Title: Bowling for Columbine
Director: Michael Moore
Genre: Documentary
Awards:

Theme: Guns....Guns....Guns

Released in 2002, this documentary brought instant fame to Michael Moore. Both controversial because of its content and attack on one of the fundamental rights in US constitution and thought provoking, the flick revolves around the 1999 massacre in Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Well, the film isn't about how the massacre happened on that day, but it tries to talk about why such an event happened in first place and how the society at large responds to such incidents.

Plot: The first scene opens with Moore entering a bank where there's an offer of getting a free gun along with opening an account for certain specified minimum amount and later he visits a super market nearby to buy the necessary ammo. Then later he goes to a shoot out practice session of "Michigan Militia" which is an informal group of people who practice shooting and there Moore comes across several people who confess about the type of weapons they own. Then later, he visits the Lockheed Martin (world's largest weapons manufacturer) plant and interviews one of the official there and tries to understand what their view of the columbine massacre was. Then the story is transferred to Littleton, Colorado where the Columbine High School Massacre happened. There's also a recorded footage of the two guys shooting everyone around, followed by couple of other interviews of the wounded personnel. Here, enters Charlton Heston, the President of National Rifle Association to promote a pro-gun rally in the town which faces some serious opposition from the parents of the children who died in the massacre and others. In the interviews that follow, there's a student who's a school drop-out, who tells how easy it is to get a gun and sell it for an amount of pot!....and another student who was on the most suspicious student's list capable of causing some damage.

Later, Moore interviews another person whose brother was involved in blowing up a federal building and tries to understand his view on the gun related issues. The next person he interviews is Matt Stone, the co-creator of South Park, who reveals the attitude of schools like Columbine where, the method of teaching is through fear and an impression that once a failure is always a failure! One of the funniest clips in the whole movie is this animated bit on "History of USA"....where it is explained about various events which led to declaring possessing of firearms as a fundamental right and later led to proliferation of Guns. Moore also questions the morality of the idea that "More Guns leads to Less Crime". To prove his point he reveals some numbers where there are lot of guns but lesser crime rate as opposed to USA. To show some concrete proof for these numbers he goes to Canada and comes to know about various issues where Canadians stand and their way of solving problems. In another sub-theme of the plot, the role of media is also questioned. A producer of a reality show, "COPS" agrees that, the news on TV is true but then the TV Channels always choose their topics....which over a period of time has branded certain sections of community (in this case blacks) as dangerous and someone with a criminal mentality.

Finally the movie concludes with a couple of teenagers who were injured in the Columbine Massacre making K-Mart change their ammo selling policy. Also another major event in the meantime is a 6 year old guy killing his 6 year old girl in the class in Moore's own town in Michigan...which prompts Moore to talk to Charlton Heston who incidentally was in the same town a week later. In the interview he question's Heston's motive of provoking the people to take up guns in the shadow of such tragedy! Moore concludes the film with another line.....questioning what it means to be an American under such circumstances.


One of the good things about the movie is that it doesn't have a Problem-Solution kind of narrative or the theme itself. It's got more to do with accepting that we have a problem and we collectively have to come up with a solution. It also questions the morality behind making guns a necessity for everyone....again the focus here is on keeping the public in fear so that the corresponding business is good...like Firearms in the aftermath of 9/11....After having heard about the Virginia Tech Shootout earlier this year, I as a non-American, always wonder, how can someone make Owning firearms a Fundamental Right!...it's as if you have a bomb right in your hand..the only question is, whether you throw it in your neighbour's house or wait till the right moment comes up to kill yourself!!!....Anyway, no offense intended, maybe the judgment isn't mine to make...but it still makes me wonder, how they can be restricted from children and other people who might use it for wrong purposes?!

One of my favourite clips from the movie..."History of USA"

It's an interesting film...although the subject is kind of disturbing....there's enough of everything to make this flick worth all the effort.....

To read more reviews....click here

PS: Thanks to Udki for storing this flick in his comp...otherwise, I am not sure how I could have seen it soon, just after watching Moore's Latest!....
Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

SICKO
Director: Michael Moore
Genre: Documentary
Theme: Universal Health Care System

Let me begin with a confession that I incidentally bumped into this movie through one of the websites which was offering movies for free downloads. This more or less equates to the fact that I have committed Piracy but then you will have to agree that by the time this movies makes it all the way to India...well, I don't know how long I would have to wait.

