Sundays @ 9 AM

1st August 10 Choice 1: Invisible Waves (Thai) Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Choice 2: Enigma (English) Director: Jeannot Szwarc

8th August 10 Choice 1: Nobody is Perfect (Va a Ser Que Nadie es Perfecto)(Spanish) Director: Joaqun Oristrell Choice 2: The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le Grand Blond Avec Une Chaussure Noire) (French) Director: Yves Robert

15th August 10 Choice 1: The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le Retour du Grand Blond) (French) Director: Yves Robert
Choice 2: My Little Bride (Eorin Shinbu) (Korean) Director: Ho-joon Kim

22nd August 10 Choice 1: Ghostwood (English) Director: Justin OBrien Choice 2: Black Rainbow (English) Director: Mike Hodges

29th August 10 Choice 1: The Visitor (English) Director: Thomas McCarthy Choice 2: Room 205 (Kollegiet) (Danish) Director: Martin Barnewitz

Contents
Editor Maneck Davar

Interview

Managing Editor Tanmoy Goswami

7-13
Reviews

14

18

Assistant Editors Sudarshana Sengupta Kanika Punwani Art Director Rishita Chandra Designers Yogesh Jadhav Neaha Nagpal

Being Independent

Six Questions with Indian Ocean

Digital Imaging Paras Damani Special Thanks Puru Lala Kaushal Nanavati Sakura Editing and Design Spenta Multimedia (www.spentamultimedia.com) UTV World Movies Advertising Sales Contacts:

Movies DVDs Events

Cultures in Conversation

27-31 44
Wushu
The Young Generation
Sunday, 29th August, 8:30 pm

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Fishy Feeling
Japan

46

Compiled, edited and printed for UTV World movies on behalf of UTV Entertainment Television by Sameer Ganapathy, Kunal mukherjee and Sujata Lewis.

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FROM THE CEOS DESK

Akira Kurosawa once said, Japan does not understand very well that one of its proudest cultural achievements is in film. Truly, Japanese cinema does deserve the honour bestowed upon it by one of the greatest filmmakers of all times. This month, we shift focus to Japan with classics from the region such as Takeshi Kitanos Sonatine and Yoji Yamadas The Hidden Blade. The martial art drama Wushu, directed by Antony Szeto and presented by the legendary Jackie Chan, is our Movie of the Month. On 50 Movies to See Before You Die, Tannishtha Chatterjee comes up with her must-watch list. We also release the award-winning drama by Sarah Gavron, Brick Lane, on DVD; make sure to grab your copy. This month, we also bring the celebrated fusion band Indian Ocean to Hard Rock Cafes across Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad. www.utvworldmovies.com takes on a new avatar beginnin this month, which will boast of path-breaking features like Cinemapsthat will connect and engage world cinema buffs with their favorite entertainment from across the world; and Movie-o-dexto help you plan your viewing experience better. (Japanese for keep watching us)

MK Anand Chief Executive Officer UTV Global Broadcasting Ltd.

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WORLDS
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Editorial
Dear Readers, Remember the TV commercial in which that looking-extremely-pleased-with-himself guy popped up on the screen every two seconds with a t-shirt saying Change is here? I dont know if I should, but I feel a bit like that guy today. It is one of the most excruciating things in life, this change business. I wish things were not this subjective. I wish we lived in a world small enough for us to show everything to everyone before anything got printed. Most of all, I wish we were all colour blind and could only see black and white. And its not as if we have redesigned the solar system, you know. Far from it. Our changes are probably so small that some of you will feel obligated to say Whats the big deal?! to which we will say That we dont know dude, but you asked for it! And you did ask for it. Again and again. You said that in the last eleven months we have jacked up the content eleven times over but the design has not really covered more than the mandatory ground clearance limit. To which we said, All in good time. But since we were covering Japan this time, that country where no one talks about change any more because it is always happening, we thought maybe there will never be a better time. So anyway, here it is, yet another installment in our merry ride. Just in case you dont find this exposition dramatic enough, turn to Cultures in Conversation (Page 44) on costume dramas. Theres some pretty serious stuff about changing clothes in the movies in there. Through it all, may Cinema be with you.

Tanmoy Goswami Managing Editor

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random

Death By Karaoke
Karaoke n. a form of entertainment, offered typically by bars and clubs, in which people take turns to sing popular songs into a microphone over pre-recorded backing tracks. Origin: 1970s: from Japanese, literally empty orchestra (www.oxforddictionaries.com) It seems like a harmless, albeit drunken, form of entertainment. But if you find yourselves in the Philippines try not to mix this innocuous pastime with a particular Frank Sinatra songyou might be left with a fatal combination. Dont believe us? Take a look at these excerpts from a New York Times article published in February of this year: The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling My Way in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the My Way Killings. The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the countrys culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song? Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the countrys many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation. [] And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers. Indeed, most of the My Way killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer. The trouble with My Way, said Mr. Gregorio, is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion.
a uwbvxyz c d e f g h ij k l m t noprs

apanese Film Festival Singapore 2010 spotlights youth and brings 31 Singapore premieres of groundbreaking Japanese classics, independent cinema and awardingwinning films to Singapore from August 19 to 29. The festival focuses on the works of directors who led the revolutionary change in the 1960s which became known as the Japanese New Wavea major turning point in the history of Japanese cinema. It will also showcase films by young, aspiring, independent filmmakers along with the latest awardwinning films from up-and-coming Japanese filmmakers that are blazing a trail in the international film circuit. (http://sfs.org.sg/japanesefilmfestival/jff2010/)

Three Movies to Watch on August 15

Others, noting that other equally popular tunes have not provoked killings, point to the song itself. The lyrics, written by Paul Anka for Mr. Sinatra as an unapologetic summing up of his career, are about a tough guy who when there was doubt, simply ate it up and spit it out. Butch Albarracin, the owner of Center for Pop, a Manilabased singing school that has propelled the careers of many famous singers, was partial to what he called the existential explanation. I did it my way its so arrogant, Mr. Albarracin said. The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if youre somebody when youre really nobody. It covers up your failures. Thats why it leads to fights. Defenders of My Way say it is a victim of its own popularity. Because it is sung more often than most songs, the thinking goes, karaoke-related violence is more likely to occur while people are singing it. The real reasons behind the violence are breaches of karaoke etiquette, like hogging the microphone, laughing at someones singing or choosing a song that has already been sung. The Philippines is a very violent society, so karaoke only triggers what already exists here when certain social rules are broken, said Roland B. Tolentino, a pop culture expert at the University of the Philippines. But even he hedged, noting that the songs triumphalist nature might contribute to the violence. (www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/world/asia/07karaoke.html)

I find Insignia to be a quality magazine that infuses a strong sense of diversity in the minds of movie lovers. Its great because it not only opens my mind to new cinema, but also keeps me in the loop with the current films around the world. Sukriti Grover, Mumbai

Ive only recently subscribed to your magazine, but Im already addicted to it. Theres a whole world of movies out there that we never really used to get exposed to in India. UTV World Movies, as a channel, has brought the movies to us; but your magazine is what brings everything that went into those moviesthe culture, the history, the myth and the lifeinto the light. Id love to see you set your sights on Japan soon. Tyrel Rodricks, Mumbai Dear Tyrel, lo and behold! the Ed

Embassy

JAPAN - Endless Discovery

In our country, Japan, there is a saying that represents the spirit of hospitalityIchigo-ichie. It means to treasure every encounter, for it may occur only once in a lifetime. Each and every one of us await your arrival with a warm smile and this eternal tradition in our hearts.

