Shriveling Interest

The interest withers away.
With time and age, things pass by.
Believing or criticizing a philosophy fades away.
Religion becomes meaningless.
Films no longer enthrall.
People become repulsive.
The pleasure of listening to jazz and classical music dies away
The urge to say something goes away.
You said your piece - there is nothing much to say.

Barbet Schroeder’s “Our Lady of Assassins”

Barbet Schroeder’s Colombian movie “Our Lady of Assassins” (2000) gave a good experience of how the City of Medellin in Colombia goes about with its everyday life. There is a gay brothel, anarchic violence in every corner of the city, drug addicts and dealers, a reason to live and a reason to die, whores, poverty and where the institution of the church has completely failed.

It is not a movie for everyone – but a must-see for the few who bothered to turn the stone or took a different path. There was no room for any optimism in this movie. In times to come, this may well turn out to be a cult movie.

The Jazz Singer – 1927

The Jazz Singer, termed as the first talkie, as it progresses, drains you out. In and around the 45th minute, one of my favourites, the earliest form of ‘Blue Skies’ written by Irving Berlin in 1926, is doled out by Al Jolson.

Blue Skies have been performed by many artists, notably Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Ben Webster, Errol Garner, Count Basie, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Art Tatum, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Dinah Washington, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Jim Reeves, Willie Nelson, Eva Cassidy, and Rod Stewart,




Irving Berlin

E-keer Me-keer Charm Chi-keer

E-keer Me-keer Charm Chi-keer

Chamer Kata Mozumdar, Dey a-low Damodar,

Damo-daarer Haari-Kuri, Di-low bo-say chaal kuri,

Chaal Kortay holo bela, Bhaat khaye say dupur bela

Bhaatay porlow Maachi, Kodaal diye chaachi

Kodaal holo bhotha, khekh shayya-l-er maatha

Nature of Things

It is the nature of things -
That, rain falls,
Sun shines,
Dog sniffs,
Women gossips,
Man gawks,
And human species is corrupted to the core.
(There is nothing new here)
To be civilized is to lessen corruption,
(Since corruption cannot be totally eliminated)

Such is the nature of thing!

Eraserhead by David Lynch

Lonely, gloomy, filthy, desolate, repulsive, scary, depressed landscape and outlook marks the beginning shots of Eraserhead, leaving one to wonder what might emerge in the process of going forward in this movie. Clearly at the very onset, Kafka-ism pours out in the backdrop of ‘Metamorphosis’.

‘Liking’ this movie can get worrisome, since people might suggest a visit to the psychiatrist would be a welcome step.

Beware – you might be termed a nut for liking this ‘weird’ movie

Marlon Brando

Most of them know him from his movies like A Street Car Named Desire, The Wild One, On The Waterfront and the Godfather.

One gets to know Brando a little better after covering up his major filmography, which was completed today :

1950 - The Men

1951 - A Street Car Named Desire

1952 - Viva Zapata

1953 - Julius Caesar

1953 - The Wild One

1954 - Desiree

1954 - On The Waterfront

1955 - Guys and Dolls

1956 - The Teahouse Of the August Moon

1957 - Sayonara

1958 - The Young Lions

1960 - The Fugitive Kind

1961 - One Eyed Jacks

1962 - Mutiny On the Bounty

1963 - The Ugly American

1964 - Bedtime Story

1965 - Morituri

1966 - The Appaloosa

1966 - The Chase

1967 - A Countess From Hongkong

1967 - Reflections in A Golden Eye

1968 - Candy

1968 - The Night Of the Following Day

1969 - Burns

1971 - The Nightcomers

1972 - Last Tango In Paris

1972 - The Godfather

1976 - The Missouri Breaks

1976 - Apocalypse Now

It can by the way be noted that he started to behave like the Godfather role from 1967 (Reflections in a Golden Eye)

Remarkable sense of preparedness for his epic role - The Godfather!