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subramanian-s1986
Reviews
Ostwind (2013)
A spellbinding film which talks about following your instinct to achieve glory. A humane film which conveys a beautiful relationship between a horse and a 13 year old girl.
"I don't know what I am good at" - When Mika, the protagonist of Ostwind, declared this to her friend after failing in her exams, I realized that she was resonating the sound of a vast majority of the contemporary youth. In her face, I could see all the frustrations and confusions of a young teen who is put into misery by the institutionalized education and the conformist society. Though she reflected a hatred to her adults and a childish ego, she was so pure and genuine in her expressions. As a film, Ostwind, succeeds in portraying this genuineness which ultimately helps Mika succeed.
The undisciplined and rebellious, 13 year old, Mika is sent to her maternal Grandmother to spend her summers. Mika vigorously opposes it, but her situation lacks any justification. She is sent to the suburban village where her Grandmother, an Olympian show-jumper runs a horse-stable.At this juncture, I expected a clichéd mentor-protégé story where the Grandmother counsels Mika to follow her passion which in this case may be horse-riding. Well, I was proved wrong. The Grandmother turns out to be stricter than Mika's parents and takes no interest in understanding the poor child. Mika is again drawn to her own world and explorations. The horse stable attracts her and there is where she meets the wild and untamed stallion - Ostwind (Windstorm, in English). That marks the beginning an unusual friendship as Mika realizes her unique gift of speaking and understanding the language of horses. However her Grandmother is least happy about Mika's new association as she believes that Ostwind is a dangerous animal and ought to be butchered. The grandmother had tried her level best to tame the wild horse only to get physically hurt by him. So she instructs Mika never to meet Ostwind. Mika disobeys and follows her guts. She is helped by the stable boy, Sam and his grandfather who teaches Mika horse-riding. In a small period of time, Mika grows to be a confidant girl who now knows what she is good at. The rest of the film deals with how she succeeds and proves herself by following her heart and tames the wild and unfriendly Ostwind.
As a story, Ostwind succeeds in portraying the glory of individuality. Usually in such coming-of-age films, untethered youth would meet a mentor who teaches them some lessons on morality, some tips on hard-work and a few on believe-in-yourself stuff. Ostwind never enters that territory. It just lets loose Mika and follows her instinct. The film does not attempt at judgment, doesn't even bother to give advices. It just has one focal point, which is Mika's instinct. Most of the films of the same genre do not celebrate the glory of individual at the level which Ostwind has tried. Those films take the route of preaching values and traditions and take the credit out of the individual. That poor guy or girl will just remain as an instrument in the hands of the conformist filmmakers.
Another beauty of Ostwind is that it has utilized all the possibilities of cinema. The growth of the strong bond between the horse and the girl is magnificently shown with beautiful wide angle shots. The camera has captured the green yards of the suburban Germany so well that we fall in love with those beautiful landscapes. The color tone of the film is extremely bright which syncs well with the positivity of the story. Background music is another attribute which sets the right tone of the film. The music might have been inspired by the gallop of a horse which stands for the pursuit of dreams. Throughout the film, the music maintains the powerful spirit and elevates the viewer's mind. Editing is something which I cannot miss to say about. Usually such feel-good films follow a slower pace, at least in the beginning, in order to establish a context. However Ostwind seems to be an exception there as well. Right from the beginning, at nowhere, the movie lags. The film establishes the characters quickly, giving all the due importance, and does not bother to entertain any unwanted ones. That is very evident in the scenes where we see the reins in the hands of the Hungarian butcher who is most often referred by the lead characters. We don't see his face, but only him waving the reins. The makers have willfully avoided his face.
The actors have also done a marvelous job, especially the young girl who portrays the role of Mika. She has just not lived the role, but has transformed into Mika. She succeeded in showing all the necessary emotions like stubbornness, genuineness, innocence and may be the dreamy lackadaisical approach to life. Another special mention has to be given to the well-trained horse which was the best-fit for the role. Kudos to those who managed and trained the animal! Ostwind is undoubtedly one of the best films I have ever watched. It could evoke emotions and happiness in the audience. It could bring smiles and tears and take you to a level where you feel anything is possible in this world and you could just go and grab it!
