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traveler85
Reviews
Lunana (2019)
Loved It.
It's been a while since I wrote a review and I have watched quite a number of movies since then. This movie compelled me to write one.
I tend to be drawn to small, independent foreign films. Granted. Not all of them are great but most are pretty good. This one is no exception.
For starters, the plot was not that complicated and one can guess where the movie is going - for the most part in this case. This is a movie about the life journey of a young man and the decisions he made so you can guess the ending (but you would be wrong).
According to IMDB, the movie employed locals and I think they did a marvelous job. Of course, kudos should go to the director as well. I have never seen a Bhutanese movie before nor have I been to Bhutan. The only two things I know about Bhutan is that it is in the Himalayas and it uses Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product (GNP) like the rest of the world as a measurement of success for the country. This movie really opened a whole different culture to me.
While the cinematography is not the best I've seen in other small, independent, movies (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, comes to mind), the scenery is just so beautiful on its own that it does not really make the movie less watchable.
Personally, the most endearing thing about this movie is its ability to introduce a different worldview than those in western cultures.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
If you have never seen an Indian movie, make this the first one
This is the first and only movie from India that I have ever watched (unless you count Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga and Slumdog Millionaire which is not made by Indians) so I can't speak much to this genre other than this one movie. It's long but with social distancing/isolation, what the heck.
The movie is like typical Bollywood movies (from what I've read), music and dancing are interlaced throughout the movie. The costume is colorful and the music is very pleasant.
I am not sure if it is Best Foreign Film material although in 2001, this movie was a breakthrough for Indian movies so that might have something to do with it.
The plot was pretty predictable - the little guys won against the big bullies in the end. Some of the reviews I saw here (I read them after watching the movie) focused on the arrogance and brutality of British colonialism in which the white colonial power discriminated against the local population. While this is the main theme, I particularly like the fact that the movie also addresses discrimination within the Indian society as reflected in the one small village in which the movie centers. It brings out and questions the Indian caste system and also hints at the Hindi-Muslim tensions. Then there is the weight of tradition vs. the impetuous rebellious nature of youth as well as a very slight touch on suspect on outsider (with the Sikh volunteer).
Ban jin ba liang (1976)
Pioneers of A New Generation of Hong Kong Comedies
I just watched this again and was laughing so hard at certain parts that I was crying. Private Eyes is not the first of the Hui brothers comedies. They began with a variety show that mimicked the highly popular Laugh In on NBC between the late 60s and early 70s. Both the Hui brothers were educated in English-language schools in Hong Kong and no doubt were highly influenced by western cultures. Sam, by the way, was the lead singer of a local rock band and wrote many of the songs on their movies. Through their work, they also pioneered a new musical trend in Hong Kong that combines western popular music and Chinese lyrics. In their TV shows and movies, you can clearly see the same western influences with a Chinese twist. Other than the much more easily understood slapstick in this movie, parts play on linguistic twists and references to the temper of the times. If you are not familiar with the 70s or do not speak Cantonese, you will miss some of the humor. I've turned on the English subtitle while watching this movie and it is nowhere as funny as it is in Cantonese. Even in traditional Chinese subtitle, something is lost as the Cantonese vernacular dialogue cannot be fully translated into the very formal traditional writing.