Christmas Vacation: Comedy amid tragedy on Christmas Eve

When Christmas is around the corner, there is a buzz in the air. Plans are made, wishes are exchanged and smiles are ever present. It is a season to be spent surrounded by family members and other near-and-dear ones who care about you. Everyone is happy and very little can go wrong because the general mood is that of merriment. But what can go wrong will go wrong. That is the premise of the National Lampoon film Christmas Vacation.

Clark is the patriarch of the nuclear Griswold family. His parents and in-laws are to visit his house for the holidays and he plans to throw the best possible celebration for the benefit of his family. He gets his wife and children involved by dragging them off to the countryside to chop down and bring back a Christmas tree in the hope that it will bring the authenticity of Christmas to the family and draw them closer together. His efforts carry on as he decorates the exterior of his house with 25,000 lights and places an order for a swimming pool to be installed in his backyard as a surprise gift for his family. Unfortunately, he does not receive the expected Christmas bonus to cover the expenses of the swimming pool, the decorative lights do not seem to work and the Christmas tree is a disaster. To add to the tension, the family is unexpectedly visited by Cousin Eddie and his family and the senile Aunt Bethany and her husband Uncle Lewis which wrecks havoc upon the plans Clark had for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Vacation was written by John Hughes and directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It was released in the year 1989 and is the third film in the Vacation series produced by National Lampoon. The film stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki. It is a comedy film set to the theme of Christmas.

Although the film is about Christmas with plenty of talk about family and festivities, the focus of the film is on the dire situations of the ill-fated protagonist. The situations are bizarre but believable. The condition goes from bad to worse as the film progresses with Clark becoming desperate over things not going the way he planned them. His neighbours also seem to share in his unwanted fate, if not worse. Although it would be assumed that family is important during the festive season and Clark constantly reiterates that he wants it to be a special event for his family, he grows increasingly annoyed and agitated with the antics of his relatives as the film progresses. His eventual meltdown is hilarious as are the unthinkable situations that get him there.

Chevy Chase as the protagonist is excellent. He is at the height of his powers as a humorist and his comedic timing is impeccable. Whether it is a hot-blooded rant or a nervous mumbling, his ability to deliver his dialogues as required is quite impressive.

The film is quite hilarious on the whole. It is less about Christmas and more about unfortunate instants occurring at inconvenient timings. It is quite a good film but it does not have the warm feeling of the holiday that classic Christmas films are expected to have.

Noel: 5 stories with no Christmas connection

December brings in an excellent spirit of cheerfulness and joy because of the impending end of the year and the merry festival of Christmas. It is a festival that is probably celebrated all over the world with the belief that people forgive and forget during the festive season to spread happiness and good tidings. Hollywood follows suit during the festive season with films about Christmas always having a sense of happiness and warmth to share with its audience.

Rose is a middle-aged woman who lives alone spare for her hospitalised mother. She is a divorcee who moved into her mother’s house after her marriage ended followed by the death of her father and her mother being struck with Alzheimer’s disease. She is about to spend Christmas Eve by herself but is invited to dinner by a young and handsome colleague from her workplace. Despite being attracted to him, she refuses his advances later in the night and decides to bring in Christmas by her mother’s bedside. She meets a young Hispanic girl named Nina who is having her own trouble with her jealous fiancé Mike while doubts of pregnancy loom in her head. Mike in turn is followed around by an old waiter named Artie who believes that Mike is the reincarnation of his dead wife. Lastly, Jules is a young man who is ready to cause harm to himself in the hope that he will be admitted to the hospital Rose’s mother is in because it was the location for his fondest Christmas memory ever.

Noel was written by David Hubbard and directed by Chazz Palminteri. It is a drama film with the theme of Christmas which was released in the year 2004 and stars Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, Paul Walker, Alan Arkin and Marcus Thomas. An important supporting role is performed by Robin Williams.

For a Christmas-themed film, it is uncharacteristically depressing. The filmmakers opted to make a film with reality forming the core. The characters and the situations were meant to feel real and not come across as made up stories. However, a Christmas film is expected to have a cheerful spirit. This film has none of it. It is expected to give the audience a warm and fuzzy feeling and provide them with hope. Unfortunately this film lacks that panache. In fact, even the attempt to make a realistic film can be considered a fail. For one, it is difficult to believe a person is so delusional as to think of young men as his reincarnated wife every Christmas and hope that they would forgive him for his mistakes. Secondly, the character of a young Charlie is meant to come across as Rose’s figment of imagination at the end of the film. It would be impossible for Rose to be able to picture Charlie in his youthful avatar considering she has never seen him before even as his present aged self. If she does know what Charlie looks like presently, she should have been surprised to have met him as a young man considering he appears to be her age in her imagination when he is in fact decades older than her.

The storyline has no ebbs and surges. There are multiple stories which are forcefully woven together to find a connection when there isn’t one. Most of the stories have a beginning, but no conflict, followed by an inconsequential ending. This film is not good; especially if one is looking to get into the Christmas spirit.

In Bruges: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory or Bruges

If made well, a dark comedy can be very enjoyable for an audience watching it in good humour. It isn’t good enough to have an audience that will tolerate the film making fun of usually serious topics, the film has to hold its own when bringing out the humour in grave situations in a respectable manner. Death, rape, war and drugs are usually selected as the subjects of dark comedies which require a certain level of respect when making fun of these topics so it is not misconstrued as being disrespectful.

Ray is a rookie Irish hitman who messes up on his first assignment. During the course of eliminating his target, a priest, Ray accidentally kills a young boy in a church in London. Under strict instructions from his boss Harry, Ray and his handler Ken go to live in a hotel in Bruges to hideout until given further instructions. While Ken is excited to sightsee Bruges’ historical brilliance, Ray couldn’t care less for its heritage. He is also guilt-stricken from having taken the life of a young boy and finds it difficult to sit cooped up in his hotel room while waiting for Harry’s phone call. Finally convincing Ken to visit a pub, Ray manages to meet a beautiful Belgian girl named Chloe and an American dwarf actor named Jimmy on a film set. Ray gets a date with Chloe and goes out while Ken stays back at the hotel to await Harry’s instructions. When Harry finally connects with Ken, there is bad news that may result in a few more lives being taken than Ken originally anticipated.

