Category: Film Review

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

Dramatically vibrant ‘Runway 34’

The second half of the film with the entry of Amitabh Bachchan as Narayan Vedant, the Investigating Officer, is equally exciting, although it is more of a courtroom drama with the inquiry committee and the pilots being interrogated…reviewed by Troy Rebeiro

(Showing in theatres), Duration: 148 minutes, Director: Ajay Devgn, Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, Abhinay Raj Singh, Boman Irani, Sharik Khan, Aakanksha Singh, Angira Dhar (Rating: ****)

Ajay Devgn’s ‘Runway 34’, is inspired by a real-life incident and strongly reminiscent of the 2016 released English film ‘Sully: Miracle on the Hudson’. Yet, it is distinct and proves to be a gripping drama pivoting around Captain Vikrant Khanna’s flight from Dubai to Cochin, one rainy night, and how the skilled and experienced pilot saves 150 lives, with his maturity and foresight, preventing an impending aviation disaster, landing in Trivandrum instead, with limited fuel.

An edge-of-the-seat drama, the film keeps you hooked right from the beginning. The flight scenes displaying the fear and anxiety of the petrified passengers are real and palpable. The external flight shots of the aircraft flying amidst thunder and rain are also beautifully executed and appear real. The final landing of the plane in severe turbulence is frighteningly credible.

While the passengers and media term him a hero, Captain Vikrant Khanna faces a strict inquiry for his decision of landing at Trivandrum instead of Bengaluru and even opting for Runway 34 instead of the recommended Runway 16.

The second half of the film with the entry of Amitabh Bachchan as Narayan Vedant, the Investigating Officer, is equally exciting, although it is more of a courtroom drama with the inquiry committee and the pilots being interrogated.

How Captain Vikrant Khanna manages to hold his own against Narayan Vedant, convincing him of his sharp memory and flying skills through a simulated flight, thereby justifying his actions and decisions, forms the crux of this aviation drama.

Ajay Devgan, as the dashing and accomplished Captain Vikrant Khanna essays his character with his characteristic restraint and minimal expressions. He emotes through his eyes, conveying myriad emotions. An astute pilot, who places his passengers’ safety before everything else, a family man but with a fun side to his personality, Ajay Devgn is every bit that pilot.

Amitabh Bachchan as Narayan Vedant expectedly takes centre stage with his flawless oratorical skills and charisma, and towers over everyone else in the inquiry scenes. As always, he is a treat to watch.

Rakul Preet Singh, as Co-pilot Tania Albuquerque delivers what is expected of her, given the limited scope of her character. The scene where she is frightened owing to the bad weather and thinks it is all over is a wee bit incongruous with the perception one has of a pilot.

Boman Irani as Mr Suri, the owner of the Skyline Aviation company, is credible.

The story is narrated in a linear manner, and is fairly straightforward with no element of intrigue or unexpected twists, although the drama quotient is fairly high.

Some parts of the film appear a tad rushed and unconvincing, especially the inquiry by the DGCA officials and the breath analyser tests.

The background music is effective especially in the scene when Captain Vikrant Khanna leaves the airport after the heroic feat.

Overall, ‘Runway 34’ is an interesting film which is a perfect combination of drama and good performances.

ALSO READ-Tamil movie industry always standing on its own feet

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

Bright, vibrant and energetic ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’

The set-action pieces feel nearly ripped from the games and are- a little over the top. The general message of responsibility and working together is simple and goes well with the narrative…reviewed by Troy Rebeiro


(Running in theatres), Duration: 122 minutes, Director: Jeff Fowler, Cast: James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Lee Majdoub; Voice Cast: Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Rating: ***)



This live-action-adventure film is a sequel to the 2020 released film – ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’. If those who saw the first edition felt the previous edition was an oft-seen and an outdated fare, then the sequel is many notches better than the first film.