Useful Japanese Greetings and Phrases

Pronounce every syllable and keep intonation rather flat

Welcome to Japan!
Marco Polo first introduced Japan to the world in the 13th century as Zipanguthe Land of Gold. Though the Japan of today may not be a land of gold, the Neo Zipangu does possess powerful magnetic attractions, a great cultural variety, and colourful and inspiring natural attractions distinctly woven within our four seasons. Every one of the seasons has its own colourful event and festival, or matsuri. Japan is a treasure-trove of traditional performing arts, and is known for cultural pursuits such as the tea-ceremony, ikebana and bonsai. Facilities abound that offer you a hands-on experience in cultural arts. Give it a try. The experience may just lead you to discover another aspect of yourself. Japan is vigorously gaining in popularity as a tourist destination that is easily accessible and that anyone can enjoy on a reasonable budget with a sense of complete security. Intertwined with a genuine and heart-warming hospitality, Japan awaits you. Welcome to our Japan! For more information visit: www.mumbai.in.emb-japan.go.jp/en. The cultural arm of the Japanese Consulate offices across India have been continuously hosting several activities that promote Japanese culture. Several Japanese art demonstrations that included sumi-e (brush painting), ikebana (flower arrangement), origami (paper folding) and karate (martial arts) have been organised across the country. Similarly the screening of several Japanese films, exhibitions of Japanese dolls and toys, Japanese musical concerts and quiz competitions have also been hosted.

GREETINGS
How do you do? HAJIME-MASHITE How are you? O-GENKI-DESU-KA? Good morning OHAYO GOZAI-MASU Good afternoon KON-NICHI-WA Good evening KOMBAN-WA Good night OYASUMI-NASAI Goodbye SAYO-NARA

PHRASES
Thank you ARIGATO Youre welcome DO-ITASHI-MASHITE Excuse me SUMI-MASEN I am sorry GOMEN-NASAI Please (when offering something) DO-ZO Please (when requesting something) KUDASAI Do you understand? WAKARI-MASU-KA? What is this? KORE-WA NAN-DESU-KA? How much? IKURA-DESU-KA? Help! TASUKETE! Watch out! ABU-NAI! Where is the toilet? TOIRE-WA DOKO-DESU-KA?

Reviews

Movies DVDs Events

Movie

DogDays
Tanmoy Goswami discovers the Japanese for dog eat dog. Stray Dog (Nora Inu) Toho Company Ltd., 1949 Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshir Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Isao Kimura Certification (UK): PG. General viewing, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under eight Awards: 4 wins Stray Dog startled me at least ten times in its two-hour runtime. Even as letters and citations and newspapers in the patent vertical script kept marking it as a Japanese film, and even as cross-legged sitdowns and kimonos anchored it in tradition, the film ever so often escaped into a cultural palimpsest, a marvellous worldliness that made me get up and turn off the subtitles at least ten times, if only momentarily. Much has been written about Stray Dogs distinct postwar Japanese quality, its position in Japans cultural consciousness under Allied occupation. If that is a starting point for understanding the film, then it has to be said that this quality is a world away from Japans somewhat inordinate idiosyncrasies as a nation, which have hoisted ittogether with Chinaas either the most exotic exemplar of everything Oriental, or, as an online reviewer pointed out, a spiffy country of spiffy people. Japan owes much to Kurosawa for his contribution in showing off the countrys mythical heritage, but this early foray by the master is remarkable simply because all these years later it comes to the viewer as a classic insiders job, a clinical dismantling of stereotypes by someone in whose hands a detectives stolen gun can be as thrilling as a samurais sashaying sword. Inspired by the work of French detective fiction writer Georges Simenon and bearing the stamp of American noir, it is easy to see where Stray Dog gets its cultural freedom from. And yet, the moral universe of the film remains unmistakably Japanese. The simple story of war-veteran detective Murakamis (Mifune) stolen gun and a series of crimes committed with it is mounted on a laboured canvas shot through with ideas of honour, guilt and selfchastisement, serving as a sobering counterpoint to the sweaty men and women in suits and cabaret costumes, living universal lives and looking increasingly westwards. The thriller as a genre is probably the most agreeable to cultural anonymity, and Kurosawa does use the dual combination of the wars levelling effect and the thrillers lack of cultural ostentation to narrate a story that could belong anywhere. However, in its piercing sadness and desperation, Stray Dog gives away the lingering shadow of Japan, the country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world despite dazzling economic and industrial progress. The interplay of morbidity and progress, today a widely publicised part of the Japanese experience and easy to think of as a post-industrial malaise, was in operation even in the immediate aftermath of the war. In 1949, the fifth year of the Allied occupation and the same year as Stray Dog was released, Japan got its first stock exchanges in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya and also saw the creation of the iconic Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Yet, this was also a time of disastrous inflation and plummeting productivity, of squalid city underbellies, the kind which proliferated illicit gun trade using rice ration cards as its precious currency. So while lady criminals move on to wearing dresses at the expense of the kimono, restaurants flaunt names like Blue Bird in bold English lettering and the high-tech Ballistics department of the police force impresses with its apparently ahead-of-its-times efficiency, Stray Dog never abandons Japan.

If anything, it shows you what it feels like to be in a country that has been given the choice to look beyond itself but is too anxious to do so.
In this respect Murakami appears to stand as a human extension of his anguished country. Relentlessly haunted by persecution complex and driven to resigning when his stolen Colt becomes the instrument of murder, in spite of reassuring seniors asking him to embrace action over selfflagellation, Murakami walks the streets of Tokyo burdened with guilt, unable to stop judging himself and look decisively forward. His lonely, restive stroll through the citys nether parts in search of illegal gun dealers throws him back to the slimy world that he too could have been trapped in but for an opportune career choice. But instead of soothing his ego, the grimy vistas of the citys amusement districts drive a wedge into Murakamis soul. He loses the power to deliver justice and retribution with equanimity, paralysed by sympathy, lapsing into nervy what if confessionals even when he can easily label the murderer a weakling who took the easy way out. He begs the thiefs accomplice for a hint, broods over senior detective Satos (Shimura) philosophy that No man is bad, its the environment that makes them so, and blames himself inconsolably when Sato is shot by the murderer with his own gun. Throughout the film, Murakami is too well aware of the misfortunes of his poorer countryfolk for his own good, and it is only with

the assault over Satowhose comforting family life brings rare relief in Murakamis parched loveless worldthat he overcomes this weakness. This finally brings him in muddy, bloody contact with the killer Yusa (Kimura) in one of the most eloquently choreographed fight sequences ever. Yusa has killed before to raise money for a dress for his sweetheart, the implication being he will surely kill if its his life and freedom in question. The two men grapple with each in a flowerbed, in a marsh, panting and tearing at each other like the titular nora inu, Murakamis blood dripping on the white flower, the sound of gunshot interrupting Mozart, and Yusas final bawling outburst foiled by a bunch of schoolchildren singing their song presumably about love and brotherhood. Murakami and Yusa are indistinguishable in the muck, suit next to filthy suit, dog doppelgangers to each other. Subtitles are for men.

