Movie Recommendation - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

First released: 2006

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Sam Douglas, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman

Directed by: Tom Tykwer

Based on: The novel of the same name by Patrick Süskind

The fleeting nature of beauty and perfection are the main themes in this is a visually memorable, well-written, and well-acted film. In the end I found it deeply disturbing--mainly because I ended up admiring the main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, even as I recognized what he was doing as not only wrong, but pointless.

The movie is about a man named Grenouille (which, as we all know from NCIS, means "frog"), an 18th-century Frenchman who has such a precise and amazing sense of smell that he experiences the world almost entirely by scent. Combine this with extreme social awkwardness and a propensity for anyone who knows him to die suddenly and violently, and let's just say the guy's kind of an odd duck.

Grenouille's ride to Crazytown begins when he catches the most beautiful scent he's ever smelled: a young woman. Thereafter, he becomes obsessed with capturing and preserving people's (young women's, technically) scents forever. To that end, he becomes a journeyman perfumer and seeks to create the perfect scent.

The performances in the film are really good--especially Ben Whishaw, who plays Grenouille. He brings just the right mix of attraction and repulsion to Grenouille's character; I imagine he would also play an excellent Ted Bundy. Alan Rickman is freaking awesome, as always, and even Dustin Hoffman is pretty good. The female actresses mainly stand around looking pretty and hunted.

"But I'm too pretty to live..."

Grenouille's struggle to capture something as fleeting as scent finds many metaphors throughout the movie. The film plays like one of those historical monographs where the life an ordinary person is recreated through the interpretation of historical documents--an interesting point in itself as history can be seen as attempting to do the same thing Grenouille does, capture the essence of a person and preserve it forever. The entire point of Grenouille's life is that he disappears into the ether, leaving behind only fleeting and vague emotions in the people he encountered, if that. Yet his story is written down so it will never be forgotten? This was the most difficult part of the film to reconcile for me.

Visually, I love this movie. It doesn't saturate you with beauty all the time; instead, most of the movie is very dark and monochromatic, so that when the important scenes come up--full of gorgeous, bright, saturated color--you remember them like they've been burned into your retinas.

The movie also reminded me of an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations I watched last week. Bourdain went to Tokyo, where he asked every chef he encountered, "Is perfection possible?" Like scent, food is a fleeting, temporary experience. All the chefs Bourdain talked to said, no, perfection isn't possible to achieve, although they all strive for it. Grenouille too strives for perfection in his art; but unlike the chefs on No Reservations, he doesn't think it's impossible. When Grenouille first apprentices himself to the parfumier Giuseppe Baldini, Baldini tells him a story about a perfume found in Egypt that was so amazing, for a minute after it was unearthed, everyone in the world thought they were in paradise. This legend (which Grenouille doesn't think is a legend) combines with his obsession to preserve a young woman's beauty and innocence forever, leading him to create a scent that can command the love and admiration of anyone with functioning olfactory glands. Yet this amazing formula comes with a steep price: the destruction of the very thing he's trying to capture, the lives of the young women. Ergo, the film seems to be arguing, perfection leads to death. Perhaps this why the chefs on No Reservationsbelieve they will never, ever be able to achieve perfection, no matter how hard they strive for it; because they know perfection would destroy the reason why they strive for it in the first place: the fleeting moment of connection with another human being.

At least, that's the conclusion Grenouille comes to, too late to save the lives of the beautiful young women of Grasse. In despair, he destroys the perfume he created forever.  Despite the fact that Grenouille gets what's coming to him and then some, it does seem a shame that so much beauty would disappear so quickly and never be experienced again.

#SilentMakersPictures

Todays recommendation(world wide category) - THE READER (2008)

Rating : 7.6/10

    Released Date : 2008

    IMDB Link : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976051/

Directed by 

Stephen Daldry

Writing Credits (WGA)  

David Hare	...	(screenplay)
Bernhard Schlink	...	(book "Der Vorleser")

Review

The crucial decision in "The Reader" is made by a 24-year-old youth, who has information that might help a woman about to be sentenced to life in prison, but withholds it. He is ashamed to reveal his affair with this woman. By making this decision, he shifts the film's focus from the subject of German guilt about the Holocaust and turns it on the human race in general. The film intends his decision as the key to its meaning, but most viewers may conclude that "The Reader" is only about the Nazis' crimes and the response to them by post-war German generations.