In Bruges was written and directed by Martin McDonagh and was released in 2008. The film stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Clemence Poesy and Ralph Fiennes. The film is a dark comedy that plays around with the ideas of life and death. The protagonist is a young hitman who has been exiled as a way of keeping him out of trouble for a mistake he has made. There are many jokes involving death, racism, dwarfs, war, nationalities and sexuality.

One of the constant fixes in the film is the protagonist abusing Bruges and cursing the fact that he is forced to be in the city. He goes as far as to compare Bruges with hell or purgatory where people would be sent to live in the city for their sins, which is quite a similar situation to his own since he has been exiled to the city for murdering a boy. The irony is the protagonist constantly complaining about the city but the director showing the audience the beauty of the city with plenty of shots of the city’s architecture, art and culture. Certain scenes in the film are quite hilarious, one in particular when two hitmen are about to have a shootout but cannot go through with it because a pregnant lady in the room refuses to leave the premises.

The dark tone of the film coupled with comedy makes it endearing for the audience. The use of a score that was especially composed for the film is something that isn’t seen too often in recent films and is a refreshing change. The film score has one particular track which is repeated throughout the film and becomes easily identifiable as it conveys the despair, guilt and shame the characters in the film are experiencing. Since the characters are Irish, they have a strong Irish accent which makes it difficult to follow the dialogues but also adds to the comedic effect since it helps with the timing and the delivery of the dialogues. The idea of introducing a film-within-the-film was quite clever on the part of the director especially since the characters speak about paying homage which is what is done in this film as well.

Overall, the film is quite funny once you get accustomed to the accent and dialogue delivery. It has a slow pace so it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But it is excellently executed for a dark comedy.

Bedazzled: Seven wishes for a soul

Anyone would love it if they were granted the opportunity to make all their dreams come true just by wishing them into reality. The catch is what has to be sacrificed in order to receive those wishes or to make them come true. One of the concepts of alchemy states that nothing can be created out of thin air but anything important can be converted into something else that may or may not be more useful. You have to lose something of equal or greater importance to be able to gain something else that you wish for. All that taken into consideration, would you accept losing something very dear to you to make your dreams come true?

Elliot Richards works at a dead-end job in an IT company where he answers calls and helps customers as part of the tech support team. He is enthusiastic about making friends but doesn’t manage to fit in with anyone and is ignored by his co-workers every time he attempts to meet them socially. He is also a secret admirer of Alison Gardner, a pretty co-worker who is too far out of his league but who he has been in love with for over four years. Despite their efforts to leave him out of their plan, Elliot manages to meet his co-workers at a pub they frequent and is dared to strike up a conversation with Alison. Petrified by the request, Elliot musters up some courage but is shot down within seconds. Standing alone and ruing his luck, Elliot confesses to himself that he would give anything to have Alison in his life. Fortuitously Elliot meets a hot young woman who tells him she has the power to give him anything he can imagine. She proposes a deal where Elliot will receive seven wishes in exchange for his soul as she confesses to being the Devil. Elliot agrees reluctantly but soon curses his choice.

Bedazzled was released in the year 2000 and was directed by Harold Ramis. It is the remake of a 1967 film of the same name which was in turn adapted from an old folklore. The film is a simple comedy with play on situation and dialogue bringing up a few laughs every now and then. The plot isn’t particularly extensive and comes across as a set of vignettes put together clumsily to make a feature film. The casting is good but the direction seems a little lacking. The characters aren’t particularly believable with the protagonist starting off with a lack of confidence and ending the film with immense self belief which stems from nowhere during the story. The protagonist is put through situations that are humorous. The anti-hero Devil is amusing with a light-hearted approach to good versus evil and a naturally fun loving nature.

The film has a part melancholy ending which is reached over the course of an entertaining story. It falls short in many areas and isn’t particularly good for a film that is intended to have comedy as one of its strong features. All the same, it is a fun movie to watch when no inhibitions are attached.

Up: Expressionistic cinema at its very best

Expressionistic cinema is always interesting since it manages to extend the boundaries of human imagination. Not only does it allow us to imagine our deepest wishes but also watch them as they are portrayed on the big screen. It also provides a simple breakaway from the monotonies of day-to-day life. Up is a film which joins the league of excellent expressionistic films. Being an animated film with an exception it manages to form a class of its own.

When an old man becomes a widower with the recent demise of his wife, he stumbles upon some of her photographs and is reminded of a promise he made to her in their youth. Acknowledging that he wasn’t able to fulfil her only wish during her life, he immediately takes it upon himself to fulfil his promise to her. Just as a demolition team arrives to take down his house he successfully gets the house airborne by tying it with innumerable balloons. His plan is to land the house upon a waterfall where his wife’s idol had once landed a hot air balloon. But the old man is unaware that there is a boy scout on board as the house takes off. Realising that the old man and his house are journeying to South America, the boy voices his opinion of wishing to see a rare creature which lives in the jungles there. The tale ensues as the old man and the boy try to fulfil their wishes while stumbling across many hurdles, helping each other out and finally succeeding in their missions.

The film was directed by Pete Docter and released in the year 2009. It was a production under the Pixar banner and features the brilliant animation they are known to have. The personification of the animated characters comes through perfectly which is something that has come to be expected of Pixar.

The storyline of the film is extraordinary since the key points in the plot are interesting events that are unimaginable without the right context. It is impossible to understand how an old man would be able to carry a house on his back or how the entire house could be lifted off its foundations in the first place, the film has dealt with it superbly by keeping a light-hearted tone throughout. The imagination which has gone into the making of the film clearly shows since the film is bursting with creative ideas.

The use of vibrant colours and many shades was very visually appealing. The most appealing element of the film is the innocence with which the characters are portrayed. Since it is a drama-comedy film and most of the characters come across as being fairly honest and innocent, the humour comes forth in the form of simplicity of the characters mostly. Being a film for family audiences it has been executed simply with no major need for a complicated story or execution.

It is a splendid animated film which sets a landmark for other animations since it has a simple story with an excellent portrayal. On the whole, Up is a fascinating film which has made use of light-hearted humour to portray relationships and imagination. It set a standard for a new way of thinking.

Animal Farm: Not all animals are equal

There are few films which are made with a certain context in mind and don’t necessarily make sense when not viewed from that same perspective. Few films like Animal Farm are made as a reflection of a political scenario and while they have a storyline of their own, to understand the truth in them it is important to realise the context in which the film is made and how it is relative in real life.

