Films & Feni: Too Many Movies, Too Little Time
TOO MANY MOVIES, TOO LITTLE TIME
NOV 23, 2008 – I MUST HAVE HAD MY EXCESSIVE-MOVIE-WATCHING FACE ON, for even the stewardess suggested, while landing, that I keep the window shutter open, so I could “see the sights” – as if the landscape-cum-seascape we were hurtling towards were simply a series of images captured between cries of “action” and “cut.” As of this writing, however, that’s pretty much the only real sight I’ve seen, though I have snagged tickets to three interesting features on Sunday, the day regular screenings begin. Today, Saturday, will see the opening ceremony, which, very frankly, is not my cup of Assam brew. Listening to red-carpet dignitaries drone on about this and that can become quite taxing, and I look forward to unwinding by… okay, as my mum and dad are likely to be reading this, let’s not go any further.
BUT THE MAN AT THE INOX COUNTER, would, no doubt have preferred to spend the entire night in thrall before droning dignitaries – at least, compared to being given the third-degree by a number of irate cinephiles. One very stern woman walked up to him and demanded the schedule for the Indian panorama. He said he didn’t know. All the woman said, by way of a reply, is that he’d better know, otherwise she’d… be… very… upset. The man’s moving lips suggested either a silent curse or a thank-you to the sturdy wall of glass that separated him from his interrogator. Before long, another curious soul wandered up to this man, wondering why tickets were being handed out only for Sunday, and why he could not book his seats for films further ahead. I slipped away. I couldn’t watch.
THE INOX THEATRE, BY THE WAY, wore a doleful look, if the sign at the entrance was any indication. “We’ll be back with regular entertainment from December 3,” it announced to its patrons, leaving many with the notion that the films to be screened until that date couldn’t be classified, under any circumstances, as “regular entertainment.” I got the feeling of watching a little boy forced to smile for a host of visiting aunties and uncles when he’d rather be out hitting a ball with his friends (or, in these antisocial times, huddled up in his room with his Xbox). That was perhaps why he asked me to wait a while when I wanted tickets to a screening at the other venue, Goa’s Kala Academy. I thought I heard him muttering, “It’s bad enough I have to fill up my highly lucrative weekend shows with films by Thai directors only their mothers have heard of. Now I have to help improve the occupancy of other theatres? Really.”
BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAPPEN TO BE ART-HOUSE SNOBS – translation: Mrs. Weerasethakul, thank you for raising such a clever boy – it promises to be a mouth-watering fortnight ahead, especially with the retrospectives of Aki Kaurismäki and Wong Kar-wai. A curious addition to the list of directors being honoured with a showing of their life’s work is John Landis. Yes, you heard me. It’s the director of Coming to America and The Blues Brothers. I love both films, but why this honour here? Whatever next? A lifetime achievement award to Ron Howard? These aren’t the Oscars, dammit. These festivals are among the only refuges left any more for lovers of serious cinema to feel infinitely superior over the rest of the world, so can you not take that away from us, please?
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Oh you lucky man…i am really really jealous of you..many of your readers would have given anything to be at goa i guess..
My only experience at a major film festival was at the international film festival of kerala last year. Constraints of being a medical student,, and parents who could not understand why their son was bunking his clinical postings and travelling 10 hours to watch movies meant i could be there only for a few days. But it still was loads of fun. I will never forget how my head used to swim by the time i finished the last screening of the day, often the fifth movie on the trot.. Guess someone like you may be a bit more used to it..:-)
and there were people who had the same opinion of yours regarding film festivals screening more popular films. There was this one college student from bangalore i had befriended, whose only criteria for selecting which movie to watch was that it should be a movie that he may never get a chance to see again in his life. There were retrospectives of Almodovar and Im Kwoen Taek(of course they are not Landis and Howard), but he would never go near any theatre screening films of which he has heard anything at all.
No , i am not trying to club you with the eccentric.:-), just telling you there people sharing your sentiments in some ways.. .:-)
Hey dont knock Coming to America. I’ll have you know “My name is Hakeem and I am from Zamunda. Would you like to watch the Lakers of Los Angeles with me tonight?” works really well at watering holes.
At the Iffi are we? It is a little sad that their site doesnt even spell prestigious right but at least they have a webspace. Seems like they are playing Warlords (some people I know are drooling over Takeshi Kaneshiro), In the mood for Love and Happy together. Also thought it was interesting that they classified Blindness as Brazilian.
Considering you’re both a cinephile & a musicphile,how about comparing experiences during a film festival & a margazhi music-festival??
Prasanna: Let me at least enjoy my kacheris, man – without having my reviewing cap on.
Hey!Understand your “kutram kandupidithe paer vaangum pulavar” predicament!
But,I am not asking for kutcheri reviews…only your take on the overall kutcheri-season experiece. Everyone talks of packed schedules (but empty halls for many-a-concert) overlapping concert-timings,etc,etc.I guess film- festivals may be better planned ones and probably no complaints ‘coz it’s only for a week usually.For,haven’t heard cinephiles complaining unlike the Chennai music-fans who feel over-burdened with abundant choices for almost a month!!