Read the full story on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/top-10-world-cinema-titles-mumbai-film-festival-mami-baradwaj-rangan/
Baradwaj Rangan lists his ten picks from the World Cinema lineup at India’s most happening film festival.
So most of you are going to line up for Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Because it’s by Gus van Sant. Because it’s got Joaquin Phoenix. Because it’s the story of an alcoholic who was paralysed in a car crash, learnt to negotiate life on a motorised wheelchair, and found his calling as a controversial cartoonist. But the film is one the director’s more conventional outings, one of his patented stories about a troubled soul who finds a mentor and sorts his shit out: call this Good Wheel Hunting. Or maybe you want to catch Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman. It’s a riot, all right, but it’s also going to be on a streaming platform at some point – so if the idea is to watch Black cinema, why not watch LikarionWainaina’s SupaModo instead? It’s a real crowd-pleaser about a terminally ill nine-year-old who dreams of being a superhero – and it’s not something you’ll find easily outside the festival circuit.
Or even Lav Diaz’s Season of the Devil. Where else will you get a chance to immerse yourself in a nearly four-hour film by the Filipino auteur whose earlier epic, A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, ran some eight hours? Try watching it at home and you’ll never make it. The undivided attention you bring to a theatrical experience is key. With that in mind, here are ten films that should make it to your watch list – not necessarily because they are the best films, but because they are unique and the kind of films festivals are made for. Happy viewing.
Ash is Purest White (JiaZhangke)
The saga of a gangster and his girl — Bin (Liao Fan) and Qiao (Zhao Tao) — from 2001 to 2018. As China changes, so does the relationship, which is rooted in the underworld code of Jianghu. This codified way of life can cause untold misery, and the best portion of Ash is the mid-section that resembles a “women’s picture” from 1950s Hollywood. Qiao has been away from Bin, and now she is finding her way back. Her money is stolen. Worse, Bin is with someone else. But he is not a bad man. “Being penniless changes you,” he says. A little later, to the swells of a Vangelis-meets-Tangerine Dream score, Qiao sees… UFOs. Ash has at least five endings, but its ups and downs are as riveting as they are exhausting.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2018 Film Companion.
Ravi K
October 20, 2018
Did you see Godard’s “Goodbye to Language?” I could not make heads or tails of it, but I thought its use of 3D was fascinating.
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vagabonder
October 20, 2018
Thanks a lot for this piece. Will be very helpful.
I’m only puzzled about your inclusion of the Godard film. When you wrote about it in your festival report, I got the impression that you found it hard to sit through. Have you looked at it differently in the interim?
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Rocky
October 22, 2018
Long rant by the director of a short film rightfully dropped by MAMI …( aapas mein hee ladd baithey yeh log, LOL)
After the Huffpost article was published, Vikram stood amongst all the employees at Phantom Films and asked us to raise any doubts we had about the case. Without any hesitation, I and other women (and men) threw several questions at him regarding the case and each of those questions were answered. Convincingly.
A film produced by Vikram, directed by Atul Mongia has also been removed from your anthology slate. So any film can be rejected or dropped on the basis of past association, whether the accused is involved or not?
Today Anurag and Vikram are being punished. As is everyone associated with them. Including their films; our films. And, Vikas Bahl has slapped a defamation case against them. In the meantime, the rest of us have to suffer the wrath against one man.
View at Medium.com
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sanjana
October 23, 2018
http://www.rediff.com/movies/special/amazing-movies-coming-up/20181023.htm
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Rocky
October 24, 2018
Namrata Joshi talks to MAMI Festival director Anupama Chopra and creative director Smriti Kiran on this edition’s hits and misses, the #MeToo controversies and what makes this celebration of cinema so special for the city
People come with almost a great sense of entitlement to a festival. Two hundred films in ₹ 500. But who is giving the money for it? And I mean crores. It is not a cheap gig. For any brand wouldn’t they be better served to put all this money into an awards show? Where you will have the top stars dancing and TRPs. They are funding this as a gift to this city, to support great cinema. And not asking questions about the RoI. The impact of a film festival is immeasurable. I don’t think it gets recognised enough.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/we-want-the-conversations-to-count/article25291241.ece
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Sakkaravarthi Kaliannan
October 27, 2018
https://moifightclub.com/
The first 2 articles seem to have flown under the radar with regards to MAMI. Were you aware of this?
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Aparna
November 2, 2018
Hi BR, not sure where to ask this so I picked this thread, any idea if and when will Sivaranjiniyum innum sila pengalum get a commercial release?
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