So, what's this whole documentary from Michael Moore about which made quite a lot of news in this year's Cannes Film Festival? After his immensely successful documentary "Farenheit-9/11", Michael Moore, this time chooses to talk about the Health Industry of US. The documentary traverses the lives of several Americans who have faced health problems and couldn't get any Medical Treatment because they don't have Health Insurance. And on top of that, the documentary also deals about the problems of those who have inadequate health insurance. Filled with interviews from people affected and also people who are in health insurance business, the film talks a great deal about several issues. In some of the startling revelations, there's a huge list of diseases or conditions under which a person cannot be insured, and also an insurance application is denied with the Chief Doctor's Computer generated signature sent to the patients without the knowledge of the doctor.

To compare how countries like Canada, UK and France are doing on the health front, we are transformed into the lives of citizens of respective countries all of which have a National Health Scheme under which patients are treated for free. Each country has it's own story as to how this NHS started and how it's being carried out in their country. To give a more natural feel to the health benefits that they supposedly have, in France, Michael Moore talks to the Americans living in Paris. He comes to know that medical care is free, the workers have 5 weeks of paid holidays, there's a doctor at your doorstep in less than 30 minutes you give the system a call in any part of the day/night and so on. When asked, what would happen if the government tried to stop this scheme, the answer is a mass "Revolution". Irrespective of the political inclination, these countries have made this system work and perhaps that's what is the bottom line of the film. If they can do it, then why not US?

If this is not enough, the film also focuses its attention on the attitude of some of the politicians like Ronald Reagan, who once quoted that socialised Medical Care would lead to Totalitarianism!!! And also lot many other politicians who vehemently protested against such a scheme...giving a clear indication that there's a power health insurance group lobbying to continue the current health care in US. Towards the end of the movie, the attention is again on 9/11...just that this time it's the Rescue workers who fell ill to various diseases and nothing has been done to help them from the Government's side. So, the director arranges a boat and invites whoever wants to get medication in the Medical Facility of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; which allegedly houses some of the most dangerous criminals on Earth(It's also shown that they get a far more better health care than any average American). But upon reaching the facility, there's no response and the crew is forced to enter Cuba out of no choice. Cuba, one of the biggest enemies of US for over 4 decades, comes in as a big surprise for the Americans travelling along with Moore. When they visit a Pharmacy, one of the patient comes to know that a medicine which costs $120 in US, costs only 5 Cents in Cuba!...After that they check into a hospital where all the patients are given proper medication and also a treatment plan which they couldn't afford in US.

Since the film is about Healthcare, Moore sticks strictly to this subject and doesn't go into the economics of taxes and how much the Government spends on this scheme. Anyway, it's an inspiring movie, a full 2 hour long, which will fill you with sympathy and the need to do a lot more for the community. I wonder, if we in India have a plan at all....all we hear are promises from politicians, and doctors going on strike because their demands aren't met....patients dying every day for lack of medical attention!...I wish everyone watches this movie; even if there's no action, I am sure it's inspiring enough to do a bit more and also inspire others to do more. If you are under the impression that this can never be implemented in a country like India, perhaps there is hope...we need visionaries who can see this possibility, like Tommy Douglas of Canada, the man behind Medicare (Universal Medical Care). We need people, comprising doctors, politicians, communities who can cooperate among themselves in small areas and try this out and then it can be emulated across other regions. Remember, it takes thousands of drops of rain to drench everything which inturn pours into rivers and seas....

Watch it...it's a terrific film!....For more reviews on this...click here

PS: There's a very interesting article on this subject of healthcare in the The Hindu, July 10th edition...by Economist, Paul Krugman...click here to read the article

What makes a movie special?....What makes a movie unforgettable?...Is it the story, the narration or the theme it tries to address or something else?....Maybe it's everything put together, or something that we cannot put in words. Whatever maybe the case, there are only a few movies which you will remember forever and everytime it's on TV you can't resist watching it again...
Here's my list of some of those kind of movies, some of which have just changed the way I think about few things...

1. Sankarabharanam: This 1979 Telugu flick directed by K.Vishwanath has probably had the biggest influence on me when it comes to Telugu movies. It's the story of a popular Carnatic Singer who loses his audience because of the emerging western music in late 70's and how he leads his life which has lost its yesteryear's glory. Probabaly I would have seen this movie some 3-4 times but everytime I see this movie, apart from the Carnatic Music, I just cannot get myself to listen to any other genre particularly Rock. That's the power of the impact this movie had!....One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when a group of young men practicing western music find themselves challenged by this Carnatic Singer to sing a Ragaa along with him......This is one of the great movies that I would recommend if you want to watch a movie with great story, music, action, drama; it definitely has the soul in the right place....

Check out this Wikipedia entry on this flick....there are couple of interesting facts about the movie...

2. Saagara Sangamam: 4 years later after making Shankarabharanam, director K.Vishwanath made yet another beautiful movie casting Kamal Hasan and Jayaprada in the lead roles. This time it's the story of a Classical Dancer who couldn't make it big and ends up as a alcoholic, journalist. Jayaprada dons the role of a wealthy woman who helps him to perform in a competition. Upon finding out that the woman he loves is already married, he distances himself from everyone bereft of any hope....Another unforgettable movie from a director who rejuvenated the interest in Indian Classical Music and Dance through his movies. His characters have such emotion and a dream which is fast diminishing to some or the other influences. But then at the end of it, the message is that the flame must never die and we cannot forget what we are made of.
One of my favourite songs from the movie

There are lot more on the list....will be added soon

It so happens in my opinion that, there are 3 kinds of films around...

1. Films that you watch when you go to a multiplex without a fixed plan
2. Films that you watch when others recommend you to watch
3. Films that you are desperately waiting to watch (either the ones that are yet to be released.....or something that you have missed in the past)....

and then there are others too...somethings you just bump into...something like you are flipping through channels and watch a flick, or download from the net....

anyway here's my list of movies that I am waiting to see...

1. Gandhi, My Father (based on the struggle between Gandhi and his eldest son, Hiralal)
2. Ratatouille (Pixar's latest movie from the director of "The Incredibles")
3. Dharm(directed by Bhavna Talwar starring Pankaj Kapur, about a Brahmin Priest who goes
against his tradition when he comes to know that the child he had adopted after a riot is a Muslim)
4. Grahanam (an award winning Telugu Art movie by Mohan Indraganti)
5. Sicko (by Micheal Moore, about the health system in US...incidentally i haven't seen his earlier flicks too...[:(]...)
6. Confessions of a Film Maker(by Anish Kuruvilla, it's been branded as the boldest movie ever in Telugu....and the film hasn't had a theatrical release owing to content, it has only an online viewing for $2.50!)

and many more which I am sure I would come across in the near future!

Shot in 2004, the film was finally released on Feb 9, 2007 in India. Why the 3 year delay you ask; the reason being the honesty and brutality with which this movie depicts is perhaps a reason good enough for such a delay. Well, the movie is based on the 1993 Mumbai Serial Blasts and when it was about to release in 2004-2005, the final verdict in the case was still pending and there were fears that this film would alter the final judgment. Need a better example of the power of cinema and how it can influence the way you think??!!....

Based on the carefully researched book by S. Hussain Zaidi of the same name and directed by Anurag Kashyap; the film deals about the Mumbai serial blasts of 93 and the subsequent investigation that followed. The film has a wonderful narration; it's a police investigation and as the film progresses, the reason and the method of the blasts and the planning are carefully revealed from one of the accused, Badshah Khan who realises that what he has done is wrong.

The Plot: After the police take over the investigation of the blasts, the first thing they come across is a abandoned van which has a clue to one of the first criminal related to the case. He happens to be the accountant of Tiger Memnon, the Mastermind behind the whole plot. There after it's a domino effect where many of the accused directly involved in making and planting of the bombs are caught. The investigation led by Rakesh Maria, played by Kay Kay, succeeds in making one of the accused Badshah Khan realise that they have killed lot of innocent people and also that their God wasn't on their side in this mission. He then reveals, each and every detail as to how they were hired for this mission, where they were trained and how the plan itself took shape. It's later revealed that the very reason for this was to take revenge of the Babri Masjid demolition and the communal violence that followed it.

Probably the most mesmerizing part of this plot is the story and the way in which it is revealed like a carefully researched investigation. And on top of that, the acting by almost all the protagonists especially Kay Kay and Pawan Malhotra (who plays Tiger Memnon) and Aditya Shrivastava (who plays Badshah Khan) deserve special mention. The feeling that Dawood Ibrahim, the prime accused in the case gets such little screen presence that it leaves you wonder had he been anyway related to the case. Well, that discussion is for some other day or some other movie!!...the film also points out its finger to ISI, Pakistan for their direct involvement in the case, right from supplying arms and ammunition and training the accused. There are also videos of the interviews of 92, 93 related to this incident which augment the sense of realism that is attached to it.

It's a No Nonsense, brutal, honest and bold movie!....I can't think of a reason why someone shouldn't watch this movie, this one is definitely going into my favourite list accompanied by other Hindi/English movies like Mr and Mrs Iyer, Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi and Omkaara....I am looking forward to see more movies from this director...rumour has it he is planning to make a modern version of Devdas!....