The film centers on a sexual relationship between Hanna (Kate Winslet), a woman in her mid-30s, and Michael (David Kross), a boy of 15. That such things are wrong is beside the point; they happen, and the story is about how it connected with her earlier life and his later one. It is powerfully, if sometimes confusingly, told in a flashback framework and powerfully acted by Winslet and Kross, with Ralph Fiennes coldly enigmatic as the elder Michael.

The story begins with the cold, withdrawn Michael in middle age (Fiennes), and moves back to the late 1950s on a day when young Michael is found sick and feverish in the street and taken back to Hanna's apartment to be cared for. This day, and all their days together, will be obsessed with sex. Hanna makes little pretense of genuinely loving Michael, who she calls "kid," and although Michael has a helpless crush on Hanna, it should not be confused with love. He is swept away by the discovery of his own sexuality.

What does she get from their affair? Sex, certainly, but it seems more important that he read aloud to her: "Reading first. Sex afterwards." The director, Stephen Daldry, portrays them with a great deal of nudity and sensuality, which is correct, because for those hours, in that place, they are about nothing else.

One day Hanna disappears. Michael finds her apartment deserted, with no hint or warning. His unformed ego is unprepared for this blow. Eight years later, as a law student, he enters a courtroom and discovers Hanna in a group of Nazi prison guards being tried for murder. Something during this trial suddenly makes another of her secrets clear to him and might help explain why she became a prison guard. His discovery does not excuse her unforgivable guilt. Still, it might affect her sentencing. Michael remains silent.

The adult Michael has sentenced himself to a lonely, isolated existence. We see him after a night with a woman, treating her with remote politeness. He has never recovered from the wound he received from Hanna, nor from the one he inflicted on himself eight years after. She hurt him, he hurt her. She was isolated and secretive after the war, he became so after the trial. The enormity of her sin far outweighs his, but they are both guilty of allowing harm because they reject the choice to do good.

At the film's end, Michael encounters a Jewish woman in New York (Lena Olin), who eviscerates him with her moral outrage. She should. But she thinks he seeks understanding for Hanna. Not so. He cannot forgive Hanna's crimes. He seeks understanding for himself, although perhaps he doesn't realize that. In the courtroom, he withheld moral witness and remained silent, as she did, as most Germans did. And as many of us have done or might be capable of doing.

There are enormous pressures in all human societies to go along. Many figures involved in the recent Wall Street meltdown have used the excuse, "I was only doing my job. I didn't know what was going on." President Bush led us into war on mistaken premises, and now says he was betrayed by faulty intelligence. U.S. military personnel became torturers because they were ordered to. Detroit says it was only giving us the cars we wanted. The Soviet Union functioned for years because people went along. China still does.

Many of the critics of "The Reader" seem to believe it is all about Hanna's shameful secret. No, not her past as a Nazi guard. The earlier secret that she essentially became a guard to conceal. Others think the movie is an excuse for soft-core porn disguised as a sermon. Still others say it asks us to pity Hanna. Some complain we don't need yet another "Holocaust movie." None of them think the movie may have anything to say about them. I believe the movie may be demonstrating a fact of human nature: Most people, most of the time, all over the world, choose to go along. We vote with the tribe.

What would we have done during the rise of Hitler? If we had been Jews, we would have fled or been killed. But if we were one of the rest of the Germans? Can we guess, on the basis of how most white Americans, from the North and South, knew about racial discrimination but didn't go out on a limb to oppose it? Philip Roth's great novel The Plot Against Americaimagines a Nazi takeover here. It is painfully thought-provoking and probably not unfair. "The Reader" suggests that many people are like Michael and Hanna, and possess secrets that we would do shameful things to conceal.

