Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a dream is one of the most technically brilliant movies i have seen,made on a comparatively meager budget of only 4.5 million,it manages to incorporate a huge amount of filmmaking and editing techniques. From montages of macro shots cut very fast ,to a fisheye timelapse of a party it uses almost every possible technique known to filmmakers and with precise artistic mastery.The brilliant rotating camera scene has since become iconic in movies relating to drugs and hallucination.Then one cannot ignore the split screen editing technique ,shot and edited very precisely under the master eye of Aronofsky.Other notable techniques used are the long takes,following the protagonists ,also brilliantly crafted.The Clint Mansell background score's intensity varies with the pace of the cuts .Arguably the best background score in modern cinema.

Leaving aside the technical jargon,this movie manages to affect the viewer at a subconscious level.How the seasons are correlated with the the fall and rises of the protagonists lives.It is very easy to categorize this movie as a 'drug' movie,but on thinking deeply it is not.It does not glorify drug addiction,it condemns it,and it manages to do so very successfully.The raw power of this movie is such that it may even compel a hardened drug addict to give it up.Aronofsky starts the story on a normal manner,there seemed to be glow of positivity around the characters till about one third of the film.Then the lives of the four protagonists begins to fall apart in the worst possible way ,finally culminating in a tragic ending.The role of Sara Goldfarb ,the mother of Harry is addicted to slimming pills,whereas her son is a hardened drug addict and dealer.They are both addicts in their own way and both their lives fall apart .Harry's girlfriend Marion played by Jennifer Connely is very impressive to say the least.Her character manages to attract a huge amount of sympathy from the audience.

Aronofsky has made four other films other than this ,the recent ones on much bigger budgets,but for a director who has Requiem For a Dream in his resume ,its very difficult to surpass it.Its a modern classic!

Almost famous

I watched this movie for the first time 2 years back ..and it was a instant hit with me..i liked the movie immensely..by now you might have guessed that I am a huge rock fan..and you would have guessed right..but for your information this movie is not only for the die hard rock fan..this is a movie about a rock band but the heart of the movie is in its characters…the characters stay in your heart long after you have seen the movie…and the best part of the movie was that none of the sequences or events taking place were not one percent clichéd and is very very original..i noticed that this movie is one of the top 10 movies of the decade by roger ebert..when I saw the movie on the list I was kinda shocked but after all the whole list was strange with lesser known movies like syndoche new York and my Winnipeg making the list..with syndoche taking the coveted number one spot! I haven’t seen these two movies before..and found the movies very beautifully made..whether or not these movies reserves the coveted place given by ebert is debatable though!i was pleased to see almost famous among one of the top 10…but at that time If I would have made a list I probably wouldn’t have included it..so I decided to give it a second watch!and guess what its now one of my top 10 movies ever!!this movie is not dependent on its plot,it rather has a very simple one..the main USP is the script..the script does justice to its characters very well..

The movie basically revolves around the lead character William…he is a cute kid..he is 11 years old..his mother played by Frances Mcdormand is a professor,she is strict and wants his son to become a lawyer ..he has a elder sister played by Zooey Deschanel..she is a rebel and can’t take the restrictions imposed on her by her mother..so she decides to leave home to become a stewardess and feels not an inch of love for her mother..on her way out she decides to give all her records to her younger brother ..who is enchanted by them..and falls in love with music..then the movie moves forward 4 years. William is now 15 and will graduate in a year..he writes artices for his college magazine on rock bands..he meets a eminent rock journalist played by another very under rated actor Philip Seymour Hoffman ..he is a flamboyant journalist and is impressed by william and decides to give him an small assignment on black Sabbath..and William decides to turn up for the concert..he wants to get in backstage but is not allowed to…he then meets a lesser known band called Stillwater who helps him get inside..he also meets a few women…the lead guitarist of stillwater is very much impressed by him and invited him to los angeles..rolling stones magazine calls William up to tell him that they have come across few of his articles and whether he has something to write about ..he tells them he has a band called Stillwater to write about..they strike a deal..and from here on the journey of begins..he follows the band on a nationwide tour..and the initial suspiciousness gives way to a free and friendly behavior…he shares a wonderful chemistry with the lead guitarist of the band..his relationship with a band girl is beautifully potrayed…at the meantime his mother is very apprehensive about her child…she tries to convince him to return from the world of drugs,women and rock and roll..but fails miserably..one conversation which needs a special mention is the conversation she has with the guitarist..a person of his caliber is shaken by the bittersweet truth told by her!the movie flows on smoothly…see it to experience it!

Another aspect of the movie which I cannot ignore is the use of camera…its used very well!!the concert scenes are photographed brilliantly!

And the place given by ebert is well deserved..the movie may not have a complex plot or well renowned actors .but the thing it has which most movie nowadays lack-it is HEART!!it has the heart and its in the right place!!

KIDS

this is not one movie from which one can expect a good time rather this is one of those movies which will eat you away for the next few days..the movie is outright SHOCKING to say the least..the desperation in the characters crosses all boundaries..the boundary of 'that you can't do that,this is the limit' is mercilessly broken in this movie....it will provoke a strong thought provoking process culminating in your thinking that the teenage life sucks..and thats exactly what Larry Clark wanted...it also made me wonder whether these things really happens in real in the western countries because i have never been there...it would therefore be wrong for me to comment whether this movie is the correct portrayal of the American teenagers.. there are a few scenes in this movie which i think deserves special mention for its immense shocking value..the nudity shown in this movie is nothing compared as the nudity shown in Larry Clark's later works namely 'ken park'..but as a whole i think it is much more shocking..the guys do drugs until they are almost dead..they rape 13 year old girls..the ogle at the breasts of their friends mother in front of their friend and also comment on it...the main protagonist knowingly spreads AIDS by luring young virgin girls to have sexual intercourse with him,they mercilessly beat up a black guy due to some very minor reason,and never bother to feel bad later,they make fun of the Asian man in the shop...and one cannot miss that the protagonists also has a very humane side to them..they give alms to the poor and also take time to see a performance at the station...this indicates that they would have turned out to be perfectly fine if they were under proper guidance and love.. altogether they lead a lifestyle which many teenagers may idolize to lead,but at the same time as many teenagers will try their best not to become like them.....this is exactly the reason why i liked this movie and gave a 10/10 rating...it will provoke some thinking or the other ..you just can't ignore it ...any movie which has this capability can be considered great..