Review of the Month : THE WRESTLER (2009)

"I don't want to be alone ."
This is a hard truth for many of us when we find ourselves alone and facing the possibility of ending our days alone and broken. Nobody knows how much time we have left . That is one of the horrible uncertainties of life. And when faced with the prospect that our time has become painfully short, the fear of loneliness and the desire to be wanted becomes just as terrifying as the thought of dying. Anyway in my case,I don´t ever want to be alone. But if I am, I know there are times when I´ll be watching "The Wrestler".



synopsis :

Drama about an aging professional wrestler named Randy "The Ram" Robinson, decades past his prime, who now barely gets by working small wrestling shows and as a part-time grocery store employee. As he faces health problems that may end his wrestling career he attempts to come to terms with his life outside the ring by trying to reconcile with the daughter he abandoned in childhood and forming a closer bond with a stripper he has romantic feelings for.


Review :

The wrestling industry can launch soaring careers and it may destroy careers in a heartbeat. As a fan of the business, I would watch television shows as a kid, falling in love with the various characters on the card. You would see a new personality and tell all your friends that you wanted to get their merchandise gear like trump cards ,action figures... A few days, weeks, months, later that wrestler had disappeared from the broadcasts, without a single mention thenceforth from the commentators.When you are younger the only answer is that the wrestler had time off to heal injuries. Now, with this movie , i have finally understood some devastating truths.


Functioning primarily as a character study of a wrestler named Randy, the film that shows character's fall from glory into a truly pitiful state, his pumped up body steadily withering away, and his life reduced to solitary shambles, while still coasting by on his glory days from twenty years ago. Randy "The Ram" lives in the shadows of his once glorious wrestling career. He has no family ,save a daughter that hates him. He has no true friends .He has nothing but a van and constant struggles with landlords to keep from sleeping in it.The movie explores the harrowing outcome of what to do when the one thing a person knows how to do is no longer possible when their body gives out on them, and the pitiful search for scraps of meaning afterward.

The film's 2 other subplots try to divert our attention from the physical violence only to endure pain of a different sort, the kind in which the bleeding comes from the heart. One features a stripper and lap dancer named Cassidy who, in spite of Randy's persistence, refuses to treat
him as anything other than a paying customer. Trying to raise a nine-year old boy by herself, Cassidy is another example of someone who knows that she should quit but is forced by economic circumstances to go on.The other sub-plot revolves around Randy's estranged lesbian daughter Stephanie who is most unwelcome to Randy's overtures for reconciliation. Understandably bitter over her father's abandonment of the family when she needed him the most, Stephanie softens enough to go on an outing with her dad but any attempt at a new
beginning is squashed when Randy does not show up for a lunch date. Although the offense does not seem that grievous to us, given the extent of Stephanie's anger, if it wasn't this incident, it would probably have been another.

Another absorbing aspect of this powerhouse drama is the backstage nuance of low-rung pro-wrestling. In the dreary snow of New Jersey, Randy and his challengers make the rounds of dingy union halls, school gyms, community centers, using whatever they can find for makeshift dressing rooms, duct-taping their wounds, priming their pumps and agreeing minutes before a match on its script.The movie doesn't just deconstruct the mythical image of wrestlers' performances. It's clear that these guys are friends--they care about and respect each other. The film respects them and their world, and demands the same from the audience.

The Wrestler is without a doubt Darren Aronofosky's most straightforward films to date and proves that he is the talent to handle a wide range of genres and styles.With the wintry coastal New Jersey setting as his backdrop, director Aronofsky lets the drama unfold at a seductively leisurely pace, letting us get to know each of these characters and the rhythm of their lives in finely-drawn, intimate detail.Screenwriter Robert D. Siegel keeps the story spare and simple, not cluttering it up with fancy narrative flourishes or overblown melodramatics.One of The Wrestler's greatest assets is its camera-work . Fluid and almost documentary style, it also manages to be a commentary on theme and character. Often when Rourke is walking to a new location, the camera follows close behind, hand-held. This deliberately apes that oft-used shot of a fighter on the way to the ring.The fine title song by Bruce Springsteen must not be forgotten, either. After "Streets Of Philadelphia" and "Dead Man Walking" this is his third soundtrack contribution that captures the feel of a movie beautifully.