When an aged hog named Major calls for a meeting with all the animals on Manor Farm, he reveals his vision for the animals to revolt against the owner Mr Jones for crimes committed against the animals. Major believes the dismal state of the animals should not be taken lightly and the only way to get what they truly deserve is if every animal unites to overthrow the oppressive humans. Major succumbs to his age the same night but the animals pay heed to his message and claim the farm for themselves the very next day by chasing Jones off the property and renaming the farm ‘Animal Farm’. Being the smartest of the lot, the pigs organise the codes to live by for all the animals on the farm and teach them the importance of education and hard work. The pig named Snowball takes it upon himself to make sure all the animals are taken care of but his efforts go in vain as another pig named Napoleon chooses to ignore the plights of his comrades and ultimately teaches the rest of the animals the bitter truth that all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

The film was directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas and released in the year 1954. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by George Orwell. While most of the plot in the film is closely based on that of the novel, a few liberties have been taken with the screen version which differentiate from the original storyline. The story is an allegory of the political situation which existed in one particular nation in the 1940s and predicts what was likely to happen in the near future from the time of the novel being written.

The animation style is typical of that used in animated films in the 1950s. The major visible difference is in the colour tones which are used for the film. The colours are dull since it takes on a serious topic as opposed to other animated films which were light-hearted movies. This clearly demarcated that the film wasn’t naturally targeted towards children but was an animated film meant to be watched by adult audiences. The dull colour tones reflect the grave situation of the characters in the film since their lives are depressed and sombre at every turn.

The film takes a fair amount of time to establish the storyline but then tends to speed up towards the later stages of the plot. Unfortunately, not enough time is given to explain the plot in detail as the film progresses and the concluding stages are rushed into. The thoughts of the characters do not come across clearly because of lack of adequate dialogues or expressions. The narration does the job of explaining the internal monologues of the characters which is unfortunate since it is the easiest way to showcase a character’s emotions but not the best. The film clearly comes across as a propaganda film since the negative characters are painted in a bad light from the start without much explanation to their actions.

There is much to be desired with this film. While the storyline is adapted from a very good novel, the film does not manage to do it justice.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Including Life, the Universe and Everything

At some point in their life, every person has wondered what their purpose in life is. Questions involving why humans are on Earth, what they are supposed to do with their lives and whether there is more to life than what meets the eye have wandered through many minds without really producing a definitive answer. But it is likely that a definitive answer does not exist; or in fact, a definitive answer is not really needed to carry on with life. And that is the point made in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Arthur Dent rises one morning to a rude awakening that his house is to be demolished immediately to make way for a bypass. In denial but unable to do anything about the situation, Arthur is dragged off to a pub by his friend Ford Prefect under the pretext of having a pint of beer before the world comes to an end. Ford confesses to being an alien from a neighbouring planet and a journalist who is commissioned to complete writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Reluctant to believe him, Arthur gets dragged along and finds himself on an alien ship with planet Earth reduced to dust. An altercation with their host results in them being evacuated and picked up by the Heart of Gold, a ship stolen by the President of the Universe and Ford’s semi half-brother, Zaphod Beeblebrox. Also on board are Marvin the Paranoid Android and Tricia McMillian aka Trillian, a human who Arthur knew from his days back on Earth and who becomes his love interest. Together the collective travel the galaxy in search of the true question to life, the universe and everything that will be a suitable match for the answer 42.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was directed by Garth Jennings and released in 2005. It is adapted from a novel of the same name which was written by Douglas Adams, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film. The franchise includes the original novel, the film and several other spinoffs that arose after the original book was published. The film can be easily identified as science fiction with elements of fantasy spun into it, but the comedy in the film is a standout which cannot be ignored.

The actors have been cast excellently considering they fit perfectly into the style of their respective characters. The biggest challenge for the actors and the director in the film would have been to convey the deadpan style of humour which is unique to this franchise and incredibly difficult to recreate. As such, the film is a credit to the franchise and has been done well. The film does not attempt to raise questions and then solve them, it pokes fun at the idea of having an answer to everything we do in life and the constant need to rectify thoughts and actions with an ultimate purpose to one’s existence.

The tongue-in-cheek jokes that come up every now and then can be hilarious once understood in context. A constantly depressed robot saves the lives of a group of people by depressing their attackers, a Vogon’s preferred form of torture is to read poetry and a whale has just come into existence in free-fall unaware of what he is supposed to feel; certain moments such as these are truly hilarious and well done in the film. The superimposing of Arthur’s house being destroyed to make way for a national bypass and then his entire planet being destroyed to make way for a galactic bypass blends both tragedy and comedy, a rare occurrence in any film. Even the misfortune involving the President of the Galaxy ordering a planet to be destroyed when he thinks he is signing an autograph is a ridiculous moment which is then exaggerated because the same planet happens to be the most important in the galaxy that was created with a purpose of solving the ultimate question.

The film is mostly comedy mixed with science fiction. Few elements of romance crop up during the course of the film but it is overall a very good deadpan humour-based comedy film.

Apocalypse Now: A crude wartime reality

War brings out the best and the worst in men. It is when they are put under high stress situations that arise due to war that men show their true nature in terms of courage, compassion and humanity. The stigma of war lies in the inevitability of death and destruction that comes along with it but few people believe there are positive takeaways in terms of loyalty and valour on the battlefield. Francis Ford Coppola has experimented with these ideologies in his epic war film titled Apocalypse Now.

Captain Willard is a veteran of a special operations division in the United States Army deployed during the height of the Vietnam War. He was discharged and returned to America but decided to join back in the war efforts after finding rudimentary life not attuned to his liking anymore. He is summoned by a General in the army and tasked with finding and assassinating a rogue Colonel of the Special Forces. He is informed that the man in question is Colonel Kurtz, a brilliant soldier who went astray and has started murdering without orders after having set himself up in a local tribe as a God. Willard is informed that the mission is top-secret and does not exist – nor will it ever exist. As he joins a small US Navy crew, he studies the dossier on Kurtz and starts to grow in awe of the rogue soldier who may just be the most decorated officer in the US Army. Along the way Willard is assisted by other army officers and fights enemy troops as he travels up the Nung River in his efforts to finally reach the liar of Colonel Kurtz.

The film was directed by legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and released in the year 1979. It is a period film set during the Vietnam War. The screenplay was written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr and was roughly based on a novella titled Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad. The film stars Martin Sheen in the role of the protagonist and Marlon Brando as the antagonist. Other actors in the film include Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne and Dennis Hopper.

