PIFF - the complete review

Pune International Film Festival 2007 – despite what the newspapers might have said about the crowds it pulled, please be informed that the crowd was extremely disappointing. Even while it’s nice not to worry about not getting good seats, or worse watching a film sitting on the floor of the hall, it’s not at all nice to attend a film festival when the halls are half-empty and it feels like you’ve come for pathetic cinema, instead of the other way around. Also, the organization and the schedules were really screwed up this time – what’s with screening three Chinese films simultaneously and scheduling all the good films at the same time, so you’re forced to choose one and miss three others?

Now that I’ve got the criticism out of the way, let me go ahead and inform you that this year too was a great experience! I hardly saw any films in comparison to the last 2 years when I truly did camp out at ESquare for one week but I still managed to catch over a dozen films, short-films and documentaries. If the films I saw in the last two years appealed to the intellect, this year it was largely the senses and the emotions that were appeased.

Unlike last year, when I saw many serious films, I managed to catch some really big-budget, very mainstream European cinema, which was really fun, yet very moving and intelligent cinema:-

Les Bronzes (French Fried Vacation) – France – Patrice Leconte
An exceedingly side-splitting riotous film about a bunch of French people on a vacation – the insane activities, the hilarious attempts to get laid by all-and-sundry and the hysterical swimming gear had me screaming with laughter!

La Vie est Ailleurs (Life is Elsewhere) – Switzerland – Frédeéric Choffat
Three stories, three countries, one common theme, that life is elsewhere. A very interesting film – its main appeal (for me) was the fact that a large portion of the film was shot in trains and stations in France, Italy and Germany. Needless to say, nostalgia hit very hard as myriad images from December 2003 flew across my mind.

Winterskys (Kissed by Winter) – Norway – Sara Johnsen
A marvelously sensitive film dealing with loss - shot in Poland it revolves around a young doctor who loses her son to leukemia and consequently shifts to a small village. It goes on to deal with her various experiences as a county doctor, her attempts to rebuild her life and her struggle to come to terms with her role in her son’s death.

Tibor vagyok, de hódítani akarok (Young Dumb and Full of Love) – Hungary – Goergely Fonyo
The Hungarian version of American Pie – yes that’s it. How else could I best describe a film that deals with the humorous attempts by an adolescent to lose his virginity on a summer vacation, all the while armed with a fluorescent condom? There were also some hysterically funny scenes revolving around a golden cell phone, oops I meant dildo! ;-) Obviously big budget, very mainstream, but just so much fun. It’s almost liberating to watch such a crazy film at a film festival, normally associated with a more serious genre of cinema!

Ik omhels je met duizend armen (Thousand Kisses) – Netherlands – Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen
Once again, very big-budget and very mainstream cinema; this one dealt with relationships, guarding as it’s take-off point the relationships and lives of young professionals in the world of fashion and cinema/television. Much crazy fun, sex, partying and holidaying, but also another level of complexity in relationships at home, dealing with the fatality of a parent and losing the parent to euthanasia. As much as I enjoyed seeing this one, it was an equally heart-rending experience sitting through the scenes dealing with euthanasia and much as I miss him and wish he was still around, I’m suddenly very glad I didn’t have to see Papa go through that and want/opt for such an end.

Yadayim Kshurot (Tied Hands) – Israel – Dan Wolman
My second film by Dan Wolman – I’d seen Ben’s Biography last year, and like it, this too, was a sensitively and very intelligently made film dealing with very prevalent issues, yet not being preachy and militant about it. Without revealing much about it, the film basically deals with the attempts of a mother to obtain grass for her son who’s suffering from a fatal disease and needs grass to gain some respite from the pain. In the course of that one night, physically away from her son, she truly comes to know her son and ends up closer to him at the end of the night…and his life. An extraordinary film, worth watching – I’d go as far as asking you to actively search for the film and get your own copy!

And some others as well, namely – Cry, The Beloved Country, The Collector, Reyhaneh, the very strange Macedonia, the stranger A Bahraini Tale and the interminably long and boring The Road.

