The White Balloon

Jafar Panahi

Razieh, the protagonist of the movie played by Aida Mohammadkhani, shows us that children can be the most ‘original’ of actors. They have not yet learnt the dissembling ways of the adult world, which become so difficult to shed when we try to be ‘natural’ when acting. Her determined quest for a goldfish challenges anyone who thinks that an adult’s hunt for gold could be any more serious or ridiculous. Made by an Iranian director who has also faced prison for having dared to exercise his freedom of expression, the beautiful film brings hope to all creative artists who continue to suffer under repressive regimes.

Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi

Sudhir Mishra

It braves popular opinion to trace the genesis of a movement which is often misunderstood, even by its enthusiasts and participants. The interweaving of the love story with the political scenario underlines what Graham Greene says, that the only love that survives is the kind that has accepted everything, betrayals, failures, disappointments and that in the end, there is no desire deeper than that of companionship.

Black Friday

Anurag Kashyap

The film can be seen as an excellent example of the tremendous potential of the ‘common crew’. Almost all of the film’s actors are people who are recognised by the audience more by their faces than their names. Still, in the brilliant performances delivered by each of its individual actors, ‘Black Friday’ reiterates the oft-forgotten fact that in order to become a hero, one first needs to become an actor. In his choice of actors, Kashyap falls perfectly in line with the spirit of the movie, that at the end of the day, it is the ‘commoners’, who have to bear the brunt of tragedies, not governments or politicians.

Il Postino

Michael Radford

Is hero worship to be summarily dismissed as the lack of independent intellectual examination, or is there something more to it? The character of the postman Mario, played by Massimo Troisi, is not just another star-struck fan but is truly devoted to his hero Pablo Neruda. What propels Neruda to become attached to Mario is probably Neruda’s awe with the way Mario takes poetry so seriously in ‘real’ life. For the postman, not just the personal, but also the political, is poetical. The film makes one look afresh at the power of evocative poetry and how even conspicuously apolitical cultural media can leave indelible marks on our tabula rasas.

Changeling

Clint Eastwood

The movie has a simple, yet, strong manner in which it quietly lays upon the table issues our society has always shied away from. The film rejects stereotypes in asserting that a child does not have to be a deviant to go missing. A mother does not have to be self-obsessed or an alcoholic to lose her child. Yet, she (Angelina Jolie) does. When this happens, she sets out to find her son with all her strength, courage and determination. But does a ‘mere’ woman really have a chance against a police force, who, however corrupt, tackles all criticism with ruthlessness?

Holding her ground about her refusal to accept the wrong child as her son, she lands in an asylum where most women are paying for having gotten on the wrong side of a cop. Her demand for these political prisoners of sorts is a reflection of the fact that she is not just a loving and protective mother but also deeply devoted to the cause of justice. This is what makes the movie unique. It combines the subjects of corruption, motherhood and feminism in such a subtle manner that it embarrasses the audience for not having given it a thought earlier. Without aggressively asking its viewers to form opinions, it evokes their compassion in such a way that one cannot help but take the protagonist’s side.