SURPRISES IN THE PACKAGE

The Hindu, India
December 18, 2004

THE CHENNAI International Film Festival (on till December 27),
organised by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation, has expanded this
year to screen five films a day at Anand and Little Anand Theatres,
and four films at the Film Chamber of Commerce.

Anand is the place to be on December 18 where award winning
Armenian-born, Canada-bred Atom Egoyan’s “Ararat” (2004) is being
screened. The film probes into tragedies of living families and
distant history. Raffi’s cans of films are relentlessly examined by
about-to-retire customs officer David, struggling with his own
adjustment problems with gay son’s lifestyle. The interrogation
becomes a quest for identity through deceit, denial and repression.

The day ends with a Brazilian romp in “Celeste and Estrela” (2003)
where Paulo Estrela narrated a hilarious story of falling in love
with film maker Celeste who is passionate about making a
gut-wrenching film about her motherland. Finding funds is an arduous
struggle. We flit in and out of corporate houses, studios, script
writing classes, location shoots, and into the dreams of Celeste and
Estrela. Betse de Paula’s film foams with farce and irony, turning an
amused but sympathetic eye on men and women with and without
missions.

A wistful note

Known more for his kooky grotequerie, Giuseppe Pupi Avati strikes a
wistful note in “The Heart is Everywhere” (Italy, 2003). A
nondescript teacher’s son is urged by cranky father to find a wife,
stumbles into a home for the blind and meets the stunning woman,
robbed of her eyes in an accident. Silvio Soldini’s “Agata and the
Storm” trickles into a woman’s craze for younger men and her
lost-and-found brother’s infidelities.

Karen Shakhnazarov’s “The Rider Named Death” (Russia) shows Moscow at
the dawn of the 20th Century. This is the acclaimed depiction of the
plot to assassinate a Grand Duke in his home and at the Bolshoi
theatre.

A sweet-sad tale

The CIFF also brings “Shwaas” (Marathi, Sandeep Sawant), India’s
entry for the Oscars on December 19. This debut film is a sweet-sad
tale of a grandfather trying to do his best for the grandchild with
retinoblastoma, who must lose both his eyes to survive. The film had
a commercial success in Maharashtra before winning the National Award
for Best Film. The day also brings “Nizhalkuthu” (Film Chamber
Theatre), part of the festival’s retrospective on one of India’s best
film makers. Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s narrative resounds with the
echoes of a parable. We watch the village hangman at home,
interacting with family and community, until the ominous call comes
for him to discharge his duty. The son has to shoulder the job now.
The eerie count down begins…

Catch up with “Goodbye Lenin” if you haven’t seen it already. A young
man struggles to save his politically active mother from the shock of
learning that her world has crumbled. (She goes into a coma in
Communist East Germany and wakes up in a capitalist nation). Visually
thrilling moments include the floating of Lenin’s figure above and
across the street, pointing a grim finger at pedestrians below.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress