Subscribe:
RSS feed
Interview: The ‘Super Deluxe’ writers
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, Interview
She Says She Says: The 90ML Effect
March 4, 2019
Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, She Says She Says
Readers Write In #69: The Brothers Napoleon
March 3, 2019
“Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Kumbalangi Nights is a beautifully crafted cinema. Each character in the story is well-etched. The movie takes us on an emotional roller-coaster from laughter to sadness to the joy of first love to the depth […]
Posted in: Cinema: Malayalam, Readers Write In
The Amateur’s Art #46 – Lobo (Silent)
March 3, 2019
See here for what this series is about. Director’s note: Synopsis: A psychological thriller on a teenager being manipulated by a ‘wolfman’ to stop a clock from going in reverse.
Posted in: Short Films, The Amateur's Art
Readers Write In #68: On the Bechdel test
March 1, 2019
A film is said to pass the Bechdel Test if it contains at least a single scene in which two named female characters talk to each other about something other than a man. This is grossly misunderstood to mean that they should be prominent to the story and/or that the conversation should be about something […]
“90ml”… This dramedy about women needed better writing but it gets the job done
March 1, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/ninety-ml-movie-review-this-dramedy-about-women-needed-better-writing-but-it-gets-the-job-done-oviya-baradwaj-rangan/ The trailer of 90ml, directed by “Alagiya Asura”, suggested an unapologetic sleaze fest, and but this isn’t that film. Yes, there are the expected titillations: a young woman launching into her “first night” story, or a chat about how lesbians make love (which results […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
“Thirumanam”… An outdated “message movie” about the circus around weddings
March 1, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/thirumanam-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan-cheran-msbhaskar/ There are two fascinating characters in Cheran’s Thirumanam… Sila Thiruthangaludan (Wedding… with few corrections), and they’re not the bride and the groom. I’m talking about the bride’s brother, Arivudainambi (Cheran), and the groom’s sister, Manonmani (Sukanya). They’re both of a certain age. They’ve seen […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
“Thadam”… A pulpy whodunit that puts a spin on its double-role premise and keeps you guessing
February 28, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/thadam-movie-review-a-pulpy-whodunit-that-keeps-you-guessing-baradwaj-rangan-arun-vijay/ In Thadam, writer-director Magizh Thirumeni puts a new spin on one of the oldest masala-cinema tropes: the double role. Whether with Sivaji Ganesan (Uthamaputhiran) or MGR (Ninaithathai Mudippavan) or Rajinikanth (Billa) or Kamal Haasan (Aalavandhan), the twin performances have hinged on a difference: one […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
Discovering the Israeli filmmaker whose ‘Synonyms’ won the Golden Bear at Berlinale
February 28, 2019
Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/discovering-the-israeli-filmmaker-whose-synonyms-won-the-golden-bear-at-berlinale-6164361.html// Nadav Lapid announced himself on the world stage with Policeman (2011). This was his first feature, and the plot suggests a genre piece. Yaron (Yiftach Klein) is part of an anti-terrorism commando unit. There’s a cocky macho-ness about him. His wife is about to deliver their first […]
Interview: RJ Balaji
February 27, 2019
RJ Balaji, fresh off the success of LKG, explains the original intention behind making such a film adding how the team managed to complete the political satire without deleting a single scene. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, Interview
Readers Write In #67: The writing of To Let – A well intentioned imitation
February 26, 2019
In present day Thamizh film scenario, To Let is an achievement. To mount a film with no known faces, shoot it minimally and to exude what is understood as an ‘Iranian’ film sensibility is no mean achievement. Its successful run in the theatres is heartwarming. A testimony to how the Thamizh audience has always encouraged […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, Readers Write In
Men, maleness, masculinity and family in ‘Kumbalangi Nights’
February 25, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/southern-lights-men-maleness-masculinity-and-family-in-kumbalangi-nights-baradwaj-rangan-soubin-shahir-fahadh-faasil-syam-pushkaran/ The many facets of an intricate drama from director Madhu C Narayanan and writer Syam Pushkaran. (Be warned. Spoilers ahead.) If we were still in the days of video libraries, this is how you’d find the classiest entertainers. Head to the Malayalam section. Look for films […]
Posted in: Cinema: Malayalam, Southern Lights
Readers Write In #66: Big Little Lies: Agatha Christie in a Monterey bottle
February 23, 2019
I tend to be late in catching up with whatever TV show it is that is winning over the audience and the critics alike. And so it was that I only caught 2017’s Big Little Lies during Weekend Binge last…uh…weekend. This is even as Mrs Maisel is the much talked about show currently, or have […]
Posted in: Readers Write In, Television / Online
The Amateur’s Art #45 – The Drama (Tamil)
February 23, 2019
See here for what this series is about. Director’s note: An 8-minute experimental short film ‘The Drama’, which was done with an intention to learn the craft of filmmaking with a layered screenplay. Abdul Hakkam.
Posted in: Short Films, The Amateur's Art
“Kanne Kalaimaane”… A subdued relationship drama that could have used more life
February 22, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Kanne Kalaimaane, written by Seenu Ramasamy, is what you’d call a nice film. The hero, Kamalakannan (Udhayanidhi Stalin), is nice. He’s a farmer. He owns acres of property. He also helps others in need. And, at a pinch, he can participate in a nice little conversation about the NEET exam. The heroine, Bharathi […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
“LKG”… RJ Balaji stars in a fitfully amusing satire on Tamil Nadu politics and cinema
February 22, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/lkg-movie-review-rj-balaji-baradwaj-rangan-amusing-satire/ LKG has been “directed” by KR Prabhu, but “direction” is too loose a word for what he has done here — basically, ensure that the gags in the script survive their transfer to the big screen. LKG, then, is more about the writing (credited […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
“To Let”… An earnest portrait of a family’s struggle to find a rented house
February 21, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/to-let-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan-chezhian/ R Chezhiyan’s To Let opens with a title card about the IT boom, around 2007, and how it made house rentals difficult for the non-IT middle class. The film’s protagonist, Ilango (Santhosh Sreeram), is as non-IT as you can get. In the first scene, […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
Looking for love at the Berlinale
February 21, 2019
Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/the-berlinale-and-searching-for-love-amongst-the-golden-bear-winners-down-the-years-6125141.html/ Hah! Got you with that title, didn’t I? It’s basically the earlier idea I had for a Valentine’s Day-themed column, which is to go down the list of Golden Bear winners and see if there are any honest-to-goodness love stories in there. Yes, one title instantly springs […]
March 6, 2019
15