Flash Reviews

Yakuzaeiga
Japan loves its heroes. They put them in refrigerator magnets, milk cartons, fairy tales and passing buses. Over the last half-century, the romantic myth of the yakuza has been a prominent theme in Japanese popular culture, especially its cinema. Popular yakuza fantasy stresses on the traditions of the pastcarrying on a legacy of chivalrous outlawsunderdog fighters following an idealised samurai code of loyalty, honour, courage and selflessness. If once upon a time they protected villagers through disciplined swordfights, today's idealised yakuza protects society by organising failures, outcasts, and petty criminals into disciplined, hierarchical mobs. Japanese gangsta, if you will! In the 1960-70s world of ruthless capitalism, the true yakuza hero, as a man of honour, would only fight with a Japanese sword. This Japanese counterpart of Wayne and Eastwood was a loner who usually sacrificed himself in a hopeless battle against cowardly modern guns. This myth was partly self-serving, since some of the producers of the classic yakuza film were not far removed from organised crime themselves. And interestingly, the classic yakuza heroes, portrayed by stars such as Tsuruta Koji and Takakura Ken, were very popular in the 1960s with left-wing student rebels who flaunted their posters during protests. Eventually the yakuza myth was duly demystified by a new generation of filmmakers whose films depicted a more cynical world of violent mobsters killing for money, or just for the hell of it. The unsentimental Fukasaku Kinji shot his films like a newsman filming a riot up close with handheld cameras, unflinching in his depiction of brutality. His yakuza had long since discarded any chivalrous codes, and was not interested in self-sacrifice. Jingi Naki Tatakai (Battles without Honour or

genre

Humanity, 1973), his masterpiece, showed the backstabbing and fratricidal wars involved in one gangs rise to prominence from the ashes of Hiroshima. If the classic yakuza picture of the early 1960s was somewhat lacking in laughs(because tradition dare not be funny)the later gangster films are frequently characterised by a macabre sense of humour. Not unlike the Western gunslinger coming to town to fight for an older, better world against the men in black hats, the pure yakuza keeps reviving in different guises, going through cycles of romanticism and realism. Todays yakuza might challenge the system in a more tech-savvy fashion, but they challenge nevertheless, as in the exceptional manga, Sanctuary. Just like tomorrows yakuza will find newer ways because Japan will never tire of its swords or its samurais. Sudarshana Sengupta

Tokyo

Surrounded by towering steel, madding crowds and millions of neon signs crawling like red ants, selling everything from toothpaste to Viagra, you could be in New York, or London or Bombay. A closer look and its one of those muddled nightmares where youre lost with no way to ask for directions because every response is a steady stream of gibberish and manic hand gestures. If youre not from Tokyo, youre lost in Tokyo. The streetlights are in Technicolor, the traffic noise amplified and the smells from the sushi counters go straight to your head till its all a messy blur of the senses. Not necessarily in a bad way. Because if youre like Bobas much of a stranger here as anywhere in the world, Tokyo can be beautiful. Or if youre playing Charlotte, for whom the next city is simply a different hotel bed, Tokyo can be mildly promising.

location

Twinkling, sometimes garish...with illicit potential. A foreign land in the truest sense. Sofia Coppolas Lost in Translation (2003) is not simply a film about strangers. Its about the strangeness that envelops all non-relationships. The strangeness as you walk through attractive but unknown streets, of tasteful but impersonal hotel lobbies, polished dim-lit bars and road signs in odd languages. Shot by Lance Acord in lustrous nocturnal tones, Tokyo stands without apologyat once delicate and alien. Its easy to get lost in its bylanes, its private karaoke bars, nightclubs and boutiquesanimated but hushed, suspended in timewith the underlying strain of fear that uncertainty brings. And it's hard to resist. Hard not to fall under the spell of the magical, glowing

Park Hyatt Tokyo and its 52nd floor New York bar in Shinjuku district where Bob and Charlotte first meet, from where the view of the bustling city is fantastic, but also distanced, like television on mute. Outside, a few stops away from Shinjuku lies Shibuya's awe-inspiring Hachiko exit from the trainperhaps the most famous modern visual associated with Tokyo; where Charlotte surreptitiously marvels the vast, bewildering pedestrian crosswalk with its immense neon-lit buildings, teeming throngs of people, giant LCD video screens and confounding ad images projected onto the sides of buildings. The unfamiliarity is at once disorienting and reassuringthe duality singular and the alienation complete. Theres always a chance of being lost in Tokyo. Being found, now thats another story. Sudarshana Sengupta

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Takeshi Kitano as Detective Nishi in Hana-bi

Audition
Takashi Miikes Audition (1999) has a deceptively harmless soundtrack that creeps up on you in a style akin to our favourite cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Who would have thought that sophisticated charming jazz piano could so quickly morph into a sound so sinister? Dont be fooled. Audition is not a typical gore festit is an exercise in minimalism and restraint. And its music is no different. The soundtrack makes brilliant use of foley and ambient sounds and uses silence to disturb you to pieces. A beeping EKG machine, the looming quiet of an empty hospital hall, a childs echoing footsteps, wailing alarms, the buzz of a monotonous office, the creepy crackling of fire slowly heating tongs used for torture, the flapping of a severed tongue against a polished wooden floorall add to a seemingly innocuous musical score, lullabying you into believing that everything is alright. Audition is one of those few films which use silence to such wonderful effect. It emphatically punctuates the stillness and sadness in the hero Aoyamas life. It wedges in between the playful burlesque music which plays as Aoyama and his friend interview women after women in a mock audition, as if to cheekily pause and observe their ludicrousness. It stands stilly, but not passively as our heros journey embarks upon an absurd and chilling path. The films femme fatale Asami is accompanied by no special tune but silence. The piano is heard mostly during moments of introspection, followed sometimes by a deeply melancholy violin and woo voices for dramatic effect. The strings and beats swell at the precipice of disaster only to retreat into a brooding silence, not quite allowing you to come to a conclusion. Is the horror really over? Is it okay to breathe now? But silence doesnt speak.

soundtrack

Maybe it smirks a little, like Dr. Lecter, and dissipates into a darkened corner. Nandita Gupta

SomethingLikeanAutobiography
There is something wonderfully residual about a filmmakers memoirs. Its as if everything that could be made into films is already taken, leaving wafer-like details that are too delicate for the glare of the camera. Stack up the wafers though, and you invariably get enough weight to create something for the camera. Something Like an Autobiography, while not wafer-like by way of being frail, is also a record of the epiphenomena around the life and times of Kurosawa Akira, an account that could only be rendered through the half-intangibility of words. That it ends up reading like a story begging to be scripted for the camera-eye is apt tribute to the vision and imagination of the man who gave us some of the most visually steeped films ever. In his preface to the book, Kurosawa writes about his anxiety that readers might find his story unimportant: What pertains only to myself is not interesting enough to record and leave behind me. If I were totake myself, subtract moviesthe result is zero. Good thing he thought that way, seeing how his anxiety pushed him to start his story

book

not in a picture hall but in the washtub naked. Over the next 200-odd pages, though the movies breathe spirit into the story, Kurosawa Akira takes us on a tour across Taish Japan and beyond the realms of cinema, through a country coming to terms with urbanisation while being very much at ease with itself in a languid, insular way. As Audie Bock writes in the translators preface, this was a time awash with ideas coming in from the outside worldSymbolism, avant-gardism, the Russian revolution, new democracy, Dada, new technology. Kurosawa takes it all and converts it into a chronicle that is as universal as world cinema itself. For all its foray into the non-cinematic world, Something Like an Autobiography will be best remembered for the anecdotes on Kurosawas filmmaking style, his relationship with Japans oppressive censors and his actors, studio conflicts and the crisis in cinema caused by the assault of VHS tapes. Though the story ends in 1950 with Rashomon, by then Kurosawa has accumulated enough wafers to raise a stout edifice to his craft, and lain to rest

all his fears about readers finding him too self-indulgent. Something Like an Autobiography|Akira Kurosawa | Translated by Audie E Bock | Vintage Books, 1983. Tanmoy Goswami

