It is that time of the year again...... the time to celebrate the best films - as the
Oscars are given out - essentially it is the muscle flexing of Hollywood, but for us movie-buffs it is also a chance to see some of the acclaimed films that might not have been seen in theaters had it not been for the promotional mechanism going great guns worldwide.
Unlike previous years, here in
Kolkata, the lure of big
Hollywood releases has dwindled in a major way. Many of the biggies have been biting the dust at the multiplexes of Kolkata in the recent times.
There are many factors - the principal amongst being is the erosion of single screen clout in niche pockets. The multiplex-going audience watches the latest Hollywood blockbusters many months before their big screen release in Kolkata, and hence people can hardly be expected to queue up for the ones that do get released at long last. The distributor chains are thus reluctant to release or promote English-language films in Kolkata. And the trend and culture of watching good English-language films at the theaters is on the wane. Unless a franchise film like '
Spiderman' or '
Harry Potter', with a cross-market appeal, is released, we Kolkatans have to look forward to watching good films on Home VCDs and DVDs only!
I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to watch some of the Oscar favorites in February, the Oscar-month, itself!
And here's the report card:
'Atonement' is the one that I enjoyed most. It is a profound period love story that resonated every which way.
'Michael Clayton' is remarkably poised in its anti-Capitalist stance; very humane, very brave, and very eloquent.
'Eastern Promises' is a shocker of a film for more reasons than one; however, it isn't as effective as Cronenberg's earlier indictment of Americana ('
A History of Violence'), but immensely watchable (strictly 'not for all') for the gritty depiction of brute force.
'No Country For Old Men' - which won the top honors at the 80the Oscar Awards - has been a huge letdown for me, I would have liked the film better had not been so grossly overrated; the Coen Brothers have made far better films in the past that are less indulgent and less pretentious, '
Fargo' being the very best. There was yet another surprise, and this one was pleasant, in the form of the Disney offering called 'Enchanted'; nominated for the beautiful songs, which keep ringing in one's ears long after the end credits have scrolled, it is a treat for the entire family. The tongue-in-cheek allusions to the classic fairy tales being firmly planted, the joyous celebration of romance in
'Enchanted' is very very infectious (as the sweet chipmunk Pip seems to be pointing out in the picture on top), to say the least.
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| 'No Country For Old Men' |
