Illusionist (English, 2006)

Illusionist is the second big film coming this year with the protagonists being magicians, the other one being Prestige. Both are wonderful films, having some wonderful performances. But that is where the similarity ends. While the subject that Prestige deals with is competitiveness, Illusionist is a romantic film. It is one of that rare breed of romantic films where "love" is the basis of the plot rather than a cliched word being shouted infinite times.

Illusionist is the story of Eisenheim (Edward Norton), a poor peasant boy interested in magic, in love with his childhood sweetheart, Sophie (Jessica Biel). After roaming about the world learning magic, Eisenheim returns to find that Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) intends to marry Sophie. Eisenheim's growing popularity as a magician puts him at odds with Prince Leopold, who instructs Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) to destroy Eisenheim. Eisenheim, however, has tricks up his sleeve and there starts a battle between Eisenheim's love and magic and Prince Leopold's power.

Illusionist comes with a very tight storyline with enough twists and surprises and quite a few wonderful magical tricks. While that is winner enough, where the movie really succeeds is the brilliantly understated performance by Edward Norton. He portrays a love which is not ruffled by his own popularity or the threat of the prince or the heat of a high-powered struggle.

Recommendation - Must see.
Rating - ✔✔✔✔

Eklavya (एकलव्य)(Hindi, 2007)

In the realm of Indian mythology, there is a constant need to define what "dharma" is or what is the right thing to do. Several instances of sacrifices are quoted where people do senseless, impractical, even wrong things in order to follow some stupid tradition or belief. In Mahabharata, the story of Eklavya, the tribal student who became a master archer just by his dedication to his goal but then sacrifices his thumb to his assumed teacher Dronacharya in the name of his duty, is an episode which very few sensible people have been able to digest.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has named his protagonist Eklavya (Amitabh Bachchhan). His Eklavya is a guard of a Rajasthani prince Rana Jaywardhan (Boman Irani) and has the same sense of dedication to his duty and goal that his eponymous mythological character has. The movie begins with a disclosure, that Prince Harshawardhan (Saif Ali Khan) is actually Eklavya's son. Rana Jaywardhan plots to kill Eklavya with the help of his brother Rana Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff) and nephew Udaywardhan (Jimmy Shergill); but gets killed himself. Eklavya is bound by his duty to punish the killers of his king, but when he finds out that prince Harshawardhan is involved, will Eklavya again sacrifice what is dear to him in the name of duty or will he realise that "dharma" is not a dead concept bound by traditions, but is defined by what is right in terms of the current context? Rajjo (Vidya Balan) plays Harshawardhan's love interest.

A very beautifully shot film. Cinematography in Rajasthan's forts and desert background is simply amazing. You can see the movie just for that. You can also see the movie for its tight storyline and direction. It is a very short movie, going by Bollywood standards, in that its running length is around 90 minutes. A very effective movie, nonetheless. The performances are also quite good. Vidhu Vinod Chopra has come up with a winner here.

Recommendation - Watch it on big screen. Those scenes of Rajasthan are breathtaking.

Rating - ✔✔✔

Becoming Jane (English, 2007)

Becoming Jane is the story of the early years of Jane Austen, one of the most famous writers in English literature. It portends to convey the society and conventions of the late eighteenth century; the humble position of Jane's own family; the choice that she has to make between a rich noble and a penniless lover and how eventually her experiences transform her from a girl named Jane Austen to THE Jane Austen.

Anne Hathway plays young Jane to perfection and the movie does convey what it set out to convey, only its not movie material. At least not great movie material. Jane Austen wrote love stories wonderful enough to make movies about, she had the ability to alleviate her characters from the humdrum of everyday life and make them get what they wanted, eventually. The story-writer for this movie was not Jane Austen. So the movie is just another movie. Nothing great and wonderful about it.

Recommendation - Watchable, but you can wait for the DVD or for it to come sometime later on cable TV.

Rating - ✔

The Freedom Writers (English, 2007)

What is the difference a teacher can make? In a class full of teenagers most of whom come from difficult backgrounds and are involved in domestic and street violence and poverty; in a class which is divided into groups which can't tolerate each other; in a class where education is something forced upon, irrelevant to the daily struggles rather than something to be valued or something which can transform lives - into such a class arrives the newbie teacher Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) . Facing a group of disillusioned students, she gets them to trust her that she cares whether they study or not. By exposing them to know about things beyond their immediate surroundings, by exposing them to the sufferings and conquest of sufferings through literature, she gets them to learn the value of tolerance, to recognise the value of education and to pursue education beyond high school. Most of all, she teaches them to stretch themselves and develop the confidence that they can do bigger and better things.

A very inspirational story, especially as it happens to be true. The movie, given its inspirational remit, is reasonably good and keeps you involved throughout. With decent enough performances from Hillary Swank and all the students, and a reasonably well-told story, the film is a good watch. However, do not expect magic. After watching the movie, I developed a deep sense of respect for Erin Gruwell; but I did not feel as if I have seen a wonderful film.

Recommendation - Worth seeing, just for its subject.

Rating - ✔✔