seemed to suggest that it had a lot more gravity to it than what it actually had, this could be the reason why I couldn't relate to it. I guess its a risk when you are not a formula film maker and does a lot of experimenting. I blame the music again partially, it didn't have that naughty element to it that rouses and keeps our curiousity alive.