The narrative feels like a direct continuation of its predecessor. Here we follow the anthropomorphic blue hedgehog Sonic (Ben Schwartz), the iconic Sega video game character as he meets two of the other famous faces from the video game franchise Tails the two-tailed fox, and the red echidna Knuckles (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey and Idris Elba), except that Knuckles is working with the returned evil and mad scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

After being banished to the Mushroom Planet, Dr. Robotnik returns to Earth with his new companion Knuckles. He once again seeks out Sonic, who along with his new ally Tails, is searching for the hidden mystical emerald which holds the – “ultimate power to turn thoughts into reality”.

So inadvertently, the film turns into a treasure hunt and a villain showdown, which is fun to watch. There are a lot of familiar adventure tropes that will appeal to kids. The subplot about a destination wedding of Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), the sister of Sonic’s surrogate mother Maddie (Tika Sumpter), in Hawaii feels included, just to give the humans something to do away from the action. It is also stuff kids would be bored by, but for their parents, it’s a nice CG-free reprieve and a chance for the fuming Rothwell to steal the scene.

Also, what makes this edition appeal to Sonic video game fans- is that it leans a lot more into the game’s influences than the previous edition. There are few witty lines in the form of recycled gags from other films and plenty more nods to a secret temple in Siberia that houses a compass for the Emerald, giant spikes, and a scene where Tails pilots a biplane as it does battle with a King Kong-sized robot.

The set-action pieces feel nearly ripped from the games and are- a little over the top. The general message of responsibility and working together is simple and goes well with the narrative.

Overall, the film is bright, vibrant, energetic, and delivers just the right amount of- emotional quotient without feeling overdone.

ALSO READ-Ranbir-Alia wedding celebration fever refuses to fade out

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

Review: ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’

Pedro Pascal is brilliant as well. He brings warm and gleefully appealing energy to his ‘mega-fan’ role. It is not hard to believe his charming character in this insane plot…reviewed by Troy Rebeiro

(In theatres), Duration: 146 minutes,Director: Tom Gormican, Cast: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, Paco Leon, Neil Patrick Harris, Lily Sheen Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Katrin Vankova ( Rating: ***1/2)

Don’t let this film’s unwieldy title repulse you, for at its core, the film is a self-deprecating comedy that will keep you entertained.

Here, Nicolas Cage plays a fictional version of himself as a tense, anxiety-prone fading star who is now in massive debt. With his professional and personal life in the doldrums he is at the end of his teeters when his agent, Richard (Neal Patrick Harris), informs him that Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), a rich fan of his from Mallorca, Spain is willing to pay him one million dollars if he shows up at his birthday party.

Desperate, Nicolas accepts the offer and lands in Spain with the hope that he would do his bit and be gone in a jiffy. But eventually, he and Javi end up forging a warm bond between them. Their bro-time is foiled by CIA agents Vivan (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz), who intercepts Nicolas and ropes him in to spy on his benefactor after telling him that Javi is a mobster who has kidnapped a politician’s daughter.

Reluctantly Nicolas takes up the CIA assignment, only to soon realise that all is not what it seems on the surface.

The plot is fairly scattered, with a gentle satire of Hollywood and a perfunctory series of scenes where Cage tries his hand at spy-craft. Besides the buddy-action comedy between Nicolas and Javi, there are scenes of a cynical, egotist father trying to reconnect with his daughter Addy and estranged wife, Olivia. Also, with Nick loaded on LSD, we get to see another version of Nick Cage, a much younger persona with a poorly CGI-de-aged skin, who pops up repeatedly to boost the ego of the protagonist Nick.

Cage tries hard to be funny, poking fun at himself and revelling in his reputation for living life on excesses. With a poker face, he oscillates between a bewildered straight man and an intense meme-self, a contrast that feels more natural than it sounds. Nevertheless, he is all-consuming.

Pedro Pascal is brilliant as well. He brings warm and gleefully appealing energy to his ‘mega-fan’ role. It is not hard to believe his charming character in this insane plot.

The best scenes in the film are the moments of unapologetic and shared admiration between Pascal and Cage. They have an absurd yet appealing on-screen chemistry. Together with their sense of comic timing and ability to deliver, dialogues that are genre-savvy without sounding manipulative are amazing.

Other performances that stand out are by Sharon Horgan and Lily Mo Sheen. They both bring grace and heart to their roles with natural ease.