The film stars a morally ambiguous war veteran with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder who has gotten addicted to war and returns to Vietnam after normal life gets too boring for him. The character shows glimpses of a dark side which has resulted due to his exposure to killing in the war as he himself confesses to having murdered many people, 6 of whom were close enough to breathe their last into his face. The character is a hardened war veteran who is called in to hunt down a compatriot and agrees on the pretext that the man has gone completely insane as reported to him by his superiors. He shows loyalty towards his country, his superiors and his mission by not asking too many questions and safeguarding the secrets which are entrusted to him under classified information. He is well aware of the crimes committed by the man he is sent out to kill but slowly learns more about him as he studies his career during his journey to find him. In the end, the protagonist is both at awe and repulsed by the antagonist before he has had the chance to face him.

The film is a direct reflection of the effects of war on men. Coppola was aiming to lay out the horrible truths of war in his film and has accomplished the feat he set out for. Through actions and dialogues from the characters, Coppola has shown just how brutal war can be and how terribly nerve-wracking the effects can be on a normal human being. One of the most shocking dialogues comes from Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore who says “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” as a village is air bombed in the background which clearly depicts the level of insensitivity during war. In the same battle, Kilgore orders his troops to play Ride of the Valkyries on the helicopter loudspeakers as they fly into battle and invade a village to instil fear into the hearts of their enemies and announce their arrival on the battlefield. Another instance shows a woman being brutally murdered when she runs to protect a puppy as a squadron opens fire on her. Although not as grave, there are few other shocking moments in the film as well, one of which has a Colonel ordering his men to surf or be shot by his hand as a battle ensues in the background and a second when a squadron of soldiers travelling on a river in the middle of a warzone decide to take time to surf while starving locals look on in amazement.

Brutality is one of the key components of the film. Being set in a warzone, it can be expected that multiple killings would take place. But the manner in which they are depicted show what director Coppola was aiming to convey to his audience in his criticism of war. One particular scene actually has a television crew recording on the shore of a beach as a battle takes place and telling soldiers to act naturally, not look at the camera and get on with the war. In another scene, a commanding officer demands that an injured prisoner of war be treated well and attempts to give him water from his own flask but loses focuses as soon as he is informed that a celebrity surfer has joined his platoon and drops the injured man from his arms to greet the celebrity. Some of the soldiers in the film take pleasure in being able to kill their enemies even if it is uncalled for. Although informed that a particular area is a hotspot for enemy troops and advised to divert paths, a platoon leader decides to take the route via the enemy hotspot just to be able to eliminate the enemy soldiers and claim the area for his own army.

The film shows a contrast in what is seen as being sane during war but would otherwise be considered insane in times of peace. The film uses the antagonist to depict this perfectly. The antagonist is shown to have gone mental and defected from his own army when in fact he has realised that the commands he previously received were to kill unnecessarily and he decides to conduct his own operations. In one scene, the antagonist reveals that the news broadcast about the war claims that it is under control with minimum deaths and that peace will be restored soon; however the truth is that soldiers are continuously ordered to carry out innumerable attacks which are unknown to the rest of the world. In the end, there is sympathy towards the antagonist because although partially insane, he still comes across as fairly rational.

The film has narration by the protagonist which comes through well in the raspy voice of Martin Sheen. It is a brilliant film which is aesthetically pleasing; one particular scene where Marlon Brando is first revealed as the antagonist as he speaks in a deep, commanding voice through the shadows but only the glint in his eyes is clearly visible. It is an excellent film which can be summed up in the last dialogue as Marlon Brando exclaims “The horror, the horror”.

A Prophet (Un Prophete): Behind the Prison Walls

The hidden secrets of a prison are known only to the people within its four walls. While there are rumours of what happens within the confines of a prison, the truth is probably never what is revealed to the general audience. But French filmmaker Jacques Audiard attempted to display the dark secrets of prison life in his 2009 film A Prophet.

Malik is a young adult sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for his crimes. It is the first time he will ever step behind bars and is unsure what to expect during his time there but he is immediately introduced to a dramatic world of gang wars and mafias. At first he abstains from the hooliganism, however circumstances force him to work for the Corsican gang who loathe the other clan, the Muslims. In spite of being a Muslim, Malik is forced to commit crimes against his brothers in religion, for whom he feels no affinity. He begins to carve his own existence, with the help of friends, in and outside the prison. Slowly as his tenure comes to a close, Malik gains power, ultimately winning the favour of the Corsican boss, the Muslims, the prison guards and a few others outside the prison walls. With the end of his imprisonment, he manages to turn over a new leaf thanks to his notorious life in the prison.

A Prophet was released in the year 2009 and was directed by Jacques Audiard who also contributed to the writing of the screenplay. The language of the film is French. It is a French film with the locations for the shoot being in France mostly, the cast and crew being French and the premise of the story being a particularly French topic with the involvement of Arabs, Algeria and French mobsters. However, the film has an international appeal overall.

The film deals with harsh realities and shows them in a graphic light. One particular scene has the protagonist attempting to commit a murder using a blade clenched between his teeth. Failing at the first attempt, he grabs the blade in his fingers and wrestles the man onto a bed. He finally manages to slice a vein in the man’s neck and bleeds him to death. The protagonist then calmly washes away the blood from his clothes and leaves the crime scene as though nothing happened. The pace of the film is quick except for scenes involving conversation and when the storyline evolves radically. The colour palette has dark shades and has plenty of use of shadows which brings the feeling of captivity out on the screen.

The acting in the film is worthy of praise. A stunning performance from the lead actor successfully portrays the harsh reality in a prison. The brilliant light work, for the indoor cinematography, also aids the scenario of deep, dark crime within the prison setting. In spite of being primarily located in a prison, the film ventures outdoors to follow the exploits of the protagonist. Within the setting of the prison, the lighting, cinematography and blatant sound effects maintains the genre of thriller-horror-drama which ensues through most of the film. Even while deviating from the depths of the prison and venturing into the daylight, the genre is maintained as the protagonist is constantly reminded of restrictions on his freedom. The use of makeup and props is also commendable since it has been successful in adding to the quality of the film.

With various levels of excitement and scenes of meaningful importance, A Prophet manages to keep the viewer guessing what could be the next move. The character of the protagonist suits the tone of the film - both are mysterious and constantly evolving.