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DVD

LoveInTheTimesOfStrife
Despite the all-consuming drama, Sohini Dey can see why Twin Sisters gathered such critical acclaim. Anyone who has been watching Hindi films knows the twin lost and found formula welltwo identical twins separated at birth, who discover each other thanks to coincidences, which can safely be termed as downright bizarre. But Ben Sombogaart is no Hindi filmmaker, and while Twin Sisters is the story of two separated twins, the perspective presented is vastly different. For one, the twins are not identical. Anna and Lotte are, however, bonded by love, and when the two are separated by their relatives after their fathers death, the attachment threatens to collapse. Both grow up in different circumstancesLotte, with her wealthy aunt in Holland and Anna, with her poor uncle and aunt in a farm in Germany. Lotte goes to university, plays the piano and learns the ways of refined life. Anna grows up poor, uncared for and deprived of schooling, but not lacking ambition. By a chance encounter, the two sisters discover that the other is still alive and re-unite in Germany. But this is also around the same time as the Second World War and Deutschland is on a rampage against the Jews. Lotte, whose fianc is Jewish, finds the atmosphere around Anna revolting, and suspecting her to be anti-Semitic too, begins to avoid her. The lives of the two sisters take different paths as Lottes fianc is forced away to the concentration camp (and later, gassed) and Anna is married to a Nazi soldier, who also dies in war. The two have an explosive meeting after the war, when Lotte (now married to someone else) throws Anna out of the house, calling her a Nazi and a murderer. They meet years later, as old women, Lotte still angry and Anna still hoping for reconciliation.

Award tally: 6 wins, 6 nominations

Most of the story unfolds in flashbacks. Much of the film is about warnot about those at war, but about those who stay away from the trenches, equally torn.

The relationship between the two sisters is explosiveand often seems like a tumultuous bond between lovers, rather than siblings.
The film also takes a look at how easily people are stereotyped. After the war, Anna is shunned by the Dutch as a Nazi simply because she speaks German. Lotte begins to despise Anna as an anti-Semite (an irony, because Anna doesnt really support the Nazi philosophy and knows little about the Jews). But as Twin Sisters shows, its easier to typecast than to actually justify it. Lotte accuses Annas husband of being a murderer simply because he is an SS officer (another irony, as he is really just an uninterested conscript), but Anna sees him only as a wonderful man she loved. The film scores on acting. Uhl, as young Anna, dominates the filmshe has some powerful scenes, especially where she confronts the Nazi officials searching for her. The performance of Gudrun Okras, who plays old Anna, will guarantee a few sniffles for sure. Reuten and Vogel, who play young and old Lotte respectively, are also wonderful, but often overshadowed by Anna. The ensemble cast also does wellbe it Uncle Heinrich Bamberg (Ingo Naujoks) with whom Anna spends her early years or David (Spitzenberger), Lottes ill-fated fianc. The film could certainly have done better in certain areas the background score is jarring at times, clichs rule some of the scenes and the sentimentality becomes a little too heavy-duty. But beyond the overpowering drama, Twin Sisters has some very profound points to make.

Run Time: 137 minutes MPAA Rating: Rated R for brief sexuality and a scene of violence Director: Ben Sombogaart Cast: Thekla Reuten Nadja Uhl, Jeroen Spitzenberger

Twin Sisters (De Tweeling, 2002) is a Dutch film based on the eponymous Dutch bestseller by Tessa de Loo. The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and grabbed a lot of awards in the Netherlands.
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Interview: Tannishtha Chatterjee

Being Independent
Kanika Punwani converses with Tannishtha Chatterjee on everything from indie films to Lady Gaga. Photographs by Kunal Kampani The first thing I noticed about Tannishtha Chatterjee was how young she looked. I wasnt the only one. When Sarah Gavron auditioned her for the part of Nazneen in Brick Lane, after seeing her in Florian Gallenbergers Shadows of Time, she was a bit anxious at how the petite actress would convincingly portray a mother of two. But then Chatterjee embodies the adage of big surprises coming in small packages. After all, who would believe that the award-winning actress is a trained classical singer who was initially part of Indias first girl band? (I dont want to talk about the musical aspect, but whatever it was it got me to Bombay, is all shes willing to say on that topic.) She surprised her parents too when she decided to switch from a major in chemistry to actingComing from a middle-class Bengali family everyone thought that if your grades are good, your PCM is 90, then you dont become an actor, she says. Over a few cups of coffee (or in her case, lemon tea), the actress gave us her take on the journey so far. Excerpts below: What triggered the shift from chemistry to acting? And how did you start of with international rather than Bollywood films? I enrolled for a summer course at the National School of Drama (NSD) while I was in college and everyone there told me things like I was wasting my time in a chemistry lab. Whats your life going to be? Some cold university in Michigan, 18 hours a day in a lab coat? This is your world. You are a performer. When I told my dad, he wasnt very happy about it. And he thought its a whimsical idea, and shell get over it. Only I didnt. But, you know, I come from Delhi, and I dont come from a film family and I wasnt a Miss Universe or anything like that, so I always thought that the way for me is to learn the art. I wanted to do international films because even at NSD we always saw world cinema. Though I do find Bollywood very interesting as a language, Ill be very honest, that really was not my aspiration. Considering the vast diversity of characters you've portrayed, how exactly do you prepare for roles? What is your process? Its different with different projects. Some times I do need preparation, like I did for Brick Lane because its quite removed from any experience Ive had. When I first read the novel I couldnt believe that there could be someone like Nazneen because Ive grown up with a different generation. But then I went to Brick Lane and the surrounding areas and I met women like that and spent time with them, watched them cook and pray and sow. I dont like to rehearse specific scenes because