This year’s PIFF was also my real introduction to the documentary genre – saw some great documentaries which were not only informative, but extremely sensitively shot and touching.

Vietnam Symphony – Australia – Tom Zubrycki
A heart-warming documentary about the Hanoi music conservatory that had to move to the country-side during the Vietnam war, it narrated the experiences of the students as well as the villagers who welcomed the school and its member into their homes – some 40 years later the students, now professionals, go back to the village for a performance. An excellent experience, not only vis-à-vis to what it opened my eyes, but also from the angle of music (except perhaps for that one shrieking wonder!)

The Black Road – Australia – William Nessen
I wasn’t very sure about this film dealing with Aceh (otherwise famous for its struggles post-tsunami) and its struggle for independence from Indonesia. Informative, but highly disturbing, as would be expected from any film dealing with the subject of struggle and that too, such a militant and violent one – I emerged from the film wiser for sure, and wondering what really drives us to indulge in such horrendous deeds all in the name of power.

Rhythm is It – Germany – Thomas Grube and Enrique Sanchez Lansch
Interestingly the first German film I’ve seen despite 3 years of attending PIFF and the only German film I’ve seen apart from Run, Lola Run – an exhilaratingly liberating experience if I may so. Revolving around the production of a dance performance based on Stravinky’s Sacre du Printemps, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (quite delectably handsome if I may so!) the performance brought together nearly 250 young debutant dancers from variously realms of society and their growth (professionally and personally) through the course of the preparation for the performance. My aesthetic senses and sentiments were highly delighted.

And then, ofcourse there was the Kristophe Kieslowski retrospective. Hard-hitting cinema that forced me to think – really glad I saw at least some of his films and would definitely recommend his films.

My Students – the “Lumières” of the 21st Century!

When I started teaching I never imagined that apart from being incredibly de-stressing and satisfying at an intellectual and emotional level, it would also be an amazing source of humour…the things I hear in class are worthy of being compiled and published in a book! Here’s a teaser:-

• J’ai emmené mes mères là-bas. (I took my mothers there) – My immediate reaction was “Really how many do you have?”
• Je suis une question. (I am a question.) – You can imagine the mirth that followed at this one! Ah bon, really? The student meant to say “J’ai une question” (I have a question.)
• J’étudie lingerie (I study lingerie.) – it took several minutes for all of us to calm down before I figured out that the student meant to say “J’étudie l’ingénierie.” (I am studying engineering.)
• Je suis mort l’année dernière. (I died last year.)- this came as a response on being asked to rearrange the given points and write a biography using the past tense. It seems we don’t know the difference between a biography and an autobiography. I couldn’t help adding another line, “Maintenant je suis phantôme” Now I’m a ghost!;-)
• Souris! (Mouse!) – I’d just reprimanded a boy for talking too much in class and when he said this I did a double-take and was quite horrified. It turns out he was just trying to frenchify the word “Sorry” so instead of saying “Désolé” or simply “Pardon” he ended up called me a mouse!
• Talk about vain efforts to elucidate and illustrate without using English. The word in question was “incroyable” (incredible) and I decided to use an extremely unpunctual student as an example “ Ashwin est arrivé à l’heure? C’est incroyable!” A student’s immediate reaction – “Ah incroyable ça va dire la fiction” (“Incroyable” means fiction!)
• Je reader des nouvelles, player de la guitare et talker with mes friendsa – this one was a classic case of frenchifying english by converting all english verbs into the group of French verbs with the suffix –er. It shouldn’t be difficult to figure out what it means – here’s how it should have been said: Je lis des romans, joue de la guitare et parle avec mes amis.

And I saved the best for the last…

• J’aime fairer un serpent pour Noël. (I like to do a snake for Christmas) – I almost choked on hearing this one – what the student meant to say was J’aime décorer un sapin pour Noël. (I like to decorate the Christmas tree)

And on the same note,

• Vous avez fait qui ce weekend? (Who did you do this weekend?) – to say that I was horrified with this question would be an understatement; luckily the student realized the faux-pas and immediately replaced “qui” with “quoi” so that the question correctly said “Vous avez fait quoi ce weekend?” (What did you do this weekend?)

