Tanguy - French film

Hi,
I watched another flick francaise aujourd'hui, "Tanguy". Movie was moderately entertaining.
Heres the story :

Perpetual student Tanguy (Eric Berger) is a pleasant, maddeningly polite lad who speaks fluent Chinese and Japanese and teaches while working on his thesis. The brilliant young man advises a government minister when he's not exasperating his long-suffering mom, Edith (Sabine Azema), and dad, Paul (Andre Dussollier), by leaving dirty clothes, damp towels and crumbs in his wake, entertaining lady friends in his bedroom and otherwise treating his parents' lovely apartment like a hotel with room service.

Paul and Edith are desperate to enjoy an empty nest, but the couple had previously pampered their loving boy and can't bring themselves to tell him outright to please shove off.

When I came to know, that TV5Monde was going to play the movie, I decided to watch. The storyline seemed interesting. But it turned out to be less engaging than expected.

But anyways, as an Indian, the movie was somewhat of a culture clash. In the movie, the parents want the kid to move out. In India, the kids are dying to move out, but parents dont let them.

I was pleased to see an honest portrayal of parents though- they are human, and although they may love their kids more than anything else, they deserve a break. Lot of people, especially indians, dont realize that their Pa and Ma are individuals, and yes they are a couple, who needs their own privacy and space. Its not fair to expect them to sacrifice their happiness for you all the time.

Well, ofcourse, since its a comedy, the parents do some seriously weird things to shoo Tanguy out. Tanguy himself is irritating as hell. I couldnt see why he is shown as attractive. Anyways.

Decent movie.

Twelve and holding

Saw dis on UTV worldmovies today. This is the best portrayal i have seen of the "not-yet-adult-and-no-more-a-kid" phase of life. Found the kids very believable, especially loved Malee's part, reminded me of myself wen i was 12 :)

Likes

* I loved the way the director shows how sometimes parents act like kids while kids behave
sensibly. When Leonard goes on a healthy diet, his worried mom asks him if he has joined a cult.
Leo has to do something extraordinary to show his obese mom that shes slowly killing herself
with all that grease on her bread.

* Liked the sweet chinky girl's character., Malee. She is so mature and sensitive and yet innocent
enough to expect a relationship with a much older (but cute!) man. "But we are soulmates!"
she says when he rejects her . But I know, at that age, you dont realize that older guys see you as a kid.


DisLikes

* I hated Jacob's Mom. She actually wished her son's killer ( by accident ) dead, and is careless
enough to say that infront of her emotionally disturbed 12 yr old son. Parents can be dangerously clueless about the consequences of their words.
Plus, the adoption at a bad time.
-------------------------------------------
Somehow dis movie felt different than other coming-of-age movies - more real n therefore somewhat grim. The kids here are more like little adults, havin a mind of their own, but at the same time very naive. Definitely worth a watch.

Ma Vie En Rose - Sometimes you just have to be yourself

Yesterday I saw a great movie called 'Ma Vie En Rose'. I mean it was realllly good. Colourful, funny,moving, endearing...and also an eye-opener. Heres the story:

Ludovic is a young boy who can't wait to grow up to be a woman. When his family discovers the little girl blossoming in him they are forced to contend with their own discomfort and the lack of understanding from their new neighbors. Their anger and impatience cave and Ludovic is sent to see a psychiatrist in the hopes of fixing whatever is wrong with him. A movie that addresses trans-gender and gender issues in general through the eyes of a child.

Imagine if your family were to outcast you , and why? Not because you are a baddddd sheep, but simply because you are different from them... Poor you! I mean how cruel is that?, crucifying someone only because your mind is not broad enough to accomodate their offbeat ways.

Just how difficult is it to just let someone be?? Is it really a challenge to say that " I dont understand you, maybe I dont even like what you are doing. But hey, its your life and you have a right to your own choices, and I wont judge them."

The white ribbon

Hi
Last night I finally made some real good use of my free night-internet, by downloading 'The white ribbon'. I been taking a lot of interest in festival movies lately
and some good reviews aroused my interest in this one. Plus, its a film noir and a thriller.
Well then I had to watch it.

Its a striking movie. Theres so much to take in, and so much happening, that I am surprised
that some people called it slow. Its not boring at all. Heres the synopsis -

A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all? The village schoolteacher observes, investigates and little by little discovers the incredible truth. Are we being asked to consider whether these events heralded something that would explode years later with the rise of Nazi Germany? Did these events contain the germs of the tragedies that followed?

K, on with my comments :

Just today morning, in the loo ( where I seem to get my most thoughtful thoughts) I was wondering if the world was really a much safer, better place in the old times. Is the world today a big bad mean place or was it always like this, only in different ways?

Well, when you answer nature's call, God answers you. hee hee.