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I think it kills spontaneity. I prefer to rehearse around a scene, and feel the atmosphere and ambience, and thats what I did. Also because Nazneen is a very internalised role, it was tough. When you read the book, its described that she feels like this and feels like that, but how do you show that? Its not like if shes angry she bangs something. She doesnt even do that. So for me the trick was to just be her for those months. I was wearing a sari every day, I was speaking her language, and eating and praying like she did; I just lived that. But for certain roles I dont like to prepare. I just want to come on set and see what happens with my co-actors. Just explore the space. So it differs. Youve worked in Bengali, English, Hindi, French and German films. From an actors perspective, what are the major differences you find while working within different film industries? I think the main difference between India and the West is that we are louder in our expressions, more obvious in underlying emotional pain. Europe, as such, is more subtle. Germany, especially, is a good example of this. Like when I was working with Florian on Shadows, he would say no mannerisms, no properties, nothing at all. He wanted you to concentrate only on your inner energy and your natural character. British cinema, on the other hand, is not as pure in that sense when it comes to acting styles. They do like embellishments, they do like humour; they are also quite speech oriented. Americans are more similar to us because they believe in commercial expressions, their humour is louder, their expressions are far closer to ours. I think the complexities are also different. When it comes to characters we dont deal with complexities the way Chinese or Iranian cinema would. They dont cater to a mass audience and are therefore able to deal with more complexities. I think we still dont completely look at aspects that cater only to pockets of audiences, although there are a lot of interesting films that are coming out now. Last year, for example, I saw this Marathi film Vihir, which AB Corp made. Its amazingreally, really beautiful storytelling, complex characters; it was so real, so quiet and internalised and yet so touching. What are the key elements that you look at when deciding for or against signing on to a project? Most of the time its about the character and most of the time I dont look at the length of the role but at the newness in it. For me its about how different it is from what I have done before. For example, Id done a Bengali film called Bibar, and my character was someone who doesnt have qualms about sex, almost like a high-society call girl. And that role was really appreciated, but every film that was coming from Bengali cinema after that had this girl who was sitting in a

bar and smoking a cigarette and looking at men. I remember in one interview I said, Thats it, in the next film Im wearing a burkha! And it just so happened that in three months time I got Brick Lane, which was such a conservative and different kind of role. Of course, it doesnt always work out, but still, I like to explore various avenues. What are some of the challenges an actor faces? Typecasting is the biggest danger that an actor faces. After I did Brick Lane I got a lot of similar roles and I did accept some of them, but thats because sometimes you have to be realistic, and we all have to pay our bills. Once youre

successful in a particular image people always want to cast you as that, and I think, to a large extent, it is not the fault of the director but the fault of the audiences who have this very specific idea of you in their minds. There are so many people who when they meet me in person are like, Oh my god, youre her?! I couldnt recognise you . So its very tough, which is why I strive to break these clichs. The next role that Im doing is for an American film where, again, I was offered a very quiet kind of role and I told the director that no, I was interested in another role in the script, which was feistier and louder and more colourful. He was surprised because it was a smaller role, but we did a few rehearsals and he was open to giving it to me. You know, often we say this actor is repeating himself, and now I understand that maybe he doesnt want to; maybe thats all hes being offered. Youve done a lot of independent films A lot? (Laughs) You mean only. Well, yes. In fact, the medias taken to calling you the Princess of Parallel Cinema. What do you think about

15

this classification? Do you think its true? Do you think there are differences between independent and commercial films, or is it just a matter of luck in terms of box-office success? I think its a matter of luck. If I look at something like 3 Idiots, for me its an off-beat film. Okay, it has songs and a big star cast, but if you look at the story, it explores something beyond the clichs that are a signature of Bollywood. The characters are not black and white; the villain is not typical. And yes, of course, Bollywood is trying to move away from these clichs in general, but you know when I watch it I know its not just about the stars and the songs. Then theres Dev D, which was called independent, but you could argue that it is also very commercial Bollywoodit has song and danceI mean its Devdas! I think today, when you can make a film with a handheld or your mobile phone, the idea of what is mainstream and what isnt is getting more and more nebulous. Anything that touches people will become mainstream. What are your major world cinema influences? My inspirations of cinema are rooted in Bengal. I think its natural because I am Bengali, and, though I didnt grow up in Bengal, my mother made sure I learnt to read and write Bengali, which Im glad for because it gave me that rootedness. So I grew up watching Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak and Tapan Sinha, and also reading a lot of literature. Its quite interesting, a lot of films of that era were inspired by literature, giving them a complexity and understanding of character that really crosses over and is so universal. Then, of course, I am a big fan of European cinema. During my college days in Delhi, I watched and loved several

I like directors who share a collaborative relationship with their actors. I mean, I have worked with people who say turn here and look this side, and take three steps this way, but sometimes, I must admit, I dont enjoy that process as much as I enjoy the collaborative process. Women inspire me and... pop music. Im a huge fan of Lady Gaga. I just love her! She is so quirky, and so interesting. I love her voice and all the things she does in her videos. Its just fabulous.

Bresson films at retrospectives at the French Embassy, and I used to go to film appreciation courses to understand them. I have a great interest in Polish cinema as well Kieslowski, Andrej Wajdaall the classics. And, in terms of contemporary films, I think a lot of American cinema is quite exciting. I think its also inspiring when people from other industries, like fashion, make filmsTom Fords A Single Man, for example was quite good.

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Interview Feature

SixQuestionswith IndianOcean
Susmit Sen in conversation with Tanmoy Goswami On whether Indias performance spaces are good enough for bands like Indian Ocean
In our first five years as a band, we had only seven performances. Things have definitely improved now. New bands are at least getting the exposure and space to perform. What matters more than the space, though, is the quality of sound equipment, which has also come up quite a bit, especially in bigger cities.

On what draws them to film music

Film music does not have any special attraction for us. We are not planning to be in Bollywood in a big way. Having said that, we have enjoyed working with the likes of Aamir Khan Productions, Anurag Kashyap and Anusha Rizvi who do not make run-of-the-mill stuff. We are averse to formula films, and the freedom to make our kind of music is very important for us.

Indian Ocean will be uploading a new set of songs on their website www. indianoceanmusic.com for free download. The songs will feature the voice of deceased band member Asheem Chakravarty.
were all very tired after a schedule in Japan. So before we went up to the stage, we thought Lets wrap up in an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes. But the crowd was unbelievable, the vibe was tremendous. We ended up playing for well over two hours. We are also probably the only band to have played at Trafalgar SquareKhajuraho was special too. Then there was this really small town in Assam called Diphu. People had to pay to watch us, and there were 13,000 of them...

On whether their music is all about protest

I keep telling people that we are not a band making political statements out there. Even a song like Maa Rewa, which is obviously about protest, can have a lot of different connotations. Boll Weevil or Bande, though penned as songs of protest, can evoke a lot of different moods, which you need to be open to if you want to fully appreciate our music.

On whether there will ever be an Indian Ocean School of Music

As of now, there are no such plans. A lot of people come to me to learn whatever I can teach them about music, but temperamentally I am not a very good teacher. Also, none of us is a trained musician, and I feel formal training can limit you by forcing you to accept a definition of what music should be. Music is the worlds most subjective art form. I think all these genres that we affix to it are quite superfluous. How else do you explain Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans work being bracketed into something like world music? So no school for our brand of music please!

On their best performance memories

It is difficult to single out a few when you have given more than 800 performances. One memory that stands out relates to our performance in Hanoi in Vietnam. We

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On why there hasnt been another Indian Ocean

Whoever comes to us and says We want to be like you, we tell them Then first stop wanting to be like us! Indian Ocean is all about originality, why should another band follow us? Even when I started out, I refused to play covers. I also refused to play rock just because I was in a band. Indian Ocean has always dug deep into our roots as a culture. That, plus we understand that composition is the soul of music. Our first album had only 40 seconds of vocals. All poets are not great musicians, maybe the new crop would do well to remember that.