Drive: Multiple personas of an unnamed driver

Action movies have a typical script supplemented by lots of combat sequences, car chases and explosions taking place every few minutes in the film. The plot is always predictable and the norm for action flicks is – the bigger the budget, the better the film. This has become the standard to expect from Hollywood films over the past few decades, especially for blockbuster action films. A film that wouldn’t follow this norm is expected to fail in the box office but director Nicolas Winding Refn took a chance and made a unique film with the release of Drive.

An unnamed driver moves into an apartment in a building in Los Angeles. He works as a stunt driver for Hollywood films on a part-time basis and is employed on a full-time basis as a mechanic in a garage. His deep, dark secret is that he also moonlights as a getaway driver for anyone who wants to hire him for criminal activities. His new neighbour is a young mother named Irene, and her son Benicio, with the family patriarch absent because of a prison sentence. The driver is attracted to the beautiful young woman and aids her with routine tasks to spend time with her. Irene is also seemingly attracted to him and allows him to hang around with her son as they bond together. Just as their relationship seems to be moving forward, Irene’s husband is released from prison and comes back to his family while bringing his troubles along.

Drive was released in the year 2011. It was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and stars Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan in the lead roles. The screenplay for the film is adapted from a novel of the same name which was written by James Sallis. The film is unique especially because it does not fit entirely into one particular genre. There are elements of an action film with car chases which forms an important part of the film while there is drama and crime running through the main plot with a parallel story of romance. The use of multiple genres is what makes it most interesting.

The film has been made simply. There are no deep undertones which divert too far from the main plot. The storyline moves quickly and the main plot twist comes as soon as the characters and the story is established. From then on the characters are pulled and pushed in different directions based on their morality and how they will react to certain situations. One particular scene which shows the director’s intent with playing around with his characters is when the driver and Irene are isolated in an elevator with a hitman. The driver pulls Irene to a corner and kisses her passionately for the first time which is shown with the lights dimming, the shot being slowed down in time and slow romantic music being used for the background score. The driver then pushes Irene to safety as the hitman reaches for his gun; the driver beats up the hitman, throws him to the ground and keeps kicking his head till it caves in. After this, the driver looks up to see Irene outside the elevator, staring at him while the elevator doors close. The scene could translate into Irene completely falling in love with the driver but then witnessing a new side of him which shocks her with the closing elevator doors being an allegory for the end of their relationship. There is also a depth in the character of the unnamed driver which remains unexplained. He seems to be reserved and uses limited speech but turns into a figure of command when behind the wheel of a car. His persona changes when he is driving and the actors he doubles for as stunt actor become the inspiration for his violence as he dons their mask in one of the scenes where he sets out to take revenge. Even his sense of dressing is a reflection of the characters he plays on screen while his obsession with chewing on a toothpick pick and wearing gloves every now and then remain unexplained.

The film is a fresh take to Hollywood’s regular styles. The infusion of drama, crime, romance and action together is probably the main highlight. It is a good film; worth a watch.

A Clockwork Orange: A little bit of the ‘ultra-violence’

There are few films that keep the audience hooked from start to finish. There are fewer yet that manage to keep the audience constantly guessing as to what will happen next in the story. When a film manages to captivate its audience in such a way, it is usually expected that such a film would be highly rated. Such is the case of the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange which was directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Alex is a teenager who enjoys getting into trouble. His past run-ins have lead to several warnings and he is on the brink of being locked away in a cell, but his violent nature will not allow him to reform himself of his own account. He is joined by a group of three friends who share his penchant for violent and abusive behaviour. Together they go about vandalising property, engaging in fights, assaulting peace-loving citizens and sexually abusing anyone they fancy. With time, Alex becomes a dictator-like head of the group and frustrates the others into a mutiny. Stifled by Alex’s aggression, the others hitch a plan to get him locked away by putting him in a situation where he will lose all calm and commit a horrible act of aggression that will ultimately change the rest of his life.

A Clockwork Orange was directed by Stanley Kubrick who also wrote the screenplay based on a novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. The story uses extremely unpleasant behaviour from the main characters to depict the traits of juvenile sociopaths. It is an exaggerated social commentary on the thoughts of adolescent young men. The main highlights of the film are the subjects of rape, ‘ultra-violence’ and an obsession with classical music which provides the protagonist with a belief that he is better than other delinquents because of his refined tastes.

The film employs first-person narration by the protagonist to emphasis the story. He narrates the emotions that run through his head which would be difficult for the audience to understand since his actions are mostly unexpected. The narration also helps piece together sections of the film which seem to be missing and provide a link as the story skips several months in the timeline. Instead of using track shots, the director opted to use the zoom technique in quite a few shots; particularly in the opening sequences. The first shot of the film itself is a zoom shot which begins with a close-up of the protagonist’s face and then gradually zooms out to establish a large room which he is sitting in. Use of narration and zoom shots are usually considered faux-pas in filmmaking, but the use in this film may be considered an exception since they are used well on occasion. Other techniques utilised include use of classical music in the background score since it forms a key part of the story.

What is most astonishing about the story is that the audience never really comes to grips with what is happen and the guessing game extends from trying to predict what will happen next in the story to what the character is actually thinking. Trying to understand the protagonist becomes important for the audience member since his actions are not easily explained by rational decisions. The language in the film is not easy to decipher since it involves plenty of Cockney slang and made-up words by the protagonist. The character and his idiosyncrasies were created with the intention of the throwing the audience off and to keep them constantly guessing.

The film starts off quick and establishes the character early. From there it moves into his daily life routine which is part amusing and part shocking for the audience. A conflict is then introduced in the storyline which changes the routine life of the protagonist for the rest of the film. Unfortunately, the film moves quickly and is interesting until this point but tends to move slowly and becomes illogical after the conflict is introduced.

The film has its moments and some sections of it are truly iconic. However, it does drag on towards the latter half. All the same, it is quite a good film especially with the interesting use of faux-pas techniques and since it captivates the audience and keeps them guessing.

Pitch Perfect: Accapela on the big screen

Films about music tend to be very interesting. The added dynamic of music means that the film must not only be a good piece of work by itself but importance should also be given to the musical aspect of the film. The soundtrack and score become even more important since they are a reflection of the subject of the film. It is rare when a film about music is also a comedy but the two have been blended together in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect.

Beca is an uninterested fresher in Barden University. She wants to follow her passion of making music by living in Los Angeles and getting a record deal but is forced to attend college by her father who is a professor. Her father agrees to fund the pursuit of her passion if she takes interest in her college life and mingles with her fellow collegians. At the same time, Chloe and Aubrey have been handed the mantle of the Barden Bellas, an all-girl accapela choir. They need to recruit talented freshers to be a part of the group and approach Beca who agrees after being pursued for a while. Beca also meets Jesse, a fresher who joins rival accapela team The Treblemakers. The feud between the Bellas and the Treblemakers goes all the way till the end of the accapela year, culminating in the coveted International Championship of Collegiate Accapela. Beca is torn between her love interest, her loyalty to her sisters in song and her reclusive identity as she makes it through the college year.

Directed by Jason Moore, the film is about one particular aspect of music: accapela. Through the fight for the championship, the film depicts sisterhood, loyalty, passion, tradition and more. The protagonist is a secluded person who does not allow other people to get emotionally attached to her and is a self admitted recluse. The film shows her character open up gradually and accept the people around her as friends and eventually one of them becomes a love interest. Most of the other characters in the film are shrouded in mystery with not much revelation coming through the course of the film. The comedy is sparse and subtle. It is mostly slapstick which makes it come across as a similar treatment that is adopted in modern parody films.

There are many references to the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. It is shown in high regard with one of the characters suggesting that it has the best ending ever made in film. The original soundtrack of the film is also mentioned and some of the songs from the soundtrack are performed in this film, possibly as a tribute to the original.

The selection of the songs in the film is predictable since most are chart toppers, however, the composition and arrangement in the accapela-style is unique and refreshing. It is probably the best feature of the film since the story is very easily predictable and the treatment and jokes aren’t excellent. Another redeeming feature of the film is that each character is eccentric making for an interesting collective.

Pitch Perfect could never be considered a great film. The only redeeming feature would be if someone were to watch it for its music.

The Dreamers: A tribute film that questions

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Now while it isn’t possible to imitate every time one wishes to pay a compliment, it is easier to do so in subtle tributes in one’s one work. The Dreamers, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, is one such film that tributes many great films and directors that inspired Bertolucci over the course of his career to become one of the most reputed directors in the world.

Matthew is an American studying in a university in Paris on the eve of the student riots that rocked the city in the year 1968. Being a cinephile, he loves visiting film screenings at the Cinémathèque Française as often as possible. He happens to cross paths with a brother and sister who share his love for cinema. The siblings are intrigued by Matthew and invite him to their house for dinner to introduce him to their parents. Mildly shocked and positively surprised by their openness and comfort levels, Matthew accepts the invitation for dinner and also the later invitation to move into their house once their parents move away for a month. His time in the family home is spent in amicable arguments with the brother and uncomfortable moments with the sister as he hides his affection for her in an unfolding story with the backdrop of the May 1968 riots of Paris.

The Dreamers comes across as a tribute to great directors and films from the past. It was released in the year 2003 and was directed by Bernarndo Bertolucci. The film is based on a novel written by Gilbert Adair who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film has various references to films of the past which are probably considered by the director and writer to be the best films ever made. The references are always affirmative with characters discussing and making positive remarks about the films or wearing similar costumes as were used in the films or performing similar actions as were done by characters in those films. There are also visible references in the form of props and auditory references with music from the films being used. The tributes are not restricted to the world of cinema alone, there is praise of musical greats in the film as well.

There are various undertones in the film which are touched upon particularly in terms of what defines art. There is a struggle between a father and son in the film over who is the greater artist, the one that voices his opinion or the one that only witnesses calmly to reflect and ponder. There are insinuations of incest and questions asked about whether it should actually be considered a sin or if it can be accepted as a parallel way of thinking. The film also depicts a political struggle between administrators and workers along with a documentation of how the elite class stay aloft from political struggles since they are comfortable in their own lives.

The Dreamers probably has a niche audience that would thoroughly appreciate it. It is a good film for someone who enjoys films that revolve around lengthy conversations on topics covering political and social implications.

Before Midnight: The cherry on the icing on the cake

Romance is always seen in a unidirectional format. It always has a predefined formula of where a boy and girl meet and fall in love, maybe have a few hardships and their love triumphs all in the end. It has a treatment which is tried and tested; close up shots of the lovers with low-key lighting around them but with the couple in focus set to soft romantic music as the background score. There are very few films that dare to break this norm but the trilogy culminating in the 2013 film Before Midnight does have a different style and treatment although still falling under the genre of romance.

Picking up from the story of the first two films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Celine and Jesse are living together in Paris. They are unmarried with twin daughters and are currently vacationing in Greece upon invitation from one of Jesse’s literary friends named Patrick who owns a villa. Jesse also has a son from his previous marriage who loves with his mother in Chicago but visits Jesse in Greece for the vacation. After dropping him off at the airport, Jesse and Celine drive back to Patrick’s villa and discuss raising their daughters and Celine’s career prospects. At the villa, they discuss their ideas and thoughts about life with their friends over lunch. Another couple with them, Stefanos and Ariadni, decide to get them a hotel room for a night and agree to take care of their daughters in order for them to get some time alone. While walking to the hotel they talk about their future and plans to live together. On reaching the hotel room, they’re discussion turns into an argument and they are faced with the reality that their relationship isn’t perfect and have to decide how to deal with the immediate future.

Before Sunrise saw the introduction of the two protagonists – Jesse, an American tourist travelling through Europe, and Celine, a French student returning to university – who make a decision to roam through a city they have never been to before and spend a night together without the hope of ever seeing each other again. Before Sunset is the sequel after 9 years where Jesse has written a book about his meeting with Celine and is visiting France to promote the book when Celine tracks him down and they spend a few hours together before he must continue with the responsibilities of his book tour. Before Midnight is the third part of the series which is a follow up after 9 years with Jesse and Celine now living together as a couple with twin daughters with the knowledge that they love each other but not entirely sure how long their relationship will last if in fact it has an expiration date attached to it.

The film was written and directed by Richard Linklater and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. As is the case with the other films in the trilogy, this film is mostly marked with long conversations between the protagonists and quite a few track shots as the characters are followed around while they walk about. Both the lead actors do a splendid job in their respective roles which helps make the film believable and real.