Overall, the film is an action film with a fabulous dose of humanity in it. Also, it has enough bits of escapism made for fans of Mr Cage that even if you are not in on his shenanigans, you will certainly find something cool with this one.

ALSO READ-Gallery: 27th Kolkata Int’l Film Festival

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

‘Jersey’: The journey of a cricketer

Mrunal Thakur, as his wife Vidya, delivers her part effectively. The music complements the film but does not really stand out enough, to leave an impact…reviewed by Troy Rebeiro

(Running in theatres), Duration: 176 minutes, Director: Gowtam Tinnanuri, Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, Pankaj Kapur, Ronit Kamra, Rudrashish Majumder, Geetika Mehandru, Anjum Batra, Shishir Sharma (Rating: ***1/2)



Gowtam Tinnauri’s ‘Jersey’, a remake of a popular Telugu film by the same name, is about the struggle of Arjun Talwar, a gifted cricketer from Chandigarh, Punjab. It is his journey from being a successful batsman who throws in the towel and how, a demand from his son, who hero-worships him, for the Indian jersey on his birthday, which he is unable to fulfil, makes him bounce into the cricket field, at the age of 36 with grit and determination, and earn one for his son, forms the crux of this narrative.

The film is tediously long and delves too much into the intricacies of the cricket matches, although shot beautifully. One is almost transported to the cricket stadium, sometimes needlessly. The thrill and nail-biting excitement of a match are offered in abundance but not necessarily compulsory, as they do not propel the story forward.

The story is narrated in a compelling manner, enough to keep you engaged. Yet, the first half encapsulating his life, romance, and entry as well as exit from cricket, narrated in a non-linear manner feels unduly long.

The film belongs to Shahid Kapoor, who delivers an outstanding performance as the frustrated and helpless Arjun Talwar, who has been written off by everybody. Shahid essays the character with the requisite maturity and restraint, exhibiting his emotions with subtlety, suppressing the raging volcano within.

Pankaj Kapur as Arjun’s coach, mentor, and well-wisher, who believes in his talent, delivers a realistic portrayal, as does the little Kittu (Ronit Kamra), who is expressive and plays Arjun’s son. He is a natural, and the father-son bond is heart-warming.

Mrunal Thakur, as his wife Vidya, delivers her part effectively. The music complements the film but does not really stand out enough, to leave an impact.

The film is beautifully shot by Anil Mehta, and his lens captures every trace of emotion on Shahid Kapoor’s distraught face with ease, as well as the finer nuances of the cricket matches, making them look larger than life.

The film lacks drama, and except for an unexpected twist at the end it lacks the intrigue factor. There are poignant moments aplenty that tug at your heartstrings and make you empathize with Arjun, but high-octane drama and gripping moments, the plot is devoid of, making the graph of the film appear to be meandering on an even keel.

Director Gowtam Tinnanuri extracts natural performances from each actor and handles the subject astutely but lays undue emphasis on the cricket matches. With a runtime of 174 minutes, the narrative tests your patience, but you hold on.

Overall, ‘Jersey’ is a poignant journey that touches your heart, irrespective of whether you are a cricket fan or not.

ALSO READ-Gen Z into new music listening trends

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

‘Polar Bear’ is fascinating

(Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar), Duration: 83 minutes, Directors: Alastair Fothergill, Jeff Wilson, Voice Cast: Catherine Keener (Rating: ***1/2)

This sets the ball rolling. Somewhere mid-film, we are once again reminded of global warming with, “The third summer of my childhood was the warmest.”…reviewed by Troy Rebeiro

‘Polar Bear’ is designed in a truly Disney fashion, it offers surprising doses of tenderness that accompany the word-class wildlife footage. At the very onset, the film begins with an aerial shot of a cub tagging its mother as she swims in the languid waters. This first shot and those that follow are so impressive that you are hooked on the film immediately, and the narrative does not fail you either.

The narrative is about the Polar Bear family, the bond between mothers and cubs, whose relationship lasts between two and a half and three years. During that time, the mother teaches her cubs everything they need to know to survive in the wilderness.