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Photo Essay

FREEDOM
By Kaushal Nanavati, Kunal Kampani, Malav Modi, Nandini Gupta, Puru Lala and Tanmoy Goswami

Bol, ki lab aazad hain tere Bol, zaban ab tak teri hai Tera sutwan jism hai tera Bol, ki jaan ab tak teri hai... Bol, ki thoda waqt bahut hai Jism-o-zuban ki maut se pehle Bol, ki sach zinda hai ab tak Bol, jo kuch kehna hai kehle

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Speak, your lips are free Speak, it is your own tongue Speak, it is your own body Speak, your life is still yours... Speak, this brief hour is long enough Before the death of body and tongue Speak, because the truth is not dead yet, Speak, speak, whatever you must speak - Faiz Ahmad Faiz

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New Website

GoingLive
Movies since time immemorial have always been a unique experience, and the era of digital helps us extend this experience in a way like never before. When one watches a film on UTV World Movies, one is immersed in the cinematic quality and prowess of the artists weaving the stories on screen. In this same light, we have attempted to recreate the ability to entice and excite in all our interactions with our fans or friends, whatever you'd prefer to call them. From being the first Indian brand to have friends on Blackberry Messenger to ensuring a one on one conversation with each one of our fans on Facebook and Twitter, our motto has been to make World Movies a go-to place for all things film. So much so that if you have a date, and want to know what romantic French film to watch, all you do is BBM us (PIN: 21D650C4) or give us a call on our 24x7 dedicated line (9167097323). And while we have attempted to satiate the never-ending quest for knowledge among our viewers, the lack of a dedicated online site has always been a hindrance. The time has come to make all of that change forever. Understanding our viewer base and their needs has been our constant goal, and we believe we have reached a point where we have managed to fulfil certain requests made by the loyal ones. Heres to them, because from this point we look back no more. The UTV World Movies website brings to the table features that have existed but never been utilised in the manner we have achieved. Never before were simple drop down menus, excel sheets and maps put to better use! Excited to know whats in store...read on. The design, you will see, has brilliantly captured the hues and nuances of the UTV World Movies site and kudos to our agency Digital Driftwood for doing a spot-on job with the realisation of a dream. Beyond these exclusive areas you have everything from schedules powered by Burrp TV, to reviews, to blogs about all things cinema and, of course, contests, because, come-on, we all love to win prizes. In case youre tempted, dont worry we are merely a few clicks away. And if you like something or loathe it, do feel free to jot down your thoughts in our feedback form and we will get back to you within 24 hours.

But that, dear reader, is not all. You see cinema lovers are an exclusive community. A club of people, with varying tastes and choices, within the same realm of moving pictures. And what better place to bring them all together than the Film Club, an exclusive World Movies lounge that extends the experience beyond the virtual realm and into the real. You see we hate boxes. Film Club is a place where you save your favourite movies using Watch & Share, get invited to exclusive World Movies events, play exciting social games and flip through Insignia. Flip a page and we now present you with a beautiful map. Why a map? Is it enough to only claim we have 650 films from across the globe? And, if we do, isnt it apt that we share our collection in a way that appeals and entices the viewer to know more? But of course, and so we present The CineMap, which has the exact geo-coordinates of where the films in our database are from. Using a simple single-click interface, users can find films of their favourite genre, and by country or name. Such is the experience of world cinema that we here at UTV World Movies wish to offer our friends. World cinema has always been considered as something for the elite cinemagoer, with stories and camera angles that twist and turn like the many proper pronunciations of the names of the directors that made them! The Movie-o-Dex aims to put that to rest. Using a simple, intuitive interface, a user can now find out what film he wants to watch with three clicks of a mouse. And thats not all. Once hes found a film of his choice he can share his discovery with his world across social networks. That is the Movie-o-Dex.

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THE WORLDS GREATEST MOVIES

Tuesday
CoLLeCTorS eDiTion
Tuesdays @ 6:30 PM

Wednesday
In Focus Japan
Forgery

Friday

Saturday
SPiriT oF The GaMeS

Wednesdays @ 6:30 PM

Wednesdays @ 8: 30 Pm

Fridays @ 8:30 Pm

Fridays @ 10:30 Pm

Saturdays @ 10:30 Pm

Saturdays @ 8:30 Pm

Saturdays @ 8:30 PM

3rd August 10 Finally Sunday (Vivement Dimanche!)

Watch out for an an exciting line-up of films in these upcoming festivals

Director: Franois Truffaut Language: French

4th August 10 The Hidden Blade (Kakushi ken Oni no Tsume)

Director: Yji Yamada Language: Japanese

4th August 10 money (L argent)

Director: Robert Bresson Language: French/Latin

6th August 10 Ring (Ringu)

Director: Hideo Nakata Language: Japanese

6th August 10 The Threat (Hotet)

7th August 10 The Color Purple

Director: Kjell Sundvall Language: Swedish/Danish/ English

Director: Steven Spielberg Language: English

7th August 10 Buena Vista Social Club

Director: Wim Wenders Language: English/Spanish

10th August 10 Stolen Kisses (Baisers Vols)

11th August 10 Sonatine

Director: Franois Truffaut Language: French

Director: Takeshi Kitano Language: Japanese

11th August 10 The Counterfeiters (Die Flscher)

13th August 10 The Ring Two

Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky Language: German/Russian/ English/Hebrew

Director: Hideo Nakata Language: English

13th August 10 One Last Dance

14th August 10 The Candidate

14th August 10 Lucky miles

Director: Michael James Rowland Language: English/Khmer/Gumatj/French/Arabic/ Indonesian

Director: Max Makowski Language: English/Cantonese/Mandarin

Director: Michael Ritchie Language: English

17th August 10 machuca

Director: Andrs Wood Language: Spanish

18th August 10 Nightmare Detective (Akumu Tantei)

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Language: Japanese

18th August 10 The American Friend (Der Amerikanische Freund)

Director: Wim Wenders Language: German/English/ French

20th August 10 Ringu 0: Bsudei

Director: Norio Tsuruta Language: Japanese

20th August 10 Department 36 (36 Quai des Orfvres)

21st August 10 American History X

Director: Tony Kaye Language: English

21st August 10 Brick Lane

Director: Olivier Marchal Language: French

Director: Sarah Gavron Language: English/Bengali

24th August 10 Three Brothers (Tre Fratelli)

Director: Francesco Rosi Language: Italian

25th August 10 Inju (Inju, La Bte Dans lombre)

25th August 10 Swindled (Incautos)

Director: Miguel Bardem Language: Spanish

27th August 10 Salvador (Puig Antich)

Tannishta Chatterjees

Director: Barbet Schroeder Language: Japanese/ French/English

Director: Manuel Huerga Language: Catalan/Spanish/ French

27th August 10 Stormforce (Windkracht 10: Koksijde Rescue)

Director: Hans Herbots Language: Dutch

28th August 10 Princess of Thieves

Director: Peter Hewitt Language: English

Director: Yimou Zhang Language: Mandarin

28th August 10 Hero (Ying Xiong)

choices this month on 50 Movies to See Before you Die

31st August 10 City Unplugged (Darkness in Tallinn)

Director: Ilkka Jrvi-Laturi Language: Estonian

29th August 10 Sunday @ 8.30 Pm Wushu: The Young Generation

**Schedules subject to change without prior notice, please check daily listings
Director: Antony Szeto Language: Mandarin

THE

WORLDS

GREATEST

MOVIES

Director: Roland Joff Year of Release: 1984 Country: UK Language: English

Wushu
The Young Generation
Sunday, 29th August, 8:30 pm

Wushu: The Young Generation (2008) Director: Antony Szeto Cast: Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Wenjie Wang, Fengchao Liu Language: Mandarin, dubbed in English, with English subtitles

