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I watched Okuribito (Departures) yesterday, a movie that follows the life of a mortician, an encoffiner. An encoffiner is a person whose profession is to prepare the body of a deceased person and place it in a coffin, especially in a ceremonial or ritualistic manner. Leonor Magtolis Briones, a movie critic, notes, “the encoffiners’ real task is to bring dignity to death, respect to the deceased and solace to those who grieve, and it is not hard to be moved . . . .”

Okuribito is a 2008 Japanese film by Y?jir? Takita. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars.

It is a beautiful movie, but a very difficult watch initially. You feel confident of your capability to withstand difficult scenes, but in here, something inside you gives away. At first you start despising the profession and feel the same kind of emotions as felt by the wife of the protagonist. But slowly, you are awestruck with the beauty of the process, the incredible art, and the relevance of the ritual. It touches you deep within.

I don’t know what motivated me to watch this movie. Perhaps it was the fact that I had nothing else to do at that time. But I am now incredibly thankful for the impulsive decision. Though the movie is about a man’s journey, it has many underlying tones to it. There are quite a few aspects that are so very relevant to our own lives. There was once a debate at my house on how once people take care of their need for food and shelter, they move on to think about supposedly higher level things. The argument surrounded the relative progress made by different civilizations around the world. But in the face of this movie, all those arguments fall apart. Through this movie you realize that a profession can be cherished for what good does it do to the people around us. You may not be making millions (or even thousands) but can live a very simple, satisfying, and beautiful life. The taste of food does not change with how secure you are financially. Those things take care of themselves once you are connected with yourself. And the fact that death is inevitable. In one line of the movie, the main character says (not verbatim) – “My father left this world leaving behind just a carton full of items”. You see what I mean. The movie also showed one of the best husband-wife relationship I have seen ever. It was just beautiful.

The movie is very well made. I am not too keen to speak about the technicalities of the movie because, at one point, it does not matter. But I would like to highlight its music. Its refreshing. Anyone who is motivated to watch this movie must first read the story (at least the gist). Only if you feel comfortable with the subject, should you venture. And even if you do not subscribe to my enthusiasm or assessment, its not a big deal.

Watched Pixar’s UP tonight and what a roller coaster ride it was. Coasting on the tides of a man’s emotion, of a child’s simplicity, of an animal’s innocence, and of human imagination. Touching at times, and hilarious the next moment, UP is a movie for all ages. It is visually stunning movie with some incredible special effects. There were moments when it did not feel like animation but an authentic fantasy world.

What differentiates Pixar from other movie houses is the human touch in every of its movies and that is what attracts me to animation flicks. I am not a big fan of animals based movies and feel that they are more suited for kids. But Pixar manages to capture not only the imagination of a kid but titillates an adult mind too. The trials and tribulations that a protagonist endures, its emotional aftereffect, and his final victory touches every human. Such was The Incredibles, Wall-E, and UP. Great job Pixar!

Two thumbs up.

The Indian film industry is certainly maturing. We have been witness to some good movies in the past few years and if the present trend continues we will see our mainstream movies winning awards at various festivals (not just sending our pretty actors and actresses to walk down the aisles of Cannes). Directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra have shown to our veteran film-makers that we need not stick to the routine song and dance sequence to make a good movie (that makes a profit too). The veterans should take note and prove to the world (and India) that their creativity is not a slave to slick cameramanship, reputed actors and colorful choreography. A movie devoid of all such fluff can also touch your hearts and bring a smile to an average cinegoer like me.

Debutante director Balakrishna makes his entry into the film industry from the adworld with Cheeni Kum, a little sweet, little sour story about an elderly gentleman following in love with a middle-aged woman. The main plot of the movie can be summarized in a few lines. The elderly gentleman (played by Amitabh Bachchan) is a chef who runs a restaurant in London. On one occasion he meets one of his patrons, (middle aged lady played by Tabu) and soon sparks fly between them. They fall in love and want to get married, but there is a problem. The gentleman is older than his prospective father-in-law (Paresh Rawal). The problem is soon resolved and the couple get married. That’s about it. But its at this end when the magic of movie making kicks in, something that can decide whether the viewers will leave the theater happy or high-and-dry.

Indian movies, until this point in time, have conformed to the culture that was the mainstay of the generation fading away. But now the times are changing and Indians have become more westernized and liberal in their viewpoints about traditions, including love and marriage. A film maker who tries to express these advances in their movies run the risk of being rejected and forgotten. We have seen evidence of such mavericks in Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor and more recently in Karan Johar who have burnt their fingers and money trying to send out a message from the generation X. It is important for a film maker to convey the message as subtley as possible so that an average Indian can take some time to absorb these ideologies and be comfortable with such dogmas. Balakrishna manages to do just that.

He takes time to arrive at the problem. He doesnt create unnecessary situations to drive home the dilemma faced by the protoganists. Amitabh (Buddha) meets Tabu (Nina Verma) in a matter-of-fact situation and falls in love. This love story can be between any two people in any age group.Only when the situation comes where the prospective son-in-law has to ask for his to-be brides hand, is the question posed. Then there are other mini-plots throughout the story that keep the viewers engaged and take them off the main problem from time to time. The story of Sexy (played aptly by Swini Khara) sends out a message to every one of us – You never know when the end comes, so do what you dream and desire of when you can still give it a shot. The comic angle provided by the cooks at Spice6 (name of the restaurant owned by Buddha) and Buddha’s mother (Zohra Sehgal) helps to break any monotony that may have sunk in. But it is ultimately the love story between the Buddha and Nina that holds the center stage. The frivolous interactions, the nervousness, the fear of being rejected, among other things tell us a story that each one of us have lived at some time or the other. Finally comes the question – Is it ok for a 64 year old man to marry? More so to a 34 year woman? The father-in-law poses a problem because he is dogmatic and is not ok to give up the ideologies of the past – even when there is no logical flaw in the concept. Buddha’s tirade, when father-in-law takes up Satyagragha (fasting unto death) to further his thoughts, very aptly makes this point and discusses various reasonings that might be the anchor to which the old genreations are so stubbornly tied to. Buddha’s remarks are not something that he is prepared for beforehand, they come out in the form of a discussion, trying to solve the dilemma the old guy in the bed has. One by one he touches upon jealosy, common sense et all and finally he resigns to the fact that the father is just imposing his thoughts on his daughter without any premonition of what should be done and what not.

Song and dance sequences in this movie are none. Illayaraja provides a light background score that keeps the movie balanced for the Indian movie goer, though I believe the main track could have been on a more mature note. Amitabh, the icon, play his role quietly without ever imposing his larger than life persona. Tabu, a beautiful and sensitive actress, seems natural and carries the weight of the film in equal standing with the big B. She definitely needs more attention and good roles so that she can continue to prove to the younger stars what good acting is actually made up of.

The real star of the film is the director, Balakrishna. He takes up a subject that could have been easily rejected and written off. But he serves it up in a dish that is neither very sweet nor very sour. And it does help us to savor it a lot better.