But at its heart, the narrative is about climate change, and you realise this when the protagonist, at the start of the film, tells us, “Home, it is the place where childhood and memory live together, but the home of my childhood is changing. The ice we depend on is melting away, my cub and I are in unchartered waters.”

This sets the ball rolling. Somewhere mid-film, we are once again reminded of global warming with, “The third summer of my childhood was the warmest.”

The voice of two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener elevates the viewing experience as she brings to life the images as if revealing a real-life story of the polar bears. And her tone touches your heart when she reveals in a mournful voice, “Seals need sea ice to breed. Bears need seals to hunt. Ice Bears (Polar Bears) – how are we to survive without ice?”

Thus, we see what life is like for the polar bears in the Arctic region. The film shows us how they grow in the wilderness – swimming hundreds of miles from land, hunting for food, and surviving a solitary life, living this way as a cycle, over and over again.

The directors give us a purely realistic snapshot with sweeping footage and breathtaking imagery of some of the most exotic and hostile corners of the planet. It is a marvel to see the polar bears in live-action footage, which is carefully edited to create a seductively unhurried narrative that is just as manipulative as fiction with all the trappings of any studio picture.

Overall, while kids may find this film engaging, adults may get more restless than usual.

ALSO READ-‘Guilty Minds’ exploring how powerful people can brought down

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

‘Guilty Minds’ exploring how powerful people can brought down

The eighth episode showcases arbitration in a medico-legal case. By the ninth episode, the series loses steam and deals in a frivolous case involving a dating app. And the tenth episode finally unravels the Bhalla case…writes Troy Rebeiro

Series: (Streaming on Prime Video), Duration: Average 48 minutes per episode (Total 10 episodes), Directors: Shefali Bhushan, Jayant D. Somalkar, Cast: Shriya Pilgaonkar, Varun Mitra, Namrata Seth, Sugandha Garg, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Benjamin Gilani, Satish Kaushik, Vijendra Saxena Diksha Juneja, Pranay Pachauri (Rating: ***1/2)



This series is an engaging drama that involves characters indulging in legal practice. It also explores how even powerful people can be brought down- by scandal and how secrets can never truly stay buried.

This series primarily showcases the two law firms – ‘Khanna and Khanna Associates’ and ‘For the People Associates’, their workings- and the stories of their executives and their clients.

KKA is headed by the patriarch L.N. Khanna (Kulbushan Kharbanda) and the management team includes his two sons, grandson Shubhrat (Pranay Pachauri), granddaughter Shubhangi (Namrata Seth) and Deepak Rana (Varun Mitra), the promising, star lawyer and partner in the film.

FTPA is a two-member team consisting of Kasaf Quaze (Shriya Pilgaonkar), the daughter of Judge Munnawar Quaze, and Vandana Kathpalia (Sugandha Garg). The duo takes on the cases and tries to find solutions in unconventional ways. Kasaf also happens to be Deepak’s classmate and an old friend.

The narrative mainly focuses on the personal lives, rivalry, and romance of the key characters and the cases they indulge in. While the two firms face off in most of the cases each episode tackles one major case apart from the politically driven Bhalla Case, which runs throughout the series. And to add a little chutzpah to the narrative, there is a stand-up comedian who spices up the telling.

The first episode deals with a case of sexual exploitation involving the film director Divendu Khurana. The second episode tackles a cold-blooded murder committed by a brilliant student. The third episode has both the law firms facing off in a corporate case that deals with environmental issues. The fourth episode deals with an HR case where a founder member of a medical firm is made redundant.

The fifth episode deals with a copyright infringement case. The sixth episode tackles a hit-and-run case where interestingly- the car involved- is a driverless car. The seventh episode investigates the death or suicide of a Private Security Agent Kochar.

The eighth episode showcases arbitration in a medico-legal case. By the ninth episode, the series loses steam and deals in a frivolous case involving a dating app. And the tenth episode finally unravels the Bhalla case.

Each episode is taut and brilliantly packaged with well-thought stories and scenarios. The series is able to consistently maintain the engagement and technical quality seen in only ace productions, and the writing – in terms of tone, every intense moment is executed with excellence and always achieves the impact it reaches for.