The Wrestler" wouldn't be half as good if Mickey Rourke hadn't given the main character a face and a heart. Rarely does an actor get the chance to inhabit a role quite as fully as Rourke does here. With his bulging muscles and greasy, long-flowing hair, Rourke brings an amazing physicality to the character, making us feel every ache, pain and body blow the man suffers, both inside the arena and out, as he hauls his massive, badly bruised carcass through life.With Rourke it's not so much an actor memorizing lines and delivering them convincingly, it's like watching a guy having gone through hell and now showing his scars. One look at his face reminds us of all the hits and punches he must have taken in the past.Marisa Tomei brings a touch of understanding to her role, that of a stripper with a heart. It's been done many a time before but there's a grace to this performance that makes an impression, the way it complements Rourke's interest in her.Evan Rachel Wood is also devastatingly believable as Randy's cast away daughter, with Wood providing an achingly wounded soul underneath her character's mask of indignant fury towards her father.

How to conclude ;

There has been a lot of discussion about the conclusion of "The Wrestler." Some people are quite bitter and put off by the abrupt manner in which Aronofsky ends his film. Does Randy live ? Does he die? What happens to Randy? There is no closure to the ending and many people simply cannot grasp the beauty of this ending.To understand the ending ,look inside yourself and think about your own mortality. Ponder whether or not you would want to be alone and broken or if it would be better to absolutely love your last moments on Earth? Do you want to die alone or die happy? How do you want to go out?.....That will be your own conclusion of this movie.


Title : The wrestler

Director : Darren Aronofsky

Cast : Mickey Rourke , Marisa Tomei , Evan Rachel Wood

Rated R for sexuality , violence ,drug use

Country :USA

Language :English

DvD Features :Behind-the-Scenes Documentary and Bruce Springsteen Music Video

Trailer Link :www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-GFxjTyV0

Torrent File Name :The Wrestler ((2008)) DvDrip(divx)BigbrO

Movie of the Month : BREAKING THE WAVES

“L O V E “. Everyday we experience this breathtaking emotion with both inanimate objects and with other souls. It is when we finally find true love that nothing else in the world seems worthy or good. We work as hard as we can to continue this warmth that we feel in our hearts when true love exists, and sometimes that means going to a level we never thought imaginable. This is the central theme of the film, Breaking the Waves.

Synopsis:

In a Puritan Scottish village where religion is the number one priority and women are confined to being just housewives a religious woman named Bess McNeill who has conversations with God, finds the love of her life in a worker at the oil rig called Jan. The two soon marry and fall madly in love with each other but tragedy strikes as Jan gets badly injured in an accident at work that leaves him paralyzed from the neck down. But Bess really loves her man and is determined to stay with him forever but an unusual request from Jan complicates things as he ask her to do something that requires her to give the ultimate sacrifice. Bess is determined to make Jan happy and to prove to God that she loves him, but she soon loses control of her actions

Review;

Winner of the GRAND PRIX AWARD @ FESTIVAL DE CANNES, at first glance the movie seems like a heartbreaking romantic story of a woman that loves her husband even though he's crippled from the neck down but then slowly turns from that to a dark tragic story of a woman going to the extremes to make him happy.. However director Lars Von Trier turns a horrid tale into something intimate, real, tender and heartbreaking thanks to a bare-bones approach consisting of hand-held camera, lack of artificial lighting, grainy photography, and lingering close-ups ,story inter cut with brief music interludes set to an image of scenery. This breaks the film up in a style not used before.

The movie has a mesmerizing quality that reminds me of Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Ordet" at times. Both are set in remote communities and deal with religious concepts which, even for a semi-believer, remain difficult to comprehend. Both films have a supposedly mentally unstable central character, a young man who talks as Christ in "Ordet" while Bess, the young woman in "Breaking the Waves" talks to God who answers her in her own voice's deepest register. Bess falls in lave with Jan, an oil-rig worker and the early scenes chart their wedding. When Jan has to return to the oil-rig the distraught Bess prays to God for his return, a prayer that is answered ironically when he returns paralyzed from the neck down after an accident on the rig. How Bess lives with this situation is the subject of the second and third hours of the film. These have at times an almost unbearable intensity. It is one of those very rare films where I feel the use of a hand-held camera to be completely justified as it gives extraordinarily emotional events a frenetic immediacy.