The character of Celine is amiable. She has matured emotionally with time and motherhood takes a toll on her especially since she admits that she lacks maternal instincts in spite of having twins. The French-American accent works perfectly since she is born and raised in France but spends a considerable amount of time in the United States. The character of Jesse is still a daydreamer and a child at heart. His ideologies seem to be along the same lines as the previous films but he has matured as a person especially since he accepts the responsibilities of being a father. He has also grown professionally since he is living his dream of being an author after having a few of his books published and also taking the opportunity of his vacation to write another novel and discuss his ideas with other literary persons. The conversations between the two characters are still the highlight of the film although this film also brings in a few more characters in the form of friends of the protagonists. The conversations with the friends are mostly existential in nature while the protagonists themselves speak on a variety of topics especially those concerning their own lives, those of their children and the immediate future.

The film appears to be a day taken out of the life of a couple. It does not have many elements of being a staged film. The use of ambient sound and mostly natural light lend a very real feel to it. The treatment, as was the case with the previous films, is to have two characters speak casually to each other without the need for added dramatic elements or much of a background score either. The film is about a couple who have known each other for years but are still exploring one another’s minds by putting ideas back and forth between each other. There is no essence of the film being pretentious in spite of the constant philosophical discussions taking place. The brilliance is in the simplicity.

Before Midnight is the best in the series. Each scene is lengthy and runs between 10 minutes to half an hour but moves at a decent pace and does not get boring at any point of time. It has the audience’s attention all the time and is a splendid film.

Candy: Drugs and a broken relationship

In most cultures, drugs are looked upon as being morally wrong. Through popular culture it is evident that civilised and well respected people are not associated with drug users who are seen in the light of being rundown and hopeless. The effects of drugs have been chronicled in a few films by showing hard-hitting consequences due to drug consumption. One of the few that took up the topic was the 2006 film Candy which starred Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish.

Dan and Candy are deeply in love. Dan is a poet and Candy is an artist but neither has produced any work for an extended period of time because of their addiction to heroin. From the beginning it is evident that Dan is a user and initiates Candy into drug use which becomes the base of their relationship. They do whatever is required to gain hold of enough money to buy heroin just so they can have their regular fix. As time progresses their addiction grows stronger and borrowing money does not cut it; soon they resort to stealing which later gives way to prostitution. They realise they have spiralled out of control and try quitting to no avail. In the hope of leaving their past behind them and starting a new life, they move to the country side and try leaving the world of drugs behind. But their past life and dependence on drugs catches up to them when Candy’s parents come to visit for a Sunday lunch. Dan realises that he brought Candy into this mess and watches helplessly in the hope that they can finally change their life.

Candy was the feature film debut for Neil Armfield in the directorial role. Apart from his directorial contribution, Armfield also wrote the screenplay for the film which was adapted from a novel by Luke Davies titled Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction. There aren’t too many standout points in terms of direction which is simple and realistic. One of the most important scenes in the film is when Dan and Candy isolate themselves after moving to a countryside bungalow in the hope of permanently quitting drugs. This scene was both shot and directed well as a continuous overhead shot was maintained over a three day time lapse in the film which depicted the pain the characters were undergoing at the time. The performances of the lead actors were quite good through most of the film as well. They were able to get into the skin of the character to display the emotion and physical agony which would be expected from someone who is detoxing from drugs.

The highlight of the film comes in the breakdown of the story. Most of the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist Dan who even narrates a few scenes. After the establishment of the relationship between the two lead characters, the plot is broken down into three main segments which is the course of their relationship and drug addiction. The three segments of the film are Heaven, Earth and Hell. In the segment called Heaven, the lives of the protagonists are comfortable. They are able to fend for themselves by borrowing and stealing money to take care of their drug addiction which is at a level of elation since they have plenty of drugs to manage their cravings. In the segment called Earth, they are faced with problems that an adult couple would normally face. They have stronger cravings for heroin and not enough money to satiate themselves which leads to the need for prostitution. The lack of money sees them losing their house and strains develop in their relationship. In the segment titled Hell, they find each other’s company and habits to be annoying. They are not able to stay at peace with their relatives and friends and find the need to ignore them for extended periods of time. Their drug problems are escalated here since they are attempting to give it up forever and find violent physical manifestations developing during their detox period.

The film has a stronger human angle than most other drug related movies. It shows real problems and human interactions which are caused due to drug problems. It proves that storytelling does not require shock value in order to be effective.

Dogma: Comical loopholes in religious text

Humour is generally accepted as an open platform to criticise serious topics through lighter mediums. Most people will accept humour as a tongue-in-cheek method of portraying a point of view or ignore it as a baseless statement made for the pure benefit of harmless fun. However when humour tends to touch upon a nerve that may be above reproach of criticism, it may be a problem if it isn’t dealt with in a respectful manner. Kevin Smith’s 1999 release titled Dogma is a humourous portrayal of the Christian faith and the Catholic Church which probably sits in the league of sensitive comedies since it may upset quite a few sensibilities.

Bethany is an abortion clinic worker who is having a crisis of faith after issues with her infertility led to her divorce. She is looking for a way to rekindle her joy in religion which she once felt when she was a young girl. Elsewhere Bartleby and Loki, two fallen angels who were banished from heaven by God, have found a loophole in Catholic dogma which will allow them to re-enter Heaven if they pass through the gates of a church in New Jersey which will absolve them of all their sins. Unknown to Bartleby and Loki, they may accidentally cause the destruction of existence by entering the gates of the church and disobeying the word of God. An angel appears to Bethany and tasks her on a mission to find and stop Bartleby and Loki from fulfilling their goal. The angel informs Bethany that she will be assisted by two self-proclaimed prophets on her journey. Refusing at first, Bethany changes her stance when she is attacked by three demons and rescued by Jay and Silent Bob, the same prophets she was informed about previously. Embarking on the mission together, Bethany, Jay and Silent Bob face hardships and foes along the way while meeting other folk who help them with their journey.

Written and directed by Kevin Smith, this film takes on the religious doctrines put forward by the most popular religion in the world, and particularly its most widely accepted sect. The title of the film is Dogma which itself speaks of the most popular subject the film deals with. Like most of Smith’s other works, this film is also primarily a comedy. Smith has a particular style with his comedy films which borders on blue humour i.e. comedy involving topics such as sexism, racism, religion etc. This film dissects his views on the dogmas of religion and the Catholic Church with humourous twists and turns in the plot. Smith is also known to adopt character based comedy which carries on in this film as well with the recurrence of his funniest characters titled Jay and Silent Bob.