The performances too are excellent to the extent that it feels improper to refer to them as performances. Each actor is natural, and the character they essay seems to be their second skin.

The only issue, which is too minor but still needs to be pointed out is the shaky camera work, especially during some of the intense moments in the episodes. This can be prominently seen in episodes one and six. It mars the viewing experience.

The music and background score have the pulse of an era gone by and is satisfying. It adds a bit of freshness which works to the series’ advantage.

ALSO READ-‘K.G.F: Chapter 2’ : Keeps the legacy of chapter 1

Categories
Bollywood Film Review Lite Blogs

‘The Contactor’ is well-paced, unfussy action-thriller

(Running in Theatres), Duration: 103 minutes, Director: Tarik Saleh, Cast: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, JD Pardo, Kiefer Sutherland, Florian Munteanu, Nina Hoss, Amira Casar, Fares Fares, Sander Thomas, Nicolas Noblitt (Rating: **1/2)


Pine delivers a convincing performance as he carries the burden of his character’s past on the screen. Despite the overall narrative falling shot on many levels, his journey as James Harper remains a largely compelling one…writes Troy Rebeiro

‘The Contactor’ is a well-paced, unfussy action-thriller.Chris Pine plays a former Special Forces Sergent James Harper recovering from a knee injury while serving his time in the US Army in Afghanistan and Iraq. Despite being honourably discharged, he feels betrayed by his government because a surprise blood test revealed the presence of self-administered drugs, which he took to suppress his knee pain, resulting in the stripping of his pension.

As he struggles to find ways to support his wife and young son, assistance comes in the form of his friend and former superior, Mike (Ben Foster), who tells him about a private company “offering real money” that will hire them for their specialised skills. Mike also assures him that the missions are nothing too dangerous. James reluctantly accepts the offer.

James’ new boss is the heavily tattooed Rusty Jennings (Kiefer Sutherland), who sends him on a covert mission to Berlin, where he is assigned to take out the virologist (Fares Fares) who may be working with Al-Qaeda.

Soon, the plot switches gears when James and Mike realise that their mission has been compromised. We are then plunged into the intrigue and double-crosses that occur in Berlin. After which, James must fend for himself – not sure whom to trust as shadowy forces descend upon him while he tries to navigate a safe passage back to America.

Pine delivers a convincing performance as he carries the burden of his character’s past on the screen. Despite the overall narrative falling shot on many levels, his journey as James Harper remains a largely compelling one.

Ben Foster as Mike is another standout in the film. He shares brilliant on-screen chemistry with Pine, and their low-key rapport, selling a brotherly trust and banter, is especially affecting in the early sequences as their characters struggle with transitioning to civilian life.

Director Tarik Saleh’s handling of the film is refreshingly sensitive. Instead of jumping straight into the action and explosions as some military thrillers tend to do, he spends a considerable amount of time setting the backdrop of the drama before a single bullet is fired.

The opening scenes introduce us to James’ family; his wife Brianne (Gillian Jacobs), and their son Jack (Sander Thomas), showing a loving family whose happy lifestyle is being threatened by the discharge of James’ military service.

The time it takes at the beginning, before the action sequences begin, lays the foundation of the story, and the stakes, which offer depth to the characters, in whom you are emotionally invested.

Overall, genre fans in particular, those who prefer action sequences consisting of close-quarters combat and tense shootouts, need not worry as ‘The Contactor’ eventually has plenty of them.

ALSO READ-Asian Lite Film Review: The Valhalla Murders

Categories
Film Review Films

Capital city prepares for ‘Habitat Int’l Film Festival’

A special selection of Korean films including ‘In The Name of The Son’, ‘Chorokbam’, ‘Siere’ and ‘The Cave’ will be screened at the festival in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Centre, New Delhi…. reports Asian Lite News

Returning after a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Habitat International Film Festival is scheduled to be held from May 6 to 15 at India Habitat Centre in the Capital.