As I watched this movie, I felt grateful. Grateful that although today we have modern problems like global warming and the kind, people are so much more open-minded than they were before.
There is a scene in the movie where a very strict pastor forbids his son from masturbating , telling him he musnt harm "the finest nerves of his body" by touching areas where "God has
created sacred barriers". Then for some days the boys hands are always tied up at bedtime, to keep him away from "sin". How cruel it is to confuse kids and make them feel guilty like that about natural impulses. Jeeze! At another point in the movie you see the same kid walking
perilously over a narrow handbar of a high bridge. When caught and asked why, he replies "to give God a chance to kill me".

Such and many more disturbing things happen in "The White Ribbon". The black n white tone greatly enhances the sombre, ominous feel and adds to the grim blandness of the old-world protestant aunties with their hair tightly tied in buns. (What could be the mentality of the men who made their women dress like that! No ribbons, no bows, no frilly stuff. Huh?)

Its a good watch, but the only thing is that its open ended. You can only guess who
the culprit was, as nothing is really revealed. Did I mention that "The White Ribbon"
won the "Palm d'or" at Cannes?

La francaiseee!!

Since I started learning french, I have gotten into the habit of enjoying french TV, french comics, websites and ofcourse french movies. Its so cool that learning a new language opens up a whole
new world of art and literature for you, that you previously could'nt understand.

On my first visit to the alliance francaise library, I discovered a genre of comics that I had only heard of. Lolo et Sucette is a series of funny and sex-y 'Bandes dessinées' that showcase
the lives of two saucy hookers and the fun they have 'on the job' :) It was refreshing to read something that talks about sex, hookers and streetlife, in a light-wicked-wacky way 'nd without any sense of pointless taboo, plus the jokes and illustrations are really funny. Plus I learnt so many new words. Guess what "preservatif" means. hehe.

I am gonna look for other volumes of the series.

Next task in line is to look for some interesting "Bande-animes".

More on this in d next post

Series of 5 - Funniest Email-forwards!!

I was gonna start a series of posts, where I'll make a list of 5 worthwhile things from different categories...for eg, 5 sexiest hollywood hunks, 5 best street foods, 5 this , 5 that. Well,
its jus for fun. Just 5 mins back, I came across an e-mail forward that had to be the funnniest
one I had seen. So, why not start this series with the "5 funniest Email Forwards (that I have received)".

Okkk, let me go and dig up my inbox....

N....heres wat i got

please click on images, to view bigger version

1) Indian PhotographY.......The Top 4 Poses!!!!








2) HAHA, I LOVE DIS JOKE :

A little boy got on the bus, sat next to a man reading a book, and noticed he had his collar on backwards.

The little boy asked why he wore his collar backwards.

The man, who was a priest, said 'I am a Father.'

The little boy replied 'My Dad doesn't wear his collar like that.'

The priest looked up from his book and answered 'I am the Father of many.'

The boy said 'My Dad has 4 boys, 4 girls and two grandchildren and he doesn't wear his collar that way'

The priest, getting impatient, said 'I am the Father of hundreds' and went back to reading his book.

The little boy sat quietly thinking for a while, then leaned over and said, 'Maybe you should use a condom and wear your pants backwards instead of your collar.'


3) lOOOOOOOOLZZZ...SARDARNI JOKE

A Sardarni gets home early from shopping and hears strange noises coming from the bedroom.
She rushes upstairs to find her husband naked on the bed, sweating and panting.
'What's up?' she asks.
'I'm having a heart attack,' cries the husband..
The sardarini rushes downstairs to grab the phone, but just as she's dailing her four-year-old son comes up and says, 'Mommy! Mommy!
Aunt Amrit Kaur is hiding in your Wardrobe, and she's got no clothes on ! '
The sardarini slams the phone down and storms upstairs into the bedroom, right past her husband, and rips open the Wardrobe door.
Sure enough, there is her sister, totally naked and cowering on the Wardrobe floor.
'You rotten 'B****', she screams, 'My husband's having a heart attack, and you're running around naked scaring the kids!!'


4) HOW THE AMERICANS SEE THE WORLD



5) Read the short story of this new tamil movie.
It deserves every award that exists

VILLU STORY :

Vijay's dad was killed by the villain, and his mother needs an operation !
So he sells his land for his mother !
Inorder to take revenge, Vijay (Villu) has to go to America to kill the villain,
but he has no money, no passport and no visa! So he decides one thing and comes
to Chennai !

In Chennai, Villu climbs on top of LIC Building, gets blessings from Godess Kuruvi,
and jumps from the top floor!!!

But our Villu stays in air itself in same position! After 12 hrs,
the earth rotates and since he is still in the same position,
he jumps and lands in America! He kills the villain and returns
to Chennai the same way!!!!

Photoshop Illustration - wine bottle :)

Hey, I wanted to try my hand at drawing stuff in photoshop, with light, shadow, textures...
and a picture of a wine bottle caught my eye. Heres the original photo (below).. Actually my illustration (above) requires more work, but a teeny-weeny project has come up, so de bottle has to rest aside for a while.