The Artist : Movie Review

Set in the late 1920s, the story centers on George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a famous movie star who is truly on top of the world. His movies are some of the biggest in Hollywood and he is constantly surrounded by fans who heap praise upon him. One day, by pure chance, he meets a young background actor named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), with whom he has an instant connection. What he doesn’t know is that their careers about to take completely opposite trajectories. Ignoring the trades and warnings from a powerful producer (John Goodman) that talkies are becoming the big thing, George refuses to change up his act, and watches his career sink lower and lower as Peppy rides the talkie wave and gets bigger and bigger.

Much like actors in early films, star Jean Dujardin must over-emote in order to compensate for his inability to express himself verbally. But in doing so, he puts on a marvelous performance. A challenging role, to say the least, Dujardin never pushes himself so far that it becomes hammy and we always know exactly how he feels and what’s going through his mind. What’s more, the French actor looks as though he’s been ripped straight out of the era, looking perfectly natural wearing a tailcoat tuxedo and sporting a pencil-thin mustache. He sells the drama, makes us laugh and is, in short, perfect as George Valentin

Strictly speaking Mr. Hazanavicius’s film is not a silent movie. There is a lot of music on the soundtrack and also a few strategic moments of onscreen noise that are both delightfully surprising and wildly illogical. The whole conceit of the picture is spun in willful disregard of the laws governing time, space and sound, an embrace of the preposterous that is perhaps more reminiscent of the spirit of early French cinema than of the old Hollywood where the action takes place.

Mr. Hazanavicius accomplishes this with not only showy ambition but also a winning modesty that grows out of an appreciation that popular art is, above all, about the efficient and inventive delivery of fun. Its techniques are impressive and various, though its most persuasive special effects are Mr. Dujardin and Ms. Bejo, physically graceful performers with faces the camera cannot resist. He has a solid athleticism that meshes perfectly with her supple, long-limbed grace, and their features are at once iconic and lively, in the manner of the ancient movie stars to whom they pay tribute. 

Thanks in no small part to their expressiveness and dexterity — they dance beautifully and also portray emotion with just the right blend of naturalism and melodramatic exaggeration — “The Artist” is more than a clever pastiche of antique amusements. It may be something less than a great movie, but it is an irresistible reminder of nearly everything that makes the movies great. 

 What a wonderful picture this is: one of those films you yearn to watch again and again, while yet being fearful of spoiling the experience. It is one of the most eloquent movies imaginable.

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Agneepath: Movie Review

Amongst the first recall values for the original Agneepath is Amitabh Bachchan's trademark self-introduction dialogue of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. While evaluating its official remake, the first thing that crosses your mind is how the reinterpretation of this signature scene would be. Unlike in the original, the monologue plays pretty late in the remake, whereby it establishes Vijay's identity over merely introducing him and with such individuality and elegance that it pays a perfect homage to the original, while at the same time not blatantly imitating it. That is how a remake is supposed to be! Retaining the spirit of the original and having a soul of its own. This dialogue kinda summarizes the overall aura of the remake.

Melodramatic, choir-inducing sentiment, ecstatic. Agneepath is that rare mainstream movie that is written well. Sanjay Dutt's Kancha Cheena speaks Sanskritised Hindi, referencing the epics. Priyanka Chopra's Marathi lilt is a carryover from her cheerful role in Kameeney. Hrithik Roshan, well, Hrithik Roshan just burns silently, seething, waiting, plotting, planning. His gangster is the purest form of criminal because he has no motive but to restore his father's reputation. His father who taught him to work without waiting for results, to recite poetry, how to eat, how to respect life.

The film is a metaphor for the world we live in and Mandwa, the benighted Mandwa, which sold its soul for the money it expected to come from cocaine, is what India is today. A nation perhaps which has sold its spirit for the joys of consumerism. A nation which has to sacrifice its most honest citizens because they have chosen shaitan as their malik. A nation which watches helplessly as its soul is stolen.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/agneepath-movie-review/1/170710.html

 

Piyush Mishra's dialogues are impressive with rhetoric punches every now and then. And even when the lines go unrefined for Rishi Kapoor's crude character, it leaves immense impact without crossing the familial domain. Cinematography by Ravi K Chandran and Kiran Deohans is remarkable. Akiv Ali's editing is accomplished and despite the film having a three-hour runtime, you never lose the narrative for a moment. The only slacker is the obligatory romance track (Priyanka Chopra) but thankfully even that is kept short. Ajay-Atul's music and esp. the background score are effective. Abbas Ali Moghul's action is raw and unrestrained.

Every component of the film falls into place, with a resounding thump. "Agneepath" is brilliant in its brutality. It's a riveting and hectic homage to the spirit of the cinema when revenge reigned supreme. And content was King. This new "Agneepath" takes us back to the era when there was no computer or cellphones. And communication with the audience was immediate and electrifying.

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