The festival showcases an impressive line-up of award-winning and festival favourite films which include Nathalie Alvarez Mesen’s ‘Clara Sola’, entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94 Academy Awards, Stefan Ruzowitsky’s ‘Hinterland’, which won the Prix du Public UBS award at the 74 Locarno Film Festival; ‘The Last Austrians’, winner at the Zurich Film Festival; ‘The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See The Titanic’, winner of numerous film awards, including at the Venice Film Festival, Italy and ‘The Metamorphosis of Birds’, a Portuguese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

With diversity at the forefront, this edition also brings together a pan-Indian selection of films from a plethora of Indian languages such as Hindi, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Tamil, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Bengali, etc., Director G. Prabha’s ‘Taya’, Achal Mishra’s ‘Dhuin’, Ritesh Sharma’s ‘Jhini Bini Chadariya’, Ainu Baruah’s ‘Dimasa’, Madhuja Mukherjee’s ‘Deep 6’ are some of the rich offerings at the festival.

A special selection of Korean films including ‘In The Name of The Son’, ‘Chorokbam’, ‘Siere’ and ‘The Cave’ will be screened at the festival in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

Speaking about the Habitat Film Festival, Director of India Habitat Centre, Sunit Tandon said, “The India Habitat Centre has become synonymous with the best in the arts and culture over the years. It is a great relief and pleasure for the entire team to be able to present another edition of the Habitat International Film Festival after a two-year gap necessitated by the pandemic.”

Vidyun Singh, Creative Head, Programmes, India Habitat Centre said, “HIFF, though smaller compared to other film festivals, has carved out a special space and a loyal audience. It is a cherry-picked curation of critically acclaimed and award-winning cinema, made possible by the generous cooperation and collaboration of the Embassies and Cultural Centres for which we are deeply grateful.”

Film critic and journalist Anna M.M. Vetticad will be introducing the section of Malayalam films that paved the way for a New Wave of Malayalam cinema.

Short films and documentaries, Q&A and interactive sessions, and a Festival Cafe serving a selection of International Street Food provide the quintessential buzz and ‘Festival Flavour’.

ALSO READ-Mammootty-Ganesh Fight Over AMMA

Categories
Film Review Films Lite Blogs

‘A Hero’  is simple, cinematic art-house masterpiece

The plot navigates effortlessly through the complicated moral dilemmas, genuineness of human goodness, and waning principles…review by Troy Rebeiro

(Running in Theatres); Duration: 128 minutes, Director: Asghar Farhadi, Cast: Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, Sahar Goldust, Saleh Karimaei, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Sarina Farhadi, Ehsan Goodarzi, Alireza Jahandideh, Maryam Shahdaei (Rating: ****)

Deceptively simple, Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Hero’ (Ghahreman) is a cinematic, art-house masterpiece, a gripping moral drama about honesty, honour, and the price of freedom.

Set in the Iranian city of Shiraz, it is the tale of Rahim (Amir Jadidi), a sincere and earnest calligraphist who is serving time in prison for unpaid debts to his ex-brother-in-law Braham (Mohsen Tanbandeh). He is desperate to be reunited with his son from his earlier marriage and his girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldust), who he is secretly seeing, and plans to marry soon.

So, when his girlfriend tells him that she has found a handbag containing 17 gold coins, he thinks of selling the coins to pay off his debtor, and he attempts this when he is allowed a two-day leave from prison.

But fate has other plans for him. The day he goes to sell the coins, the gold rates fall and is not enough to pay off the debtors. To make matters worse the goldsmith’s pen too, doesn’t seem to work. Taking these as signs from the Universe guilt gnaws him, and he decides to return the gold to its rightful owner. Since the handbag was found at a bus stop, he decides to put up posters in the vicinity.

A lady claiming to be the rightful owner claims the bag and the coins, and soon Rahim’s good Samaritan act attracts attention, and his story makes headlines on the news and social media platforms. Seeing the positive attention that he is garnering, the officers at the prison, where he returns once his leave has ended, coax him, to give news bytes, and soon he is heralded as a hero.

But not everyone buys Rahim’s story, certainly not his former brother-in-law, who only wants what he’s owed. He questions all those who praise Rahim, “Should people be glorified for simply doing the right thing?” And the people around realise that he does have a point. He also warns them that people’s motives are always more complicated than what they appear.

