Reviews

This is a truly great film. Don't waste your time reading this or any other review: watch the film instead. And once you have watched it, come here and give it a rating.

Obviously, this was not a commercial blockbuster and it is not for everyone but still I recommend it. For most (but not all) viewers the worst that can happen is that they find it boring but even they would at least have watched something a bit different from the usual fare. It is unpretentious, it isn't deliberately hard to follow, but it *is* art. I am grateful to Lee Chang-dong for making this film and for picking Jeon Do-yeon for the leading role; her performance, for me, is perfect.

When I first saw this movie I thought it was one of the best movies I'd ever seen. When I saw it again a couple of years ago, as a more experienced viewer, my opinion diminished significantly. Having said that, the movie has some good performances.

In spite of the presence of stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, it is Ashish Vidyarthi who has the film's best performance.

In my opinion, Droh Kaal is one of Govind Nihalani's lesser films. I recommend Aakrosh as an example of one of his better ones. Ardh Satya isn't too bad either.

Govind Nihalani is a fine film-maker from India, and I recommend his films (especially his earlier films). At the same time, and without a great deal of effort, I can think of at least three other Indian film-makers who have consistently made significantly better films: Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, and Girish Karnad.

At the very outset, let me state that this movie is one for your collection. It is an extremely well made movie dealing with some aspects of corruption in India. The casting is perfect. The movie has some of the best actors in India (and also one of the very best in the world, Om Puri): Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor, Bhakti Barve, Satish Shah, Nina Gupta, Ravi Vaswani, Deepak Qazir, Rajesh Puri and, in one of his best performances till date, Satish Kaushik.

Anyone who saw this movie probably remembers the great comic aspects of it. Some of them may even remember the darker aspects of it, or maybe they think that they do. Comedy was certainly one of the best aspects of the movie but the movie itself went far beyond the genre. For the non-Indian viewers the lack of context may make the "Mahabharat" episode slightly less funny but, like other cinematic greats, the rest of the movie should not be lesser for the dubbing or subtitling.

Some of my favourite not-strictly-comic moments from the movie were: the Tarneja press conference on top of a sky-scraper, the brush with the police constable on top of the bridge and the following scene on the railway station, and the other, earlier, scene at the (same?) railway station. As for the strictly-comic moments, my view is that the "telephone conversation" probably beats the "Mahabharat" by a whisker.

Go see it. (10/10)

The first Coen brothers' movie I saw was "Fargo" and, to be frank, I didn't enjoy it very much the first time. The experience with "The Big Lebowski" was more or less the same. Fortunately, I watched it a second time before I returned the DVD and... my life changed. I immediately started building my own personal Coen brothers' collection (starting with, of course, The Big Lebowski). I have easily seen this movie more than a hundred times by now. In fact, I can replay the entire movie in my head if I need to!

Some general suggestions for Coen newcomers: You have to allow yourself to be transported into the "Coens' World" before you can fully appreciate their movies. The guys have a quirky worldview and a rather twisted sense of humour. They also have a gift for writing fast, funny, quotable dialogue.

Transporting one's self to the Coens' world isn't very hard: this can be accomplished by watching, for example, The Big Lebowski about 2-3 times (say within ten days).

What you will get out of this movie: Several memorable quotes which will be a source of endless amusement throughout your life. And, if you watch it often enough, you'll also end up leading a more "relaxed" and enjoyable life. A word of warning: Don't overdo it! Overexposure may well diminish your enjoyment of the movie. (I'd say that 20 is a safe enough number of times that you can watch this movie. And then maybe you can continue to watch once or twice a year for pretty much the rest of your life.))

Everything I wish to say about this movie has already been said and been said better. (If you're already an "achiever", do read other users' comments, they are great!) If you were waiting for one more recommendation before you rent it, here it is: Watch it! (Hopefully you'll like it as much as I did.)