Sweden : The Seventh Seal

Yet another country from Scandinavia. And the abode  of one of the masters of cinema, Ingmar Bergman. I had seen Wild Strawberries just to know more about his cinema. Frankly i was not impressed. (Maybe i missed some inner meaning or symbolism in the movie.) Shortly afterwards it was by chance that i saw The Seventh Seal. I did not even know that this was a Bergman movie when i started downloading it. And then impresson dawned easily without any reluctance.

This black and white movie, set in the middle ages during the time of the crusades in a part of Scandinavia, is a philosophical one. The protagonist is a knight returning back to his homeland after a bout in the crusades. On the way back he confronts Death. Events turn out in such a fashion that he has to defeat Death in a game of chess so that he and all he loves can escape from His clutches. There are various other characters in the movie who include the knight's subordinate companion, a travelling troupe, a woman accused of practising witchcraft and various others they meet on the journey. Each character adds more depth and dimensions to the story.

This movie shows the social structure and the way of life of the people of that time and place. The commoners are simpletons who are deeply superstitious and live their lives with simple joys. The land is riddled with disease, and a lot of human lives have been lost to the war. The whole country is filled with strife but life just keeps going on. The game of chess with Death adds an additional layer of morosity throughout the movie. The director follows a parable pattern wherein there are discussions on the situations that unfurl. Both pessimistic and optimistic views are pushed through the characters of corresponding dispositions, although it is a bit more inclined to the former. Ultimately this is not a thriller movie to be watched for its suspense, it is one which should be slowly savoured in and digested.

FRANCE : AMELIE

France is the land of cinema. It is the cradle of celluloid civilisation. Directors are considered as auteurs here. ( P.S: I am a semi francophile and a pretty decent franco-cinemophile, so forgive me if i have gone over the limits in this description) And the movie i wish to feature from this country is Amelie. 

The titular  character is a charming girl who works incessantly and easily to fix the problems of the people around here and add a little colour and joy in their lives. It is not the typical feel good movie of a selfless saint trying to make everyone around him/her happy. Amelie does not do anything extraordinary or make hard sacrifices. In fact there are dark undertones to many of her seemingly innoccuous actions (though i must confess that this fact did not register in my mind till i incidentally read about it somewhere online). The movie shows that small thoughtful actions can make deep positive impacts . The beautiful cinematography and wonderful soundtrack brings the viewer into the movie. And i must say that i have never been as happy and filled with  bliss after seeing any other movie.

Audrey Tautu effortlessly 'lives' the titular character. The beauty and success of this movie owes a large part to her. (I dedicate this paragraph in her name)

Viva la France and its cinema!

Finland

FINLAND: The Man Without A Past (Aki Kaurismaki) (2002)

It is almost an year since i saw this movie. Morbid laziness had prevented me from making an entry about it and also thus progress in this blog. This masterpiece (for me atleast, when i saw it) of a movie had made a strong emotional connect with me and thus i believe that the fragments of memory i have of viewing it is strong enough to help me recreate the experience for this post. Now about the movie: The original title of the movie is "Mies vailla menneisyyttä". The movie brings to us a protagonist who has developed amnesia and therefore has no clue about himself. It follows him reconstructing his life from scratch slowly and steadily in the cold and impassive but assisting city of Helsinki. The director portrays a protagonist who attaches the least emotional baggage with his problems and deals everything with a harsh and plain practicality. The other characters also contribute effortlessly to the arid charm of the movie. Good dry wit has been injected in decent doses throughout, although at some places it may feel a bit forced (nevertheless enjoyable). Acting is apt enough (or can be said as complementing). The film reinforces the perception of a distinct culture and soul that Scandinavia has compared to the rest of Western Europe. There is no melodrama but simply boring, realistic and depressing life. But hope makes the backbone of the movie and somehow it delivers a message of the insignificance of many a personal problem and inspires one to just live on, no matter what.

(From this post onwards i will be attaching the trailer(if available). Also wherever possible the English title will be displayed in the heading)

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Russia

RUSSIA: Ballada O Soldate (Grigorij Chukrai) (1959)

Which other country to start with when my beloved Russia is there. I have always had a strange emotional connect with Russia (I am not a Russian) since childhood. Enough about that and moving on: Ballada o soldate literally translates to Ballad of a soldier. This is not a war movie as i thought it would be from the title. Nevertheless war (WW2) provides the background for the film. The film narrates the journey of Alyosha (the protagonist), a young soldier in the Russian Army, from the battle front to his hometown on a pretty tight schedule. His encounters with various other people during his voyage in this war torn time period makes up this movie. Through these meetings the feelings of comradeship, trust, doubt, friendship, love and betrayal are explored. Halfway through the movie, the female protagonist Shura, raises the age old question of whether there could be friendship between a boy and a girl without love in the middle. The movie does provide its own version of an answer to this question and leaves open ended answers to some other topics. The war scenes are displayed pretty realistically for an old movie and the enormous Russian farmlands are captured decently. Dramatic music forms the background score with apt effect at various parts. This black and white movie almost felt like reading a book and it makes you ponder after watching it.
(The format i will be following for the headings from this post onwards is: NAME OF COUNTRY: Movie Title (Name of Director) (Year of release) )    

Welcome

WELCOME!

It is my belief that movies are to an extent windows to the culture and ways of the place where they are made from. Through this blog series i will be making a lax attempt to journey around the world through movies. The movies featured here will be randomly selected ones. I do acknowledge that often a movie alone will not give a complete idea or sometimes any idea at all of the place it is from. So a randomly selected choice wont be of much help. Nevertheless i have confidence in the power of global cinema to create a wonderful kaleidoscopic perspective of the world in our minds. The sheer variety of movies alone is enough to keep me motivated through this celluloid adventure. (This blog has been inspired in part from http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/ )