AwfulGood
Wushu: The New Generation takes Kanika Punwani on a backflip down memory lane. Sridevis snake dance in Nagina; Nirupa Roy as Ma regaining her vision, depicted by two burning flames swooping towards her eyes, in Amar, Akbar, Anthony; Keanu Reaves in Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure; the final ping-pong match in Balls of Fury; anything Rajnikanth. Some things are so bad, theyre good. The martial arts movie genre, barring a few exceptions, exemplifies this adage. Often called Chop Sockey, the genre includes dubious English dubbing, caricaturishly-evil villains, and several choreographed fight scenes with enough backflips, somersaults and aerodynamic stunts to send a physicist screaming into the streets. Dont confuse these with the Kill Bill, Matrix, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style fightsthose are the stylised, upmarket versions that were inspired by this genre. If Crouching Tiger is a Macbook Air then the Chop Sokey movies are the Macintoshes that birthed it. As a kid, I watched several of these movies with my father, who rates the entertainment value of a film as directly proportionate to the number of fight scenes it has; dialogue be damned. I watched Bruce Lee wield nanchakus and hurl flying kicks in Fist of Fury, held my breath as Jackie Chan fell 60 feet from a clock tower and survived in Project A, marvelled as Jet Li fought blindfolded in Fist

of Legend. My mother watched in abject horror as I put aside my Barbies for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and video games, regularly destroying my guy friends at Street Fighter with well-placed hadokens and shoryukens. (In my defence, turtles who know martial arts and are named after Renaissance masters are way cooler than a plastic blonde, and Ryuthe original Street Fighteris a major hottie, what with his spiky hair, sculpted muscles and red bandana.)

The movies inspired me to believe anything was possible; that if I just leapt high enough I too could fly.
I joined a karate class, and after spending a year learning how to make a perfect fist and throwing various kicks and punches in the air, I realised that its not half as much fun when you have no killed loved ones to avenge; no championships that will cement your place as the undeniable King (or, in my case, Queen) of Martial Arts; and, no bad guys in whose direction you can scream, These men dont know it yet, but theyre all going to die. Also: gravity will pull you down. I left karate, gave away my videogames and stopped watching movies with my dad. In the meanwhile, the world in general started to turn away from the original kung-fu

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movies, going more for Hollywood versions such as Rush Hour, Romeo Must Die and Shanghai Noon. It seems fitting, then, that my reintroduction to martial arts movie was with the Jackie Chan produced Wushu: The Young Generation, which was Chans attempt at introducing a whole bunch of new and young martial arts experts to the genre, and is definitely less Hollywood and more back-to-the-basics. The film is about the two brothers who are taken at a young age by their father (played by martial art legend Sammo Hung) to learn the art of wushu at the school where he teaches. There they meet three new friends and form a group called the Jin Wu Men. Jin means gold, signifying the number of gold medals the group plans to win. The name is also a play on Jing Wu Men, the original Cantonese title of Bruce Lees Fist of Fury. They discover an old abandoned cabin, which becomes their club house. They stand in a circle, holding out their fists, and proclaim that together (besides winning the aforementioned gold medals) they will fight crime, take from the rich and give to the poor. Its very Famous Five meets the Planeteers meets Robin Hood. Cut to a montage of training scenes and, in true Bollywood style, each of the characters somersaults out of the frame only to emerge as grown-up version of themselves on standing up again. I, in the meantime, have somersaulted back into the eight-year-old watching movies with her father.

So, anyway, these kids have grown up and true to their word won gold medals a-plenty. But what about the crime fighting, you say. A-ha enter ex-wushu student He Le. He Le was expelled from the school because he never mastered the control over his emotions a true martial artist must have, and ended up seriously injuring an opponent during a competition. He has now chosen the wrong path and leads a child-kidnapping ring. When he kidnaps two children from the wushu school, the Jin Yu Men get involved. Along the way they learn lessons about friendship and making the right choices. Its a movie so firmly grounded in morals, patriotism and sportsmanship that it even received an official endorsement from Chinas Director General of the State General Administration of Sport. The new actors are passable in their performance and proficient in their art. There are several good championship and fight scenes, and my preliminary research indicates that the movie has indeed used a fair amount of authentic wushu techniques. Sammo Hung outshines the rest of the cast, but, then again, if there is one thing a martial arts movie teaches you it is that you must never doubt an old master. Director Antony Szeto keeps him in the background for most of the movie, allowing the newcomers to be in the limelight, but in the one fight sequence that we watch Hung perform, it is clear that this mans size is no deterrent to his agility. Otherwise, its a more-or-less average Chop Sockey movie, which I enjoyed for entirely personal reasons. Nostalgia apparently sounds like a sword splicing through the air. Strangely, so does the movies title.

Three Reason to Watch Wushu: The Young Generation (Sunday 29th August, 8:30 PM) To find out whether it is possible to catch a spear backhanded after doing a 720 air flip To discover wise career options for those highly-trained in martial arts (hint: leader of a child-smuggling ring doesnt quite cut it) Sammo Hung

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Companion

StillCatchininTheRye
If coming-of-age was easy for you, clearly you havent watched as many films, says Sudarshana Sengupta. For the longest time in college, I was convinced I was Holden Caulfield. Just like in school I alternated between Scout and Jem Finch, and a little before that I was Alice. Come to think of it, Im still Alice, especially now that a certain Mr. Depp has gone and gotten himself involved with Wonderland. The point is that no matter how angsty, misunderstood or fat a kid you were, there was always a book that said it better. And knowing books, one led to another, and then another, and soon everything was your story as you wouldnt tire of telling anyone who would listen. Of which thankfully, considering how angsty (misunderstood and/or fat) you were, there werent too many. At 17, in between the class-notes of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, supposedly the mother of all self-discovery novelsI discovered bildungsroman. And while I never quite got James Joyce, the term, which sounds like a large lead black ball you can crack someones skull with, added fascinating layers to the awkward Holdens and Stephens of the world, making them so much cooler. Suddenly, angsty adolescents had a genre to themselvesthey were calling it coming-of-age. I loved the expression. No one seemed to know what this age was that they came to, but they sure made it sound like one hell of a ride. Somewhere along the line, films happened. To me, I mean, because coming-of-age as a film genre had come of age way back in the 1960s if not before (remember The Graduate? Of course, you do). And suddenly there were many more strange neurotic lives to feed offdepending on where you were and what exactly was wrong with your mind. I pick three here. Not just because of the space crunch on this page, but also because I saw each of them in what you would call almost coming-of-age moments in my life. Garden State (2004) was an accidental discovery. And while by no means the most flawless of films, it clicks because you were at the wrong place and time when you watched it. Zach Braffs affectionately wry, awkward but very quotable film likes to call itself The Graduate of the arrested-development generationbut, simply put, is a simile for todays 20-somethings who have extended their careless, slapdash selves into the approaching 30s. Its the sense of aimlessness you embody during and after your 9-to-5, struggling along and complaining because of course you are meant to do better things, lead better, more significant lives, save the rainforests or whatever it is that needs saving then. Andrew Largeman is the mind of a generation addled with too many drugs, too much trivia and far too many choices. Emerging from a lithium/ Prozac/Paxil-induced haze that began in his teens under the misguided treatment of his father, Andrews issues are deep but never visibly morbid, dark or depressingyou wont find a Requiem here. The films kitschy look, quirky jump cuts and mad character sketches usually leave you undecided about laughing or solemnly shaking your head. I usually do both and end up choking on my drink. Where Larges 30-something spiritual or whatever-itwas crises needed a trek up a giant garbage dump and a kooky but thoroughly adorable girlfriend to s-l-o-wl-y realise that it wasnt the end of the worlda certain Antoine Doinel had slightly different problems on his hands. I never know what to say about The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups, 1959) that hasnt been said before. So I wont. Instead, Ill leave you with the scene that sent definitive chills down my 21-year-old spine in a university screening room surrounded by other 21-year-old Andrew Largemans in the making: Antoine and Rens visit to a local puppet show that is full of wide-eyed children gaping at Red Riding Hood.

