Drama
Birth Certificate /(Świadectwo urodzenia)/1961/Polish
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Stanislaw Rózewicz
Why FiC recommends?
1) Stanislaw Rozewicz takes on the Nazi occupation as seen through the eyes of children in three short stories based on the prose of Tadeusz Rozewicz.
2) A beautiful and sad story in times of war that transcends time and space. It is one the very few films prove that without showing gruesome images convincingly portray the misery of the war through the eyes of children.
All the Vermeers in New York/1990/English
FiC Rating 5/5
Dir: Jon Jost
Why FiC recommends?
1) One of the greatest indie films ever, it combines Jon Jost’s signature tart wit, deadpan expressions on his characters and staccato style of dialogue with a touching romance story which can be seen in Hal Hartley films.
2) The simple story was well played out with a lot of depth, making it look quite natural and life-like. It was also interesting to get a peep at the backstage of the world of art and stock exchange in the 80s. I certainly recommend this well made and complete film.
Agantuk/1991/Bengali
FiC Rating 5/5
Dir: Satyajit Ray
Why FiC recommends?
1. Satyajit Ray’s oeuvre of his four decades forms a complete circle with this film drafting a perfect epilogue.
2. Web of skeptisism, caution spreads up when the family receives the letter from a far and almost forgotten uncle about his arrival to their house for few days stay, but how things change as everyone spend good time with him forms the story.
3. It has some very interesting debates and discussions that lights up the thoughts and mirrors (mock?) the current human settings.
Piravi/1989/Malayalam
FiC Rating 5/5
Dir: Shaji N. Karun
Why FiC recommends?
1) A melancholic story that lay a ladder into the mind of aged father who is in midst of his dolour and longingness of his demised son and how he gradually settles the terms with the reality or reality becomes just as far as his son? forms the story.
2) Meanwhile also narrates the story of a sister who holds the truth of her brother and has no heart to express same to her father.
3) Definetly to be watched for Premji and Archana’s portrayal of father and daughter and the way the movie bulids an atmosphere of desolation.
Blue Velvet/1986/English
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: David Lynch
Why FiC recommends?
1) Eerie, but no horror; Bizarre, but not absurd; repulsive, but sticky; erotic, but no porn.
2) Blue velvet could serve as a classic start for the cine-buffs who want to explore David Lynch’s filmography. Elements of absurdity here is quite balanced, it’s not too much – not too less.
Astu – So Be It/2013/Marathi
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Sumitra Bhave, Sunil Sukthankar
Why FiC recommends?
1) A poetic movie around a retired professor who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
2) ‘Astu’, through its heart touching storyline, establishes an important aspect of the need of human (family) interaction for the elderly people.
Shahid/2012/Hindi
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Hansal Mehta
Why FiC recommends?
1) Shahid is a biographical drama based on the life of Shahid Azmi, a lawyer and human rights activist who was behind the acquittals of several falsely implicated.
2) There is no over-dramatization anywhere in Shahid; even the courtroom scenes are very realistically shown.
3) With this film the director Hansal Mehta made a solid comeback to Bollywood.
Jallikattu/2019/Malayalam
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Lijo Jose Pellissery
Why FiC recommends?
1) Jallikattu isn’t an unusual movie just for the sake of it. On the outset it may look like just another ambitious visual narration of a long-running political situation in few southern states of India. But Jallikattu is about many more things – animal politics, madness of masculinity, human monstrosity and more.
2) With each movie, Lijo Jose is just raising the expectations on his movies and Jallikattu is the latest addition to it.
3) Does that rouge buffalo on the run in this movie an allegory for the ‘system/society on the run’ in India? quite possible!