Mohanlal Undergoing Physiotherapy - Latest News

Ace superstar Mohanlal is undergoing physiotherapy at a private hospital here for the past one week as he is suffering from pain in his left leg, a source at the facility said.

The physiotherapy sessions are progressing well, a source at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences told IANS.

The 54-year-old has been suffering the pain for a while and only after weighing different options did he decid to undergo physiotherapy, a close aide of the actor told IANS.

"The pain is on his left knee and is spreading downwards. At one point of time, even bringing in a knee expert from the US was discussed, but after weighing other medical opinions, physiotherapy was decided upon. Things are getting better for him now," said the aide, who did not wish to be identified.

Once the physiotherapy session is over, Mohanlal is expected to take rest and would be ready to don the grease paint only in October when he teams up with Manju Warrier in a film, to be directed by master storyteller Sathyan Anthicadu.

"Aaram Thamburan" and "Kanmadam" have been two films that turned out to be a huge success when the duo acted together.

Resource : http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/Mohanlal-Undergoing-Physiotherapy/2014/08/20/article2389272.ece

Tips from a Young Filmmaker

1. Where do you find the resources? (camera, editing, talent)

Quite often when I shoot a film, I do A LOT of borrowing. My school owns a Panasonic VHS Broadcast camera that is usually used for shooting school performances, etc. It’s the same for the editing equipment. My school just has some VERY simple Avid editing stations that they bought on a whim, so I use those. As for talent, it really boils down to whoever I can find. Friends, teachers, etc. The problem here is that these people usually have busy schedule’s, so you end up working on their time. When it comes to things like this, never get discouraged if something doesn’t work out in the way of equipment, talent, etc. If you don’t have the money to buy the equipment, find someone who has what you need and see if their willing to loan or rent it to you. Get it anyway you can, (legally of course..

2. How do you pick locations?

When it comes to locations and sets for films, the same technique as above applies. BORROW, BORROW, BORROW. First check if your living area is good for a shoot, or you or your family owns something that will work. That is the easiest. If you don’t have a location that will work, ask your neighbors, friends, etc. If they don’t, drive around and look for the right place. If you end up finding it, and you don’t know the people who own it, ask them for permission to use the area. More than likely they will with little or no money value attached. If you need a soundstage, you may want to ask the local music venue or performing arts theatre. These places are great, as they come with equipment too. The only problem is that they USUALLY won’t let you use it unless you rent it. And the costs for renting stages is not cheap. But it may be your only choice.

3. How to divide up the crew? (director, cameraman, AD.

This is an easy area for one main reason; you as the film artist will end up doing most or all of everything. On a shoot, you may only have two or three people who actually know what’s going on. The other people are actors, etc. This means that you need to be aware of what’s going on at all times. YOU need to be the lighting engineer, YOU need to be the cameraman, YOU need to be the director. Build up your skills in every aspect of the art.

4. Where do you find actors?

As stated before, use people you know. At this point, don’t worry about acting abilities. Teach your actors on the spot, show them what you know. Just keep going over and over the script if they can’t act out a certain part. They should get it eventually.

5. How much does it cost to produce a 5 or 10 minute video?

Cost all depends on what you want to do. First, check out what you have, and then look at what you need. My philosophy is that if you’re shooting a 5-10 minute video, your expenses should NOT go over $50. Use what you have. If you don’t have it, get creative. Remember, it just needs to look good on camera, it doesn’t matter what it looks like in real life. This applies to everything from wardrobe to props. BORROW, BORROW, BORROW!!

6. Where do you get the money to make your videos?

All the money you use should be out of pocket. Don’t take out a bank loan or anything like that. Like before, GET CREATIVE! Every so often, you may want to find a sponsor if you’re doing a BIG film. Somebody who will pay YOU for displaying or using their product. This may come in very handy, but sponsor contracts often have a lot strings attached. Just don’t spend more money than what you have to.

