My Review of 'The Machinist'

I had been told and also heard a lot about the movie 'The Machinist'. First off I had heard about Christian Bale's performance and the preparation he went through for this movie by loosing almost 60 pounds and looking anorexic through out the movie. The conviction is commendable. Then I also came across the name of this movie through a lot of web sites recommending mind bending movies with a lot of food for thought. I looked up the movie on imdb.com, and that was enough persuasion for me to watch the movie.

The movie starts off on a high note. Like a lot of such kind of movies, it starts off with the climax. It leaves you definitely glued to know what that was all about. But as the movie progresses you start to get a feeling where this is going. I guess the director wanted to tell the story by giving the viewer an idea about the twist way early. But you definitely aren't aware why this is happening. That is what keeps you sticking around for more. There are lot of twists which are brought in to keep you guessing as to exactly what is going on and why. But as I mentioned, you do have an idea as to what it can be.

To a certain extent this movie was confusing to me because as a storyline there was an element of mystery but it wasn't told in a highly gripping fashion. Some times you just get restless wondering what is the reason why this is happening cause you have kind of guessed it. So I was expecting a message, a comment on the society at large. The movie does talk about a machinist in the contemporary time, who is suffering from something. The constant washes with the bleach, the insomnia, the loner attitude. It gave me a feeling that it was the directors take on modern urban living where in people are surrounded but are still lonely, especially in America. Gave me a feeling of how I might turn out if I were to end up alone in life.

But I beg to differ as to how an incident can have such an impact on a persons brain for so long without going noticed. I guess what the director, Brad Anderson, was going for was a dramatic portrayal of sorts. Of how incidents in life can have an impact on your brain. That is the reason why this movie wasn't convincing enough. I guess this judgment could be also marred cause of the expectation I was having out of this movie. Or if may be the suspense would have been much tighter, it might have been a good thriller with a decent message too towards the end.

The high point of this movie is definitely Christian Bale. This guy shows true conviction to the part by loosing 60 pounds for this role. I cant even begin to imagine what he might have had to do to get that size and then post the shooting, to regain his shape. He has always been a good actor but this movie sold me on his conviction. I am definitely looking forward to seeing his other movies and also his upcoming movies.

I would definitely recommend you watch this movie. The high ratings are justified based on performances, direction and also the level of suspense that is there. But the story telling could have been different which could have made it more gripping. As I mentioned, may be I am not seeing it the way it is meant to be. Nonetheless, definitely a must see.

Bokya saat bande... not just a movie...

I just finished watching a marathi movie by the name of 'Bokya Saat Bande'. This movie marks the debut of Sanjay Narvekar's son. He plays the title role of 'Bokya'. A nickname he aquires within his colony where he lives. This movie is based on a story by the great Dilip Prabhavalkar. He also has one principal role in the movie of an aged man living in the colony. For people who don't know, he is a well known artist in the marathi film, theatre and television scene. And also, he played Mahatma Gandhi in the movie 'lage raho munnabhai'. Well what can I say about this movie. Its one of those movies that makes you wonder what have you achieved in your time? How do you react when a kid who barely is learning to understand the world around him, can put himself in other peoples shoes and try and understand them better. More than the ability to understand, it was the ability to act on that understanding and work towards trying to make a change. We as adults claiming to be more mature and understanding some times fail to go that extra mile to actually get that change. I personally am one of those who constantly gets bothered by the evils in society and keeps arguing over it with family and friends. But what am I actually doing to get that change? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This school going kid on the other hand understands the plight of an old couple who don't interact much with people in the colony. A chance meeting sparks this kids thoughts and he enquires to find out that the son of that old couple resides in the states and sends them money on and off. He finds out they don't have a hearty dinner cause they are too bored to cook just for themselves. He gathers food from a party at his own house very meticulously and delivers it personally to them and you can see the content in his face when he sees the old couple enjoying the meal like children. Such noble thoughts. Even we as adults don't end up acting like that. We put too much pressure on ourselves by doubting our moves and thinking what will the person think or whether we will be taken advantage of and so on and so forth. even the movie talks about this aspect. A kid who doesn't understand relationships as well, understands that when his mother shouts at her maid, she will end up taking that anger out on her children. And seeing the basic sensitivity in a 10 12 year old boy, that children belonging to the under privileged class also deserve the same happiness and things in life that we as the privileged enjoy, is amazing and humbling. He starts off a school for such children with the help of some people and some of his friends in the colony. They decide do this as their pet project in the summer holidays. I was teary eyed because I always thought the same myself. But I do not have the ability to do something so radical about it. I guess with age, when we loose our innocence, we also loose the ability to look at the obvious and then over complicate and over think a situation. Growing up you learn a lot. But sometimes may be a little too much than needed. Never the less, please catch this movie if you can.

what is going on?

We as humans are awarded as the most intelligent and hence the dominant species on the planet. Some people would go on to believe that is true all over the universe. That too, without considering the fact that we don't understand this universe completely as yet and also totally disregarding the laws of statistics. But that is an all together different debate.

From what I have just mentioned, one thing seems certain. Our kind is not definitely a commonly occurring one. As of now, the only known species in the universe that has such an evolved brain. A brain that has seen the human race exponentially grow. That too according to some experts, twice. Once also before the last ice age. No other animal has been able to compete with the human mental ability . Law of nature. Forced mutation by aliens. We being an alien race altogether? The theories are endless. Not just the brain. We had been strategically given opposable thumbs. This gives us the ability to hold and maneuver things the way we like it. We are bipeds compared to most species who are quadrupeds. But the most distinctive feature must definitely have to be the brain. I mean by the looks of it, these physical features might have held us back by a couple of hundred years may be to soem extent. But eventually the brain would have been able to figure out.

So the question that arises to me is, why this extra powerful brain? We as individuals, constantly try to look for purpose. But the purpose for most us stops at the usual. Educate. Work. Marry. Procreate. Grow old. May be live a little. Die. I do not know about you but reading it like this doesn't make it sound any different from an animal's life. I mean yes, animals don't take formal education and work in corporate. Man made systems to pursue the basic need of survival. Other animals though do learn hunting when growing up, keeping away from predators, and well any thing else that is needed to survive. So in a sense, our live's don't seem to be all that different.

So why have we been given this mega super brain. And if it had a limited scope, it would have been fine. But just look at us today. What all have we achieved. In the name of making things easier, business and just plain curiosity, what all we have created and understood around us.

But has anybody stopped to ask one question, WHY? If any body is to say that like everything in nature and the world we are here to play our part and go. Would any body care to explain what that part is? And after that, play our part for WHAT? I am not being proud of the human race, but based on what I have already discussed about the differences between the human race and everything else, why have we been blessed? Or may be cursed? Why this curiosity? Why this need to learn about our origins? Why the need to learn about the origins of the universe? Why the need to learn about all the possible details that can be there? Why doesn't anybody find out what is the purpose of all this discovery, innovation and progress?

It perplexes me sometimes as to what I am doing? And why am I doing it? If we are meant to play our part in this ever expansive universe, I wonder what is the reason for pursuit of this knowledge and the curiosity to know why, what and when? Leave it be and consider it a 'natural phenomenon' and move on with life. This human life which gives us with a highly developed brain, also brings us the evil of asking questions for which probably no one has answers. Or if any one does, it is difficult for mere mortals like myself to understand.