The film isn’t a laugh riot from start to finish but it is amusing to watch Smith take on the Catholic Church and put forward his own views through the medium of his film. Quite a few scenes provide a laugh out loud experience. The portrayal of God as a female flower child doing handstands is hilarious while the ease with which Silent Bob deals with the disgusting excremental demon also calls for a chuckle. The gullibility of Jay asking for sex in every other scene is also amusing as are the few words muttered by Silent Bob which are anticipated throughout the course of the film. Other funny moments in the film include the insinuation that Jesus was Black and racism prevailed over religious text, the idea that God loves playing skee ball and occasionally takes human form to participate in the activity and the hilarity of a cardinal who does away with the traditional crucifix to introduce the new ‘Buddy Christ’ in the hope of bringing the new generation closer to the Church.

The film does not slander the religion it focuses on neither does it rank any religion above or below others. It is just a funny outlook on the state of religion at the moment and what it was initially intended to be.

Peter Pan: Disney’s classic rendition of the boy that refused to grow up

From the many stories that we learn in our childhood, very few stand out and stay with us for the rest of our lives. We forget most stories as other things take the front seat in our lives and we put seemingly less important thoughts and ideas on the back burner until the point that we forget about them or they hold no precedence at all. But the stories that do get stamped in our memory forever leave us with a sense of fondness every time we think of them again. One such story was that of Peter Pan which was materialised into a film by Walt Disney in the year 1953.

Wendy Darling lives in a beautiful home in London where she is well taken care of by her parents as are her two younger brothers, John and Michael. Wendy has a maternal instinct to take care of her brothers and occasionally boss them around which they do not mind at all especially since she tells them bedtime stories about their favourite hero Peter Pan. As described by Wendy, Peter lives on the island of Never Land with his gang of Lost Boys, all of whom are constantly at war with the pirates headed by Captain Hook. The captain is so named because his left hand was replaced by a hook after Peter cut it off and fed it to a crocodile. One night John and Michael get their father riled up which leads him to decide that it is time for Wendy to forget her foolishness and grow up. Wendy pleads with her father that she doesn’t want to forget about Peter Pan because she is in possession of his shadow and must return it to him. Later that night Peter pays Wendy and her brothers a visit in order to retrieve his shadow and decides to take them with him to Never Land to meet his Lost Boys, the pirates, native Americans, mermaids and the lot.

Of the many films that Walt Disney commissioned in his time, Peter Pan is one of the most important as it tells the tale of a boy who refuses to grow up because of his love for youth and desire to remain a child; not unlike Disney’s own affection for children which led him to build his massive empire. The title character Peter Pan has a balance between innocence – which is shown in his lack of knowledge about a mother but desire to have one – and a naughty persona which is evident since he cuts off Captain Hook’s hand and feds it to a crocodile which sparks off a rivalry between the two. The most important factor of Peter’s character is his desire to stay a child forever and reluctance to grow up. As the narrator points out at the start of the film, it is a tale which has happened before and will happen again because Peter is the constant fixation in the story that never changes and always remains the same. He is a child who loves adventure and has a fascination for being independent but also wants to be cared for.

The protagonist of the film in truth is the character of Wendy who has a wide range of imagination but strong maternal instincts which leads her to not only care for her own brothers but also take on the role of being a mother for the Lost Boys. She is realistic and responsible as she prevents Peter from getting into too much mischief and mistreating Captain Hook. She is also capable of being stern when it is required as she shows when she commands her brothers and the Lost Boys to behave appropriately.

Peter Pan is the fantasy that everyone hopes to be when growing up. The ability to be careless about the rest of the world and live how one wants to live is lost once the process of ‘growing up’ is initiated. The problem with living a Peter Pan kind of life is that sooner or later reality has a tendency of catching up and we have to be responsible for ourselves and our actions.

It is difficult to find fault with a story that we have grown up learning and hold dear to heart. Even if there may be one or two flaws with this particular film adaptation, they are sooner or later overlooked considering it is a children’s tale based on imagination. It is a classic without a doubt.

It Might Get Loud: Documenting a unique perspective on the guitar

The guitar is an instrument which has single-handedly transformed music over generations. Depending on the modifications to the instrument itself and the additional effects and amplification it is set up with, countless sounds can be produced from the guitar which has lead to experimentation and emergence of innumerable genres of music and their variations. The musician also matters when it comes down to splendid music because it is only the most skilled guitarists who can produce truly spectacular music from the instrument. It is probably these factors put together that convinced director Davis Guggenheim to make the documentary titled It Might Get Loud.

The documentary opens with Jack White hammering nails on a plank of wood on a farm, plugging it into an amplifier and producing music from it. This is followed by the opening credits which introduce the musicians in the documentary: Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page. A few excerpts from each musician reveals that they are about to meet at a warehouse and what they expect to learn or establish during the course of their discussion. The discussion, held on 23^rd January 2008, was the culmination of the film where the three musicians were brought together to discuss their views with regard to the guitar, each of them being a representative of a different generation and style of music but each being masters in their own right. The documentary was shot over several days before the actual meeting where each musician explained their origins and influences. This footage is spliced between the recordings of the discussion every now and then as the occasion calls for it. The finale of the documentary has the three musicians performing an impromptu acoustic cover of the song The Weight by the group The Band.

Director Davis Guggenheim covers different aspects to the musical instrument which is in the focus of the documentary. He chooses to tell the story through the eyes and words of the three musicians he is interviewing by allowing them to speak of their journey in music which automatically tells the story of the guitar’s timeline over many decades. He follows each musician as they retrace their roots and how they established themselves as the best in the world in a way that is endearing but voyeuristic at the same time. The audience is left in awe of the musician but also able to understand their modest beginnings and rise to fame.

The documentary is segmented into different chapters which chronicle the journey of music as a whole and the transformation of the guitar as well. The segmentation is also based on each musician’s personal experience as they talk about forming a band and breaking away from popular musical styles of their time to be pioneers in rock music. Each artist speaks of influential musicians who impressed them and talk about their own experiences when writing their own music. They speak in detail about their individual guitar playing style and what drives them to constantly strive to be better. During the course of the documentary, each musician picks out one of their songs and teaches the others how to play them to share a moment with their fellow musicians.

It Might Get Loud is a unique concept which documents the world’s favourite musical instrument through the eyes of three men who have mastered techniques to playing it. It is an interesting documentary as a whole but exceptionally enjoyable for rock music lovers.