Also the ending here is a real head scratcher, I won't go into detail as I don't want to ruin the film for any one else, but I've seen the film two times now and I'm still not sure what to make of it, lets just say you'll never forget that last shot and you'll be thinking about it for weeks. Either way, Breaking the Waves is still one-hundred times better than most of the Hollywood hogwash, full of beautiful images and performances, and is a good chance to see a real film by one of cinema's greatest directorial talents.

Lars von Trier is a most provocative film-maker: provocatively innovative and brilliant, but also provocatively offensive and silly. Frustratingly, it's hard to separate these two gifts: it seems to be in his nature to continually push the envelope, and dare his audience to judge whether he is doing so with a straight face. Although still far-out by the standards of mainstream cinema, 'Breaking the Waves' is perhaps his most conventional English-language film; and also his best, a movie of rare emotional power.

The most heartbreaking performance ever to grace cinema is that of Emily Watson as Bess McNeill. What a pity that Frances McDormand of Fargo was awarded the Academy Award in 1996 instead. Emily Watson is emotionally drained by the time her last scene airs and you get the sense that she played Bess as she went taking chances and relishing her material. She has such an expressive face and is such an all rounded character that any weaknesses in the plot simply don't matter any more. She carries the film entirely. Stellan Skarsgard, a most underrated actor in my opinion plays Bess's husband and is also superb, and the supporting cast includes the late Katrin Cartlidge as Watson's sister-in-law, and cult legend Udo Kier.

Conclusion:

To me, life is short and precious. I need it to mean something. I need to live life to its fullest by trying to put meaning into things that are important. Otherwise, despite my faith, life would seem empty. Life can't be a mere test ground that determines whether we are worthy of entering heaven or face hell. We are meant to experience the joy of loving, the warmth of being loved, the sorrow of losing a loved one, and what it must feel like to say goodbye to loved ones. I think that's what life is all about -- fully realizing each facet of love.

A true landmark in visual artistry and a film whose shrouded messages will haunt me till the end of my days. A film that can stir up every known emotion and it manages to create some new ones too. It changed my life.... Changed my way of thinking. Without a doubt the best movie I've seen my entire life!!!

Title: Breaking the waves (1996)

Director: Lars von Trier

Cast: Stellan Skarsgard , Emily Watson , Katrin Cartlidge

Rated R for strong sexuality

Country: Denmark

Language: English

DVD Features: photo gallery

Trailers

Trailer Link :www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_3Nio8P5gQ

Torrent file name : Breaking The Waves.torrent

Movie of the Month : RESCUE DAWN (2006)

IN A TIME when blockbuster means sequels and remakes galore delivering high powered special effects but not much human soul, we need a picture like this. A film with enough intelligence to let its audience digest the material without insulting us with biases or unnecessary special effects, a film that moves at a perfect pace, an almost naturalistic approach to film-making, and rooted, masterful performances from a capable group of actors.

Synopsis;

Based on the real life story of Dieter Dangler, a German-American fighter pilot shot down in Vietnam while on a secret mission and is captured by Viet Cong. He is then taken to a POW camp where he meets two Americans and three other captives, who have been imprisoned in the camp for over two years. Over the course of many months, Dieter and his fellow prisoners of war devise a plan of escape, while enduring torture and starvation. However, once they've successfully fled the confinements of the camp, they face even more sever conditions in the jungle.

Review:

Vietnam movies nowadays are a dime a dozen, and to be honest, most of them all seem the same. "Rescue Dawn" sticks out from the pack because its an accessible film about the hellish war loaded with the existentialist touches we've come to except from Werner Herzog. Herzog may be working for Hollywood now, but don't fret. His films are still full of the beautiful imagery and survivalist themes that prefigured many of his 70s and 80s masterpieces. "Rescue Dawn" is the same Herzog we know and love. Its filmed in a cold and distanced style, yet the story and setting manage to ultimately make it an emotionally powerful experience. Its free of the audience manipulation that often comes with these films. In my mind, its the best Vietnam War film since "Apocalypse Now". Just like "Apocalypse Now", whatever war its set in is irrelevant. This could've been set in World War II or the Gulf War and the story would have the same impact.