Barfi! (2012)
Barfi speaks to the viewers straight from heart. In this world of Barfi there is no place for ego and prejudice, but for purity and innocence from where real love sprouts.
Somebody once quoted - "Life through a child's eyes is the most precious way to live." This life is what Anurag Basu has visualized for us in Barfi, a film which teaches us to make the biggest decisions of life through heart and not through brain.
Barfi is truly a director's movie. Though I cannot think of any actor other than Ranbir to play the subtle character of Barfi, I still claim that the movie belongs to Anurag Basu, the Bengali director who ignited our senses with the sensuous Murder. This movie reflects the rising graph of Basu who scintillated the Indian viewers with Murder and Gangster where emotions and personal vendetta played the lead roles. Post Gangster, he entered the world of parody where he showcased the hollow emotions of the fast paced metro dwellers in Life In Metro. His next venture was Kites which was a romantic thriller, a less experimented genre in Bollywood, was surrounded by more hype than substance. His latest move,Barfi, turns out to be the best out of his kitty which establishes himself as one of the most promising directors in Bollywood. The movie portrays Basu's spiritual and philosophical thought process which might have been a consequence of the life threatening leukemia in his life. His graduation is very evident in his movies.From loud emotions like anger and revenge, he moves to social sarcasm from where he tries out romance of the hearts to finally land up in a movie which explores personal philosophies. Now it would be very interesting to see what is Basu up to in his next movie.
To talk about the movie - I know that lots and lots had been talked, praised and ridiculed about the movie. The movie got into the limelight by its heartwarming story-line, the non-linear-but-candid screenplay, wonderful music from Pritham and exceptional performances by its lead actors - Ranbir, Priyanka and Ileana. It also received some blunt criticism because of the allegations of copying scenes from foreign movies including those of Chaplin. However as far as I am concerned the movie fulfilled its purpose.The movie is all about three characters - Barfi (a deaf and mute guy who sees life through a child's eye), Shruti (the Bengali bubbly girl who strikes Brafi with her beautiful smile, played by Ileana) and Jhilmil (the autistic girl who loved and trusted Barfi beyond doubts, played by Priyanka). The whole story revolves around the emotional tangles which each character sets for the other and how they breaks it.
The movie might have been inspired from some other theme and may not be labeled original. Nonetheless, the film succeeds to converse directly to the viewer's heart. There are some lovely scenes in the movie which make you fall in love with the characters. I would want to quote one sequence here - Barfi, after befriending with people, takes them to a place where there is a lamppost. The lamppost is built out of wood and is very fragile. Barfi will cut the lamppost at a particular angle and he clearly knows where it will fall. He then clasps his friends' hands and stand in front of the lamppost. His friends will get concerned and they will move away from Barfi fearing that the post may fall upon them. But Barfi remains still as he clearly knows at what length and angle the post will fall and it will not touch him. This is an exercise he does with all of his friends. It can be touted as a funny act from Barfi or one which tests his friends' trust in him. He chooses to leave Shruti and live with Jhilmil performing this simple act. When Shruti moves away from him after he cuts the post, Jhilmil allows him to clasp her hand and hold her firm. She believes in him and trusts him. She doesn't try to judge him while others do.
Barfi tries to establish that love cannot be defined within the conventions of society. It shows that love is the language of hearts and transcends norms and customs to a world where purity and innocence dwells. There is no place for ego or prejudice in this world.
To me, a movie succeeds if it remains in my mind at least for a day after watching it. Measuring Barfi in terms of that, I can easily say that this movie is more than a mere success. It is here to stay.
(I regret of not watching Barfi in the cinemas. If I would have, then this review would have happened one year back.)