Tag Archives: filmreview

Manchester by the Sea (2016) – BEST OF 18TH JIO MAMI MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL 2016!

Manchester by the Sea review

written by Souranath Banerjee

A film so full of joy and sorrow, a sea of emotions and so very real!

My Ratings: 4.2/5

Certain films stay with us much longer than expected – like those few silly innocent moments of childhood, like a faded perfume of some beloved or like the sudden news of death of someone close to us.

Yes, writer/director Kenneth Lonergan‘s latest Manchester by the Sea is one such film that makes you relate and recollect to something deeper in yourself, a soul-stirring experience much more than manchester-by-the-sea-poster1just some characters stuck in a movie.  

It’s the story of Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) who unexpectedly becomes the legal guardian of his teenage nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) after the sudden death of Lee’s brother Joe Chandler (Kyle Chandler).

A relatively simple storyline but uniquely layered and put together with sufficient expertise. Creditable both on the writing level as well as for it’s superb editing style. The whole movie goes back and forth in between the present and the past, and thanks to editor Jennifer Lame, the experience is both genuine and emotional.

In the acting department this is undoubtedly Casey Affleck‘s best performance till date. I wish he gets all the awards this year for his flawless portrayal of an irresponsible loner afraid of any kind of commitments in life.

Michelle Williams (small yet memorable performance)Lucas HedgesKyle Chandler and child artist Ben O’Brien simply adds more value to the film, superb performances.

And on top of that Lesley Barber‘s soulful music and Jody Lee Lipes moody cinematography makes Manchester by the Sea an experience you don’t want to miss.

So, don’t you dare miss it!

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

The Man Who Knew Infinity review

written by Souranath Banerjee

The Man Who Knew Infinity: An important story of a legend that needed to be told for sure but at the same time could have been told in more style.   

My ratings: 3.9/5

From a poverty stricken village in Madras a young self-taught mathematical prodigy eventually becomes an elected fellow member of Trinity College, Cambridge!

Within a short life span of only 32 years this Indian math genius independently composed nearly 3,900 unique equations, most of
Srinivasa-Ramanujan-posterwhich are revered globally such as the ‘Ramanujan prime’ and the ‘Ramanujan theta function’.
 

But his hall of fame doesn’t end there; very recently (in 2012 to be exact) modern scientists have confirmed that in one of his precious (lost and found) notebook this legendary mind had scribbled certain intuitive notes that actually suggests the existence of black holes!

Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar – he is the man who indeed knew about infinity and much more.

The film The Man Who Knew Infinity directed by Matt Brown is the biographical tale of Ramanujan’s life; a bit of his personal life, his devotions and beliefs, his never ending quest for pure mathematics and mostly his unique collaboration with English mathematician G. H. Hardy.man-who-knew-infinity-poster2

First of all, let me acknowledge the fact that the very idea of making a film on Ramanujan’s life is impressive because no matter how legendary he was, but a biography on a Indian mathematician is always difficult to portray in an interesting and commercially viable manner.

But on the same note i must confess that the film could have been more innovative and appealing (specially when compared to some awesome biographies like A Beautiful Mind, The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game); the script could have been woven in a more endearing way not only to show the mere facts of man-who-knew-infinity-poster1Ramanujan’s life but also to make the audience really feel the genius of this man.

Dev Patel as Ramanujan though has done a great job. He is such a talented and versatile actor and I am convinced that only because of his honest attempt to portray the iconic figure that the film The Man Who Knew Infinity holds it’s ground till the end.

Jeremy Irons as G. H. Hardy is also impressive, the professor who not only recognized Ramanujan’s immense potential and helped him achieve greatness but also used his talent till exhaustion (of course for the sake of a better future of mathematics).  

Toby Jones as Littlewood, Devika Bhise as Ramanujan’s wife, Stephen FryPadraic DelaneyRichard Cunningham and all the others did
man-who-knew-infinity-postertheir part to support the main cast.

Overall The Man Who Knew Infinity is a decent film based on the life of an extraordinary man to whom our modern science and mathematics will be indebted forever.

Compared internationally to the likes of Newton and Einstein, on Ramanujan’s 125th birth anniversary in 2011, our Indian Government have declared 22nd December as the National Mathematics Day which will be celebrated every year. 

Do watch the film and henceforth don’t forget to solve at least one math problem on every 22nd of December!

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com

Nil Battey Sannata (2015)

Nil Battey Sannata review

written by Souranath Banerjee

An issue based film double dipped in a cup of sweet mother-daughter-emotions, and it’s totally worth your time!

My Ratings: 4.1/5.

Stardom in Bollywood always guarantees a mega box-office collection but what if, you are in a mood to tell some decent humane tale through a film of real values and quality?

Well, for that all you need is a couple of brilliant actors like Swara Bhaskar and Riya Shukla, a director with a vision similar to Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and an awesome story like Nil Battey Sannata!

Yes, a highly anticipated film (among the non-comercial cinema
Nil-battey-sannata-reviewlovers) Nil Battey Sannata is finally released and it’s superbly entertaining, very emotional and most importantly a film that perfectly resonates our society.

A young mischievous girl Apeksha aka Appu studying for her 10th class board exams, when asked about her future career plans replies to her mom Chanda (who by profession is a ‘bai’ or house maid) –

‘Ek engenier ka beta engenier banta hai, ek doctor ka beta doctor, toh bai ki beti kyaa banegi?’

Now this particular line though delivered in casually by a girl says a lot about our current Indian society. It portrays the general mentality of a kid coming from a family below the poverty line whose dreams to become a doctor, engineer or collector is automatically restrained and are forced to be moulded according to their financial/social status.

Nil-battey-sannata-reviewThe film makes us question that being a single mother and that too from a poor financial background, is it too ambitious for Chanda (Swara Bhaskar) to dream a better future for her beloved daughter Appu (Riya Shukla)?

Though the film essentially revolves around the social issue of education and it’s importance in our community (especially for the women) but the real brilliance of Nil Battey Sannata comes from the  unique relationship between a mother who sacrifices her life’s happiness to give her daughter a decent education and her daughter who being too immature and naive doesn’t able to value her mother’s sacrifice (or so it seems to be).

Nil Battey Sannata though predictable at times has been made with great care and sensitivity, and it does manage to pull the right strings Nil-battey-sannata-reviewto make the audiences all chocked up and teary-eyed by the end.

And then, the superlative acting by Swara Bhaskar (she has always been my favorite and a real performer)Ratna Pathak (sheer perfection)Pankaj Tripathy (brilliantly funny), Riya Shukla (immense potential) and a couple of other child actors – such exclusive natural performances are the real reason for the film’s success.

It ends with a dialogue about achieving your dreams that instantly reminds us of The Pursuit of Happyness, but then Nil Battey Sannata is definitely a film to watch and get inspired from.

If you like good films with simple human sentiments – don’t miss it.

Poster courtesy: www.bollywoodmdb.com