Like most POW and prison break movies, "Rescue Dawn" follows the same basic premise and structure as any other. There is the life pre-capture, which in this case introduces us to Dengler, a brash young U.S. Lieutenant with a passion for flying, getting ready for his first aerial mission; the capture and introduction of other cast members and the subsequent escape and rescue after 23 days in the jungle. What makes it different from other similar movies is that "Rescue Dawn" isn't the run-of-the-mill escape story, with a shallow story focusing only the main cast members and a cunning escape plan, but rather a work viewing the war as it affects both parties in a very realistic way, touching on war fatigue and famine on the Vietcong side. And it's beautiful, with both close-up and wide shots of the details in the surrounding nature that reminds you of director Herzog's relationship with naturalism

What makes this film unique is that it does not wallow in over-glorifying itself. It doesn't try to pump up the audience with patriotic blather or "gee whiz, what a guy" feel good stuff. It simply tells the story of this incredibly courageous and resourceful man, Dieter Dengler. This is a great example of how films should be made. Also Like any great POW movie, the film has many moments that aren't totally tension filled or with exposition relating to escape: there's humor, like with a prison guard who's a midget named Jumbo, or a dog with a few hind-leg walking skills, or the one prisoner who doesn't say a word but conveys "yes" without even nodding.

This is also a refreshingly truthful patriotic film - in which Dengler himself espouses some of the most profound reasons why many Americans still love America. Dengler illustrates that, even when engaged in an unjust conflict, America is its people and their spirit of liberty, not a government and not its military might. Dengler is a true American hero - not because he saves lives or fought expertly (after all, he hardly fought!) but because of his will to survive, to help those deserving of his help, and his desire to come home to the country he loved.

Director WernerHerzog manages to capture a sense of reality that would escape many other directors, he utilizes his skills to show how the harshness of their predicament is derived from the conditions and the surroundings in which they are imprisoned, not just by the captors or prison guards. Also he does a great job of depicting tiny bits of humanity and dignity shining through in the most inhumane conditions, and how the will to survive can triumph over death..Some of the finest scenes in the film are presented in long takes with no dialogue just the all encompassing sound of loneliness which is reinforced by the unforgiving weather conditions. The film has breathtaking cinematography of Laos and Vietnam from Peter Zeitlinger and a triumphant and evocative music score from Klaus Bedelt.

The characters really stand out here... Christian Bale, in perhaps his most humane role yet, plays Dieter. He had shredded over 100 lbs for the role, embodies his German-born subject with ferocity and fervor.Bale as Dieter appears to eat live worms at one point; struggles with a wildly writhing six-foot snake and strips it with his teeth. His character, Dieter, has such a will to outlive the unbearable circumstances, and Bale exemplifies that will with chilling conviction. The real revelation from this film, however, is Steve Zahn., who often has been typecast as the comic relief sidekick, Aside from having lost forty pounds and being almost completely unrecognizable, he gives amazing performance as Deiter's friend Duane, thus showing his true potential and dedication as an actor. And the relationship between Zahn and Bale is pitch perfect. Also Jeremy Davies is incredible in his role as whacked-out P.O.W. named Eugene. He’s spooky without being unbelievable, and he is scarily thin.

'Rescue Dawn' makes for one of the most harrowing movie experiences that will inspire tears, smiles and, ultimately, an appreciation for what this man endured for the country he loved so much. Herzog has created a masterful film here which can be appreciated by all. You will feel all your emotions come out watching this film, with scenes of heart wrenching anguish and scenes of rapturous joy contrasting together perfectly.

Title : Rescue Dawn

Director: Werner Herzog

Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn

Rated Pg-13 for some disturbing images

Country :USA

Language : English

DVD Features: Feature length audio commentary with director

Deleted scenes

The Making of rescue dawn

Trailer Link:www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoaftXlf.html

Torrent File Name :Rescue Dawn [DVDRip][Eng][2007][BugzBunny]