7. Where can you show your film/video?

Once you are done with your film/video, you want people to see it! This can be done in a few ways. The first and easiest idea is to show a bunch of your friends, and have them spread the word about it. Before you know it, more and more people will be wanting to see your piece of art. Another way to have it shown to the world is to enter it in a traditional media art exhibit, (like paintings, drawings, etc.. You may need to pull a few strings to get it in, but people love to see non-traditional media art mixed in with traditional. And this way, your art get exposed to a whole new range of people.

Another way to get your name out there is the internet. Capture your film on a computer and hand it out all over. Atomfilms.com is a great place to start. They are very stringent on their choices for films, but if you can get in there, you’re going to be exposed twice as fast. If your short film is REALLY good, you may want to look into getting the film on the Sci-Fi channel’s show, Exposure, (http://www.scifi.com/exposure/.. This is VERY hard to get into, but if you do, your phone will be ringing off the hook with new contacts.

Remember, NEVER turn off that camera!

Exclusive trailer - Happy new year

Sound expression - Shadows Film - Silent makers

Posted Date : March 14, 2013 17:03 IST

Media : THE HINDU NEWS PAPER 

     For long the visually challenged have been left in the dark, especially when it comes to the movies. Now young techie Sivaprasad Kashimankulam, a mobility specialist who develops iPhone apps at Applexus Technology in Technopark, is all set to bring about a change and make cinema accessible to the visually challenged. He has come out with a 100-minute feature film titled Shadows, which he says is “one of the first ‘blind accessible cinemas’ in the country”. The audio release of the film is set for March 18 at Karikkakom temple.

“Shadows is perhaps Malayalam’s first complete ‘blind accessible cinema’. These days with the advancement in technology, the trend of blind accessible formats for commercial cinemas is picking up in the West. It is still rare in India. One of the only commercial cinemas in such a format is Sanjay Leela Bansali’s Black,” says Sivaprasad. How then does such cinema play out? “Nowadays most theatres, especially in the West, are equipped with descriptive audio features that ‘narrate’ the action as it happens on the screen, through specially designed headphones worn by the visually challenged person. Here in Kerala we do not have access to such facilities. So we have used DAISY – Digital Accessible Information System, a digital talking book format, which offers many additional advantages over traditional audio books on regular CDs. To put it simply, it’s like a podcast with audio description. Prior to a scene, the visually challenged will get a full description of the make up and situation of the particular scene, complete with sound effects,” explains Sivaprasad.

The 23-year-old, who hails from Thalassery in Kannur, has already made three short films, namelyOrmayilninnoru Nadam, The Hidden Truth and The Bridge. “I’ve always been interested in filmmaking. While studying at RVS College of Engineering, Coimbatore, I was inspired by how engineer-turned-actor-turned- director Vineeth Sreenivasan and his friends made the journey into filmdom. I made the short films while in college and I used to get positive feedback from my college mates. That’s why I decided that one day I would make a cinema,” says the techie.

Film Poster

His interactions with his visually challenged friend, Salih, inspired Sivaprasad to make Shadows. “Salih was my colleague when I worked at Schogini Systems. It was only after I got to know Salih that I realised I had a lot of misconceptions about the visually challenged. Salih, who used to develop apps for the visually challenged, was the leader of the company’s chess team and is one of the most dynamic people I know. He once talked to me how the visually challenged in India don’t really have access to cinema. I decided that if I make the movie I would want it to make a real difference. Salih was very excited aboutShadows and wrote the audio descriptive parts of the film,” says Sivaprasad.

Shadows, set in Thalassery, tells the tale of three friends – Deepu, Raju and the visually challenged Viswanathan. It’s also a tale of familial bonds that explores Viswanathan’s ties with his wife and his much younger sister. The story unfolds through the many people that walk in and out of Viswanathan’s life. “It’s a simple and straightforward story,” says Sivaprasad. The casting of the film was done through online auditions, the profiles shortlisted from Auditions are here, a Facebook page of wannabe actors. The film has been made under the banner of Silent Maker’s Pictures.

Sivaprasad hopes to premiere the film on April 25 at the Kairali-Sree-Nila complex in the city in the presence of many visually challenged persons. The theatrical release is set for May.