Monsters [2010] (English): Who are the "Monsters"?

This movie is not about Monsters.

It has aliens. And Soldiers fighting them. But it is not about Aliens. And it is not about war. And certainly not about Humans fighting Aliens. 

And its less of a Sci-Fi movie, more like an art flick. Somewhat like the movie The Road, only less intense, less apocalyptic, less tragic and much more positive.

If you are expecting any of this masala (spicy) stuff in this movie then I recommend you go watch something else. You and this movie may have compatibility issues.

If you are still reading on, it probably means you are open to watching something that is more substantial, subtle yet meaningful than the mindless movies that depict the above mentioned scenarios. If so, then this little piece of audio-visual treat may surprise you.

In defiance to what its name and its story-line may suggest, its about a little voyage. Involving two humans. One is a photographer. Another is the daughter of his boss, a big-shot publisher. He is unwillingly entrusted the responsibility of leading her out of Mexico and back into US across the "infected zone".

Science-wise, the premise about the aliens and how they appeared on earth is sadly quite shallow. Nor is the depiction of the aliens original or inspired. But it does no injustice to the story-line  which uses the alien "infestation" as a base to build upon, nothing more.

The characters of both the protagonists are complex and very well-sketched. He is a care-free soul, unscrupulous when it comes to savouring the little joys life has to offer. She is a some-what disillusioned woman, probably searching for a meaning out of the meaningless chaos that life sometimes appears to become. The chemistry between them is depicted pretty nicely. 

The dialogues are pretty thought-provoking. The one I liked best was a sequence where the lady asks the photographer (who is dying to get a good shot of an alien's attack) "Doesn't that kinda bother you, that you need something bad to happen to profit from it?" And his answer to her is mind-blowing. I wish I could quote it here, but that would ruin your experience of actually stumbling over it during the movie.

The script and story are well-crafted enough. For instance, the sequence about how they loose their only chance to leave Mexico via a ferry ride over the sea, is both comical and tragic.

The post-apocalyptic scenes of a countryside ravaged by calamity are sometimes visually stunning, sometimes subtle, beautiful and touching. Its a pretty slow movie. Don't expect quick and stunning action from it. It has a slow but enjoyable pace of its own.

The direction and photography are technically pretty amateur, crude, by commercial movie standards. Yet the story is depicted with maturity and empathy. The visuals are artistic and pleasing. In spite of its slow pace and not much action involved, some of the scenes build up the suspense pretty nicely. It makes good use of the background score and audio effects to do that.

And in the end, we are left to wonder, who exactly are the "Monsters" in the movie?

This is a little unknown gem. It was released in 2010, and I don't remember ever hearing about it. Like all the best movies I have ever seen... yes yes, I know I am repeating the phrase... I did "stumble upon this" one too, while trawling for such unknown gems over the net. And am I happy about this find.

My ratings: 3.5

Ship Of Theseus [2013] (Hinglish): A thought provoking art flick

It was the name that captured my attention first. Ship of Theseus. Sounds like a sci-fi movie. And I am a diehard scifi fan. So when my friend sent me the link to its trailer, I watched it enthusiastically. But the trailer turned out to be anything but scifi... Not that i was disappointed. For there were scenes and dialogs in the trailer that promised a 'hatke' movie experience - something unfortunately difficult to come by in Hindi or indian-made English movies.

My curiosity was piqued. So this rainy and traffic-ridden Saturday (20 May 2013) found me sitting in the PVR Theatre reading the meaning behind the title of the film.

For that's how the movie starts. It displays what exactly the Ship of Theseus means. Its a pretty interesting premise. If you plan to watch the movie, then don't skip this start. Otherwise the basic concept behind the movie and why its named this way, will be lost on you.

If you have seen the trailer you will know that the film has at least 3 central characters. The film gives us a glimpse into the life of each of these characters. Each story is different and unconnected. These 3 stories form 3 different parts of the film. Each narrated at a stretch from an unspecific start to an apparently incomplete ending. There is no visual cue to indicate an end of one story and the start of another. Suddenly the scene changes, the characters and the settings change and the viewer is plunged straight into the next story without warning.

The first story is of a lady suffering from cornial infection. So for all practical purposes she is blind. And guess what she does for a hobby? Photography... Its interesting, even inspiring to see her capturing pictures in spite of her disability. But in some scenes, the movie drags a little. At least I found it a bit slow-going. People having interest in photography and a deeper empathy would find it more interesting than I did.

The next story is about a monk. Frankly speaking, it was this character that I found most fascinating when I watched the trailer. And certainly it was fascinating at the start. There are a lot of philosophical ideas, discussions and debates thrown around during this story. But after a while it became too much for my mind to grasp it all and process it. I was there with 2 friends. One dozed off during this part while the other found it pretty thought-provoking (to quote in his own words he had "goosebumps" and his "mind was numb"). Me, I thought there was a lot of 'intellectual masturbation' (to borrow the term used in the movie itself) going on. But it left me with no release and a mild case of intellectual blue balls.

I finally found my intellectual release in the 3rd story. It was funny and serious, thought provoking and entertaining, unbelievable yet realistic... Everything a good movie should be...

And then there was the climax. It was cherry on top of this tri-layered cake. An expected yet perfect surprise ending that wraps it all up pretty neatly. After the climax, all the 3 apparently incomplete stories become complete.

The movie is full of some pretty serious speculations. It raises some very serious questions. And it tried to give some very important messages. The cinematography is awesome. Some of the scenes are breath-taking. Without much use of CGI or SFX or fancy sets, they have made good use of the real-life surroundings and natural light very effectively. And my friend tells me it was shot entirely using a DSLR camera! The lead actors have done some pretty decent acting. But kudos to the writer-director, for coming up with such thought provoking stories, sketching such believable and well-defined characters and yet managing to keep it all entertaining...

It is not a commercial movie. If you are looking for mere entertainment, please find it else where. But if you like some good thought provoking and eye opener unusual film, then go for this one...

My rating: 3.5