Furthermore, when Rahim is asked to substantiate his act, he can’t trace the woman who had claimed the money and is thus, thrown into a moral dilemma. How he manoeuvres through the situation forms the foundation of this narrative.

The plot navigates effortlessly through the complicated moral dilemmas, genuineness of human goodness, and waning principles.

The bittersweet relationship between the characters and the realistic performances from its ace cast is what elevates the viewing experience. Some of the film’s most moving scenes show Rahim trying to reconnect with his son Saivash (Saleh Karimaei) and shield him from the consequences of shame and scandal. These scenes invariably remind you of Vittorio De Sica’s 1949 released ‘Bicycle Thieves’.

Overall, ‘A Hero’ is two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi’s best film to date.

ALSO READ-Shriya Pilgaonkar: Life of an artist is filled with uncertainty

Categories
Bollywood Film Review Lite Blogs

Visually mesmerising ‘Outer Range’

Among the older lot Josh Brolin as the rancher Royal Abbott, Lili Taylor as his farm wife Cecilia, and Will Patton as their irrational and physically sick neighbour Wayne Tillerson, are very convincing…writes Troy Rebeiro

Series: ‘Outer Range’ (Streaming on Prime Video), Duration: Average 49 minutes per episode (Total 8 episodes), Directors: Alonso Ruizpalacios, Jennifer Getzinger, Amy Seitmetz, Lawrence Trilling
Cast: Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, Tom Pelphrey, Noah Reid, Shaun Sipos, Isabel Arraiza, Olive Abercrombie, Will Patton (Rating: ***1/2)

Films and series set in the countryside of the wild west of America have always been intriguing and ‘Outer Range’ is no different. It is an engaging neo-western with sci-fi elements that astutely wraps the themes of power play, land disputes, family bonding, and time travel into its narrative.

Set in Amelia County of Wyoming, the series centres on the close-knit household of Royal and Cecilia Abbott, whose family is coping with the sudden disappearance of Rebecca, the wife of their son Perry.

Caring for their motherless granddaughter, Amy, and being a support to Perry and Rhett, their other son whose Rodeo career is hanging on the leash, the Abbots are troubled by the Tillersons, their boisterous neighbours who are constantly needling them to sell their land.

To make matters worse, the appearance of a young squatter named Autumn Rivers camping on the west side of their land close to where the mysterious giant hole “connected to time” has appeared on their ranch adds to their woes.

The narrative gathers momentum after the accidental death of one of the residents of the county, and with the Deputy Sheriff following the many trails, the pace seldom slows down. Narrated in a non-linear manner with flashbacks and flashforwards, the plot does seem a bit scrambled by the eighth episode as fatigue sets in.

While the dependence on the super-power (God) is there right from the first frame of the series to its last, the metaphysical sci-fi element at the centre of the narrative meshes seamlessly into the tale, making the entire story relatable.

‘Outer Range’ is a shrewdly made, eight-episode series where its ace cast give it their all in a casual way that only professionals this seasoned and gifted can. All the characters are well-etched, and most of them display a tinge of noir characteristics.

Among the older lot Josh Brolin as the rancher Royal Abbott, Lili Taylor as his farm wife Cecilia, and Will Patton as their irrational and physically sick neighbour Wayne Tillerson, are very convincing.

So are Imogen Poots as the furtive hippy Autumn Rivers, Tom Pelphrey as the troubled Perry, Olive Abercrombie as his daughter Amy, Lewis Pullman as the depressed Rhett, Tamara Podemski as Deputy Sheriff Joy, and Noah Reid and Shaun Sipos as Wayne’s sons Billy and Luke. They are memorable in their roles.

Visually the series is mesmerising. With atmospheric indoor shots and brilliantly captured outdoor scenes, the series is worth watching on a large screen. The image that stays in your mind’s space is the herd of cattle galloping across the frame.

Accompanying the visuals is the exciting background score packed with a vague selection of music which includes some excellent country songs that make the series light and enjoyable.

ALSO READ-‘Beast’ fails to impress audience