La Religieuse (Jacques Rivette, 1966)This one feels like such a contrast from
Paris Belongs to Us. Whereas
Paris felt really intellectual and thematically complex to me, this one feels so spare and austere and simple. Based on a story by Diderot, the story is pretty simple and is observed very straightforwardly. Anna Karina plays a young girl who is forced against her wishes to join a convent. The film basically follows her journey as she struggles with loss of one form of freedom after another and emerges as the only person whose faith seems to remain intact and endure despite her conviction that she is not meant for a life spent serving God. Firstly, this film is mesmerizing to watch especially because of Karina's performance. The period settings in the film are stark and minimal never drawing any attention away from the beautiful protagonist who is the soul of the film. The film also feels like a commentary on film itself. We frequently see Suzanne having to perform convincingly in front of an audience right from the very first scene in the film. Somehow Rivette manages to make the inside of a convent feel incredibly creepy and disconcerting. Firstly, through his use of the score which feels rather jarring and ominous (lots of use of bells that start ringing loudly at critical moments). Secondly, although the film feels pretty fluid and simple, certain critical scenes are edited in somewhat unexpected ways making those scenes feel even more uncomfortable than they would be otherwise. I would really implore those of you that love
The Passion of Joan of Arc to watch this one as well.
Earlier this year, I watched a two-part documentary on Rivette shot by Denis for French television. It became clear from the doc that Rivette is clearly an intellectual - extremely well-read and knowledgeable on all sorts of things from theater to art and so on. I am not familiar with the original text by Diderot at all but I really love the way Rivette avoids using the film to merely make jabs at religion. Instead, I felt like the film is in a way, ultimately optimistic, in that Suzanne manages to retain her faith despite a series of seemingly impossible trials.
I would really implore those of you that love
The Passion of Joan of Arc to watch this one as well.
Grade: A-
I Graduated But... (Yasujiro Ozu, 1929)I believe this 10-minute short is reconstructed from fragments found from the original film :/. FWIW, it's still easy to follow the plot from whatever's left of the film especially since the basic story is pretty simple. I didn't care all that much for the plot, per se, especially since it ends with a neat little message. However, it's still really fun to watch because of the great cast (especially the actress who plays the wife) and the light-hearted touch.
Oh, and this one had the obligatory
Hollywood movie poster featuring prominently in the film too
!
Grade: B
Luck By Chance (Zoya Akhtar, 2009)Right from the opening credits shot to a montage of the various people involved in the making of a Bollywood film (from the people running crafts services to the choreographer, the carpenters, the tailors sewing sequined gowns and so many more), it's pretty evident that the film is a look at Bollywood as seen by an insider. The director is the daughter of a successful and famous Bollywood couple. The film is definitely an insider look at the industry but it's also a pretty affectionate portrayal of the same. It's clear that the filmmaker has a lot of love for the process of making films in this crazy, chaotic industry where the drivers of success seem so impossible to predict and understand.
There's a lot to like about the film. Firstly, the film is especially fun to watch for someone familiar with Bollywood. A lot of famous Bollywood personalities appear in the film playing only mildly-fictionalized versions of their real selves. So we get to see some really big-name stars put up their personal demons on screen and expose their fears and insecurities for all to see. There's a really nice scene where we see a superstar look across a party floor at the newbie, radiant with his fresh success in the film that the aforementioned superstar once rejected. The look that we see flash across the superstar's eyes reveal his fear that he has inadvertently paved the way for his own succession.
I also really like the way the main characters are written. While our protagonist is clearly an opportunist too much in love with himself to be able to form meaningful relationships with anyone else, he never comes off as pure evil. His motives are always relatable and his bad choices only make him seem all the more human. Another scene I really liked is when our lead, struggling for a part at this point in the film, returns jubilant from an audition for a big studio film. His best friend, also an aspiring actor, wonders aloud if he should send in his pictures too, in case they are casting multiple parts. Farhan Akhtar plays the screen perfectly, endorsing the friend's idea with just the right blend of encouragement and insecurity.
Unfortunately, while the film does such a great job with these small moments and these central characters, it resorts to some really broad caricatures when it comes to the marginal characters in the film. The costar who is the daughter of a famous actress is given very little to work with and is pretty much portrayed as a talentless hack. Likewise the director of the film who is made to seem clown-like and idiotic. The film within the film feels utterly outdated and out of touch with the kind of films that are successful in Bollywood today.
Despite these flaws, I enjoyed the film quite a bit. The film has a ton of little touches that hit all the right notes with me. I have several friends who've been on both sides of this crazy circus that is Bollywood and a lot of what I saw in the film resonated with me.
Grade: B