LONNNNNG FADE IN… A beautiful landscape of a lofty knoll… A lonely side by road surrounded by verdurous fields… Nothing happening except an occasional howl of a distant eagle… 5 minutes pass by… (A boy in the audience starts becoming uneasy and gives a nasty look to his grandfather who has forcibly brought him to watch what he calls one of the ‘literate’ movies. The boy otherwise would have gone to watch some animated movie of Pixar which, according to his grandfather, was worse than watching ‘Rich and Richie’.) A small car appears near the horizon of the lonely side-by road.(Thank God!) The car takes its own sweet time to cover the entire journey. (This was probably achieved when the director was agitated since the actor always drove at 30Kmph and the director wanted him not to go beyond 20Kmph and so after many takes somebody might have suggested to jam the brakes so that even if the actor tried he would never surpass 15 kmph. At this, the director was ecstatic.) The car applies the brakes near a dilapidated house. An actor slowly emerges out of the car. He walks near the door and gives a knock. Nobody responds. He knocks again after a minute or so. (A critic in the audience tries his best not to allow sleep to lull him. He has to stay awake since he came to the theatre after reading the review of a more renowned critic:”FASCINATING! A MUST WATCH. 4/4”) A beautiful but slatternly actress opens the door and is confounded to find her husband. Her eyes instantly become watery and she hugs the man. The man:”jebuna…jebuna…ipsa femiissa..” The subtitles:”Don’t cry…don’t cry… I’m back.” (In the audience, a girl tries to caress her boyfriend. But the boyfriend snubs austerely at her lascivious attempts because he has to make her believe that he is a part of mature audience and is currently enjoying the “allegorical” and “metaphorical” movie. However, he has already smothered many yawns; the muffed yawning has caused his eyes to water and reveal the reality.) After an age, the screen shows “Fin”. The audience claps.
“KKUNNTS film festival. The filmmakers should submit their movies before the due date.”- The newspaper read the next day. A well-made slickly edited film was sent. Its director received a mail: "We apologize for your film has not been shortlisted for the competition.” A somewhat tardy film received the nomination. But no prizes for guessing, our film (aforementioned scene) received the ‘The Golden Lion and Tiger’ (The biggest accolades!).
Nobody can deny the veracity of abovementioned anecdote. For many years our critics had been praising such films and have been finding out the “implied meaning” which even the director would have never thought. Anybody opposing this tradition was called a ‘Philistine’ and immature. This was because of some highly conceited, pretentious and sanctimonious directors (Please note that I don’t mention any names. Especially you: Anthony Minghella!)
However I jubilantly announce the good news. Fortunately, this notion is depleting now, at least here in Hollywood. More and more importance is being laid on the slickness and watch ability. The Golden Globes and the Oscars have helped immensely in doing so. The most prominent example that I reckon is that of ‘The Departed’. ‘The Departed’ competed with some, let’s just say, dawdling movies. Nobody expected ‘The Departed’ to win; having known the predictable tradition of the Oscars. But because of a few honest men in jury, ‘The Departed’ grabbed the Oscar. This incident not only obfuscated the conventional audiences but also defined the future of the cinema. More slick films were made and they got the recognition. The formulaic classic films have started to become obsolete. The Editors have started enjoying special prerogatives now.
Fast-paced films not only help to hold the audiences but in this process they aptly reflect the necessary human emotions. Think of Schindler’s List- the Paramount of human sentiments. It succeeds in making you experience all emotions without allowing you to look at your watch. In fact, Spielberg has always adeptly maintained the balance between the emotions and the entertainment. Talking about recent times (by which I don’t mean that Spielberg is outmoded), Christopher Nolan has taught us to raise the bar, to push the envelope and eradicate the sloppy cinema. The Dark Knight and The Prestige are inarguably some of his most absorbing films.
With Avatar grabbing both the biggies at the Golden Globes, (though ‘The Hurt Locker’ would have been a better option) we have conquered the cinema. Even the revered film makers are now daring to be outlandish and risible. So even now if you claim that you love the slow-paced, prolix and prosaic movies then “of course you are not looking. You want to get fooled...”
very well written
ReplyDelete- Ganesh
Excellent article! Very well-written and apt.
ReplyDelete