Movies
I'm not a big Bollywood fan, but Indian classics/arthouse films aren't that much better for me. They're shorter (for the most part), but that's about it really. Undecision is a rather murky and static adaptation of a classic Indian ghost story, but the fantastical elements are extremely underplayed, leaving a very plain narrative. After their marriage, the husband leaves his bride behind, hoping to make good money elsewhere. It's a journey that will take him five years to complete. Meanwhile, his wife is being stalked by a tree ghost, who impersonates her husband and goes to live with her. When her husband finally returns, he has to get rid of the ghost. The fantastical elements are very much "tell, don't show". The pacing is rather slow, there's a strong focus on the visuals, but I can't say it was pretty, and the soundtrack was pretty distracting too. The result is a pretty dreary film that didn't just about everything wrong. But at least it didn't last 3 hours.Read all
Classic Indian arthouse cinema. Our Daily Bread is as far removed from Bollywood sentiment as you can imagine, but that doesn't mean it's significantly better. On the contrary, the minimalism works against the film and unless you're really caught by the drama here, it's a real slog. A devoted wife brings food to her husband every single day. When her younger sister is assaulted she turns up late to their daily appointment, and her husband is already gone. This event creates a schism between the two and the wife feels that her marriage is starting to slip away from her. The cinematography is incredibly drab, the performances are lifeless, and the drama simplistic. I don't mind minimalism in principle, but it has to be done right, meaning that every single detail matters. This to me was just sloppy. I'm sure there's an audience for films like these, clearly, I'm not it.Read all