The duo, visibly older and miles removed from their immediate surroundings, are conspiring their next escapadeyet not taking their eyes off the puppets for a moment. They know they have outgrown puppetsbut what have they grown into?
As 20-something university smartasses, with an opinion on everything under the sun, we were collectively stumped as well. Add to that Jean-Pierre Leauds haunting limp eyes as he runs wildly towards the ocean at the endand its one of those films you cant take, leave or stop replaying compulsively in your head. Which brings me to the thirdbecause nothing beats the end of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992). If youre an Indian

30

Clockwise from top left: Stills from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Garden State, The 400 Blows and (bottom left) The Graduate

kid who grew up in the 90s, fell in love with a best friend who didnt have a clue, got laughed at by the popular uns and never were cool enough to make it, chances are you think so too. (And if you were one of those cool kids who caused all the trouble, meet me after this article.) From surreptitiously humming Pehla Nasha to holding your breath at the last lap of the cycle racenever mind that youve seen it eleven times beforetheres never been a film that has defined so much so effortlessly. I remember going to see it on Childrens Day from schoolthe entire bunch loaded into four buses at Plaza. Barely into our teens and just about learning the significance of contests, champions and choices,every child smiled serenely as the credits rolledthe bully and the nerd alike. Because it was their story of coursetheirs alone; them against the world, and look how wonderfully it all ends. Does it, now? I suppose youll only know once youre of age whenever that happens.

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Director

OddBall
Aishik Barua ponders on the mystery that is Antony Szeto. Nobody really knows Antony Szeto. He doesnt have a Wikipedia page to call his own. Even his name is an anomaly: Szetoit almost sounds Russian or Czech, with the coupling of those s and z sounds. But then, this stuntman/actor/producer/director/writer is all about the odd couplings. He coupled his finance degree with one in media (with a focus on films); he was born and spent most of his life in Australia, but not for him were common Australian sports like cricket or football; no, instead, ol Tony decided to study wushuan ancient Chinese martial art, even spending three years at the Beijing Sport University, China, for an aggressive formal training. He then went on to be a part of the Australian wushu team at the international competition at Hanzhou, China in 1988. Maybe it was his South-East Asian genes, who knows? Either way, martial arts seemed to be Szetos calling. After his education he started out as a stunt double in minitelevision series and made-for-television movies. In 1992, he made a small appearance as a martial arts warrior in the David Bradley-starrer American Samurai and continued to make small appearances and act in bit roles for the next decade.

In 2002, Szeto decided enough was enough; he was going back to his roots. He moved to Hong Kong and started off as a director for the television series A Dish About Town.

But his real break came in 2005 with his debut feature film DragonBlade, which was the first Chinese 3D-CGI animated feature film.
Featuring the voices of well-known Hong-Kong stars Karen Mok, Daniel Wu, Stephen Fung and Sandra Ng, the film went on to be immensely popular, winning awards from both the Australian Directors Association and the Hong Kong Digital Excellence Entertainment Association. After DragonBlade, Szeto decided that he was now ready to direct a feature film with real live people and thus was born Wushu: The Young Generation (2008), a film that gained huge pre-release buzz due to Jackie Chan signing on as producer and Sammo Hung signing on to act in the movie. These days Szeto is producing Jessica Caught on Tape, set to release this year. The film was also written by him and is about a Eurasian girl from France, who struggles to make it to the top of the big-bad Hong Kong film industry. Quite a departure from martial arts movies, but, then when has Antony Szeto ever stuck to the norm?

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Country in Focus

Japan

Film History

easterntales
Satyen Bordoloi peers into the many faces of Japanese cinema and comes away duly impressed and terrified. There are countries that have made more films. Yet if you look at variety, originality and influence on the world, the contribution of the tiny island nation of Japan has been nothing short of spectacular. documentary Tokyo Olympiad (Tky Orimpikku) made by Kon Ichikawa in 1965 captured the imagination of audiences.

Ani-mad
The 60s were also a time of giant leaps in Japanese animation. Osamu Tezukas Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom, 1964), an animation series for television based on a manga series, became popular on TV, embodying the aesthetics that would lay the foundation for the originality and popularity of Japanese anime films. Filmmakers like Kaneto Shindo, Hiroshi Teshigahara (his Woman in the Dunes (Suna no Onna) took the Special Jury Prize at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film Oscars) and Masaki Kobayashi (his horror film Ghost Stories (Kwaidan, 1964) picked up the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1965) were the prominent filmmakers of this era. In 1976, Nagisa Oshima processed his In The Realm Of The Senses (Ai no Korda, 1976) in France to evade censorship for this film replete with pornography. Though the entire film was never screened in the country, it gave a boost to the gradually developing pink film industry (soft pornographic films) and became the stepping stone for many young, independent filmmakers of Japan. Japanese animation reached its full potential in the 80s with Shohei Imamuras Ballad of Narayama (Narayamabushi k) winning the Cannes Golden Palm in 1983. Manga director Hayao Miyazakis Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (Kaze no tani no Naushika, 1984) also received critical and popular acclaim across the world. These

Costume Parties and Sword Fights

Cinema began early in Japan, barely a year after its European debut. Though the form was new for the Japanese, its adaptation was quick and original, blending traditional kabuki theatre into both gendaigeki (contemporary drama) and jidaigeki (period piece) films. The silent era lasted longer in Japan, riding on the unique benshinarrators whose dramatic reading accompanied silent films and their musical scores. So popular were some benshis that people would often go just to hear their narration. Sadly, very little cinema of this period has survived, and many works of geniuses like Kenji Mizoguchi are lost forever. Blame the earthquake of 1923, allied bombing of Japan during World War II and the effect of high humidity on film stock in this island nation.

Coming of Age
The 30s and early-40s were marked by heavy censorship. However, this came as a blessing in disguise since auteurs had to resort to heavy creativity to dodge censorship. In a watershed development, Akira Kurosawas 1950 film Rashomon won the Golden Lion in Venice film festival and an Oscar, bringing Japanese cinema to the world stage. Despite other masters of this period, Kurosawas international successdue partly to his adoption of Hollywoods Western genre in samurai filmsovershadowed others. Ironically, Hollywood would copy many of Kurosawas films including Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai, 1954) and The Bodyguard (Yjinb, 1961) into successful films in the Western genre. It was only after the 60s that works of masters like Mizoguchi (Ugetsu,1953), Yasujiro Ozu (Late Spