A couple of days ago I had the good fortune to be invited to the screening of one of the best Indian films I have seen in recent times. Certainly its one of a kind in terms of its look and treatment. Its called ‘Frozen’ (http://www.frozen.co.in), directed by Shivajee Chandrabhushan and shot by Shanker Raman (check link for all credits.)
It’s a simple tale, of simple folk, a small, impoverished family and their struggles, both individual/ personal and together as a family against Nature and man. Nature, in the inevitable changes and difficulties that accompany advancing age and the hardships brought about by the difficult terrain they live in, and man in the exploitative practices of the more prosperous, that is the convention in societies the world over, and the changes wrought by the army setting up a camp in the area.
The beauty of the film lies in its telling.
We see their world through the eyes of little Chomo, as he takes us, layer by layer, into his world of an old struggling father, struggling against hope and reason, and a charismatic, wild, rebellious sister whose acute sense of loss leads her to question and defy everything in her path.
The imagery is beautiful and haunting. The film is black and white, shorn of colour apparently to emphasise the drudgery of their lives, and to not let the beauty of the landscape overshadow the filmmakers’ intention of illustrating the difficulty of living there.
The shooting style is particularly impressive. Camera moves are inspired and at places, lyrical. I remember a sequence in particular shot in a forest, with the trees deeply out of focus and the camera tracking sideways until it comes to a tree in the foreground in sharp focus, whence the focus shifts to the background to reveal the character. This is followed by a shot of a camera tracking backwards and looking upwards, at a snatch of sky through the tops of trees, and Chomo comes into view, walking along with the camera as the voice over begins.
Chomo narrates parts of the story, but there are long chunks in between where the viewer is left to herself, an objective bystander watching events unfold, until he decides to reappear and clear the haze, and tie the threads together. These chunks are beautiful in several ways: in their simplicity, the depiction of life in that region, and the part that they play in taking us closer to the characters. They are beautiful technically, the choice and design of shots, of camera movements, of slowing down key moments, all of which conspire to take the viewer into a mysterious, unknown space, what I like to call the mindspace of the character, even if its only briefly. And they are more esoteric, they left me wondering if I quite got everything...
All in all, it is a film well made. Kudos to everyone involved with the project, some of who I am happy to state, are dear friends. I hope they continue to work in the same spirit and produce works of the same quality and conviction.
2 comments:
i never really could appreciate cinematography like some of my acquaintances could, so one of my friends decided to enlighten me and took out a dvd copy of a very famous Satyajit Ray film, "Pather Panchali" .. 5 seconds in the movie and i was all set to go out and visit the beautiful sights of singapore's pubs with more passion than ever before .. fortunately, my friend prevailed on me and explained to me how the foucs should not be on the story, but how the story is unfolding, and how the director is building it using his skills .. as the movie progressed, my friend started pointing out how the camera is moving .. how the story's background is getting established .. how there is a flow to the way the movie is unfolding .. how each character is establishing its individuality .. how the audience is getting engrossed with each character .. it was as if a whole new world had been opened to me .. suddenly the movie became rich and interesting .. unfortunately, i am a softy at heart and when i saw that the little girl was about to conk off in the movie, i decided to get up and visit the pubs to drown my sorrows .. there are a few other directors whose movies my friend loves, and i intend to watch those too, but only if someone is around to explain the technicalities to me ..
i had studied western classical music in a similar manner .. a week into my studies, and all those squiggly noises coming out of the music system started making sense .. i could make out the patterns .. the overlays .. the depth .. the intricacies .. the complexity .. it made my experience more enjoyable .. unfortunately, this joy lasted only till such a time that i had the pleasure of the company of my female friend who had dragged me to this course .. made me buy all of beethoven's pieces, she did .. 6 CDs!! ..
on the other hand, there's one movie that i've always found fascinating for its simplicity .. its called "The Blair Witch Project" .. no props .. no stunts .. no actors as such .. just a group of 4-5 kids stumbling along in the forest .. never seen more powerful effects in a movie simply by using the camera and direction .. let me know if you've seen the movie .. and if you have, i would love to hear an expert's views on it ..
you were right .. the photos are absolutely breathtaking .. totally out of this world .... i wonder if reality will be as good .. i'm guessing yes .. : ) ..
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