nilu Reviews

Sonar Kella (1974)

one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen

[10/10 · 7 October 2003]

This is an excellent film. Satyajit Ray's genius is evident in each and every scene. The characters are portrayed beautifully. Soumitra Chatterjee is superb as 'Feluda'. One of my favorites is Kamu Mukherji as Mandar Bose. The range of emotions shown and the comic touch in his actions and dialogue are excellent. The change in his facial expression when he is trying to match Mukul's face with his photograph in the train is amazing.

Of course, everyone's darling Santosh Dutta as "Jatayu" is very good too. He portrays the average Bengali babu's role to perfection. "Topshe's" role as a eager and jovial teenager is well suited too.

The transitions between scenes are very nice - they help maintain the pace of the film. The background music leaves a beautiful impression. You may need to watch the film more than once to notice the subtle connections between certain dialogues and visual clues.

The dialogues are crisp and delivery is fantastic. Unfortunately, you would need to know the Bengali language to fully enjoy their impact - the loss in translation is inevitable.

Not one moment in the film is boring - if you want to be entertained as well as intellectually stimulated - this film is for you. Needless to say, I have watched it many times and I have a copy in my personal collection.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

hope and will-power

[10/10 · 11 February 2002]

This is an excellent movie. I usually get depressed watching prison movies. Even though the pace of the movie was slow, it is so well made that it keeps your interest alive all the time. The narrative style also added to the relaxed pace. I am sure anybody who watched the movie would come out feeling good about life. The message is pretty clear - even though the obstacles in life seem to be daunting and often impossible to overcome, with hope, will-power and dedication, everything is achievable. Tim Robinson and Morgan Freeman were simply great and played their roles to perfection. I also liked the concept of institutionalization - after a while some people would rather want to be in prison than be faced with a whole new world which has changed so much from what they were used to.