Change Your Image
nkarani
Reviews
Crash (2004)
I have seen two Oscar favorites so far, and my own vote goes to Crash.
Brokeback Mountain, in spite of being a gay-themed film, did not move me the way Crash does.
I can think of several possible reasons for this --other than the intrinsic merits of these films. In random order: The accents (I think I did not understand one-third of the dialogue) in BM, its slow pace, and the fact that I have seen enough closeted men up-close so that I look at most of them with a clinical detachment.
Crash is also a tension-filled drama compared to BM's dry love story. The former leaves you with some hope, while BM leaves me, as a gay man, neither seething with anger at the homophobia (too subtle) nor does it make me cry buckets. I am not a fan of violence in film but here it was too fleeting to either hurt or outrage me (the way I was outraged by the violation of a woman's body in Crash). I would prefer the docu on the Matthew Shepard case instead.
To me Crash is not just about racial prejudice but also a comment on America's gun culture. I have no knowledge about the situation in the States, but I know that enough discrimination exists on the individual level and there is enough violence involving guns to make them alive issues--they may disappear from the public radar but they do not go away. BM's flag for the gay issue is too underplayed for my liking.
In India, coincidentally, at this time some cases of shootings are in the spotlight again, though unfortunately I am yet to see any debate around gun control. I am of course referring to the cases of Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Matoo and now the latest Meher Bhargava case.
It's time lawmakers and police officials made it more difficult for people to posses firearms rather than making it more tough to run places of entertainment. Or making it a crime for two men to love each other.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
I saw the two Oscar favorites, and my own vote goes to Crash.
Brokeback Mountain, in spite of being a gay-themed film, did not move me the way Crash does.
I can think of several possible reasons for this--other than the intrinsic merits of these films. In random order: The accents (I think I did not understand one-third of the dialogue) in BM, its slow pace, and the fact that I have seen enough closeted men up-close so that I look at most of them with a clinical detachment.
Crash is also a tension-filled drama compared to BM's dry love story. The former leaves you with some hope, while BM leaves me, as a gay man, neither seething with anger at the homophobia (too subtle) nor does it make me cry buckets. I am not a fan of violence in film but here it was too fleeting to either hurt or outrage me (the way I was outraged by the violation of a woman's body in Crash). I would instead prefer the docu on the Matthew Shepard case (The Laramie Project).
To me Crash is not just about racial prejudice but also a comment on America's gun culture. I have no knowledge about the situation in the States, but I know that enough discrimination exists on the individual level and there is enough violence involving guns to make them alive issues--they may disappear from the public radar but they do not go away. BM's flag for the gay issue is too underplayed for my liking.
Gulabi Aaina (2003)
An insider's look at some aspects of the urban gay world
Call it a day--or evening--in the life of two Indian drag queens. Yes, one of the best aspects of Gulabi Aaina or The Pink Mirror is that the urban Indian gay male-mainly drag queen, yes, but also the 'straight acting' one is mirrored on screen. And being able to relate to the characters makes the film more funny, more touching for this audience more than for any other. No, the non-Indian audience, of any sexual orientation, will definitely find it entertaining too. Most Indian, straight, male viewers though may not approve of the in-your-face sexuality of Shabo and Bibbo. Their appearance, their language, their body language will, of course, be termed coarse, and, by some, even obscene--as the Indian censors termed it. i shall not go into the debate over definitions of obscenity but suffice to say that the film is not obscene, especially in comparison with some of the pretentious stuff that passes for art or the obscenely expensive trash that is hyped by the media. In Gulabi Aaina, Sridhar has presented reality--it may not be everyone's reality, it may even embarrass the same people it portrays, but it's a wickedly funny truth that you see in the mirror. Now, why an eight rating... (by the way, i can't comment on the technical aspects or the sub-titling in English) The acting is not perfect--it would be obvious that this is a cast relatively new to being in front of the camera. overall the bitchiness of the two drag queens is overdone, to the point where it acquires a tinge of harmful meanness. the HIV angle is at least a little contrived, maybe even unnecessary. sometimes the indulgent singing by the characters goes on for far too long...(maybe, Sridhar could have managed to cut down the film just enough to qualify this as a short film.) these are some minor irritants to an otherwise enjoyable film.