Hit the Road: India (2013)

Genre

Adventure | Documentary

Directors

Gor Baghdasaryan | Mushegh Baghdasaryan

Country

Armenia | India

Cast

Richard Gazarian, Keith King

Storyline

Hit The Road: India is a travel adventure documentary about two friends participating in a 12-day rickshaw rally across India, from Mumbai to Chennai, recognized by Lonely Planet as one of the top-10 greatest adventures of 2012.

Opinion

Hit the Road: India is an incredible and witty journey to discover India, that feels more like a mixture of an adventure film and a reality show - in a good way -, than a documentary, due to lack of interviews, and narration.

Although aim of the race - and of the documentary - is getting from point A to point B, the film focuses less on the race itself, but more on the incredible experience the two friends have during their trip. Despite the several misfortunes - Rickshaw problems, monsoons, police, bad roads, never ending traffic - they don't give up. Although the insane trip confirm the decision to take part in the event might have been foolish - and that they probably will think twice before doing something like this in the future -, it also confirm it surely was a great experience and worth doing it.

The scenery is outstanding and breathtaking, and the photography is great. The music is spot on.

I highly recommend this documentary to anyone looking not to watch, or to learn, but to experience something a little different.

Miral

Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel latest film is not similar to his previous movies where in my opinion art and filmmaking merged more successfully; maybe first half of this movie, before Miral becomes the center story, camera moves and editing look and feel artier but everything changes to more “normal” narrative when the little girl becomes a teenager. Then this so-called controversial movie because of the story it tells, is to my eyes and ears not really controversial as tells a known story, Israel/Palestine conflict, told from the Palestine point-of-view, which also has been told in films like for example Elia Suleiman’s The Time That Remains that I believe was more emotionally successful conveying what Palestinians had to live since the Israel state was created thanks to extraordinary use of dark comedy.

Based on a novel by Rula Jebreal, who did the screenplay and seems is real life Schnabel companion, film tells the story of Miral but for more than half the movie you will not see her as the actual story told is about Hind Husseini, marvelously played by Hiam Abbass, the wealthy woman that takes in her house orphan children from the 1948 war with the orphanage eventually becoming a school for girls that still exists today. Not only this part of the story is visually told more interesting but also story and Abbass performances are compelling. Miral story per se is interesting but I believe that was not translated into the screen in a compelling way as you can’t sympathize with her not-really-shown struggle deciding between becoming active in the urban guerilla or do something to promote peace.

Not exactly what I was hoping from Schnabel and end-product is not as interesting as could or should have been as telling the story of four women Hindi Husseini, Nadia (Miral’s mother), Fatima (Nadia’s cell mate) and Miral HAD to be more interesting especially when most of what happens is true life facts and reality.

Can’t recommend the movie but have to share that story got me curious, so curious that think will read the book by Rula Jebreal as I need to know details that so obviously were left out in the movie. Still IF you’re interested in a Palestinian vision from the Israel-Palestine conflict I strongly suggest you to watch Elia Suleiman marvelous The Time That Remains, but be prepared for non-conventional art cinema.

Enjoy.

Watch trailer @MOC

पीपली [लाइव] Peepli [Live] (Peepli Live)

Not an easy movie to review for me as didn’t enjoyed much because I always recognize that I have a very peculiar kind of humor that goes to the darkish side and this satire was like an American screwball that definitively doesn’t allow me to enjoy at all, plus style, performances and situations were not really appealing to me. Still, I forced myself to watch it until the very end as we all know that’s India’s submission to Oscar.

Film is a comic satire about media and politics “irresponsible” way of dealing with situations. Here is the case of rural India “farmer suicides” due to their inability to find a way to repay a Government loan and being in the verge of losing their land, which is the only thing/object they have. So when Natha decides to suicide -so his family can collect money from Government- and a reporter finds out, the circus starts with all media to soon be followed by Government personnel due to the public attention that the constant news coverage gives to Natha.

After reading about film I found that perhaps the major merit this film has is that is one of the few films of India that depart the traditional escapist and entertaining format that most Bollywood -or not- films usually do. It’s commendable that mainstream films try to break a pattern, but I believe that in the rest of the world we have seen media and politics satires developed either comically or seriously since a long time ago and film doesn’t gives us more than entertaining and laughs. Still I also believe that this particular story doesn’t benefit at all whatever image we foreigners have about India.

So if you enjoy American screwball comedy then perhaps you will enjoy this film but be prepared to a very different kind of acting.

On the positive side, I was able to watch it until the very end which hasn’t happened with other submission’s to current Oscar where I stopped film as couldn’t take any more.

Sigh.

Watch Trailer @MOC