So what’s the verdict, people? Rib-tickling material isn’t it?

Current Book:- The Dream of Scipio - Iain Pears (it’s captured my attention and imagination completely. I wish I didn’t deal with words all day long and that I had more energy at the end of the day so I make faster progress with it…)
Current Music:- Naked and Sacred – Chhyna Phillips (from the erstwhile Wilson Phillips)
Current Mood:- Most content – after meeting best-friend over lunch and splurging money over the Robert-Collins Français-Anglais-Français dictionary for my translation work, a copy of Hotel Rwanda, so I can finally see it and this incredibly nice, red corduroy skirt…I was (and still am) looking for a short number and this is anything but short, but still very appealing and sexy! :-)

Blame Wandering Dervish for this one ;-)

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There is Therapy and then there is Therapy

I started studying in earnest yesterday - yes that means, out came the new stationery, the highlighters, the myriad coloured pens...and then I sat down, read, underlined, highlighted and started making neat, organised notes with highlighted headings, and post-its and what-not to ensure clarity at the time of revision....yes I know, I'm an incorrigible geek. Geeky Geets - I love her, don't you?

I went shopping today - it wasn't much, just some basics (well not very basic, but basic enough to not feel indulgent, though I did want to indulge, but felt too lazy to seek it...am I making any sense?) but enough to perk up my mood and feel leisurely pampered.

I have three books lined up for the weekend/upcoming week - The Last Song of The Dusk - Siddharth Sanghvi (I figured it's about time I stopped being a snob and gave it a shot, after having avoided it for so long and having heard diametrically opposite reviews about it...), The Motorcycle Diaries - Ernesto "Che" Guevera(really looking forward to reading this one) and The Dream of Scipio - Iain Pears (this I've already started reading - a most fascinating novel set in France, and spanning the collapse of the Roman Empire, the period of the Black Death and the Second World War)...and get this, for a change, none of them is mine, they all come from the informal "AFP teacher-student-colleague library" !!!

I started the day with a heavenly breakfast comprising of scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast, coffee and fruit...and I just ended the day with a dessert that comprised of some Nutty Caramel Mousse Cake, Rustic Chocolate Mousse Cake and some Cappuccino Mousse Cake

Need I say any more?

Current Mood:- Calm...finally

Current Music:- Like a Prayer - Madonna

End of the Tether

I swore to myself I wouldn’t break down – I told myself I’m strong…and I am, but I’m very, very close to the end of the tether. Nerves stretched taut, my patience is wearing thin and my tolerance levels for any kind of inefficiency, indiscipline, incompetence, ignorance, insensibility not to mention insensitivity are at an all-time low. My temper has flared more than once and nearly reached the dangerous levels beyond which I am incapable of practicing reason and am only concerned with making the object of my ire feel like the lowest form of cretin that exists…have had a vicious fight with my brother, lost my temper in class with very horrifying consequences – I’ve actually taken to turning my back on such issues and counting to ten, numbing my senses in order to keep a handle on that temper. Doesn’t help that I’ve had a nasty cold since last week, coupled with a hacking cough and congestion that forces me to take breaks while teaching just to cough and clear my throat like an old woman! That’s when I’m not blowing my nose like a freaking trumpeting elephant! Gah I’m sounding like a woman bordering on PMS – and gah again, I’m not even close to it…someone give me a valid reason for this abominable behaviour, and I mean "valid reason" not "excuse"….sigh. How do people get through life with such low standards for themselves? How do they avoid the inevitable stage of disappointing one self?

Current Music:- Nothing…head hurts too much to take any sound at all. It’s all noise inside my head right now. Tout est bruit, rien n’est musicale, rien n’est agreeable.
Current Mood:- Worn-out and extremely irritable, longing to give more than one person a piece of my mind (to hell with the consequences), but holding back because bloody hell the consequences would be horrifying. Can someone please send a hug by courier, ‘coz I sure could do with one right now…and oh, while you’re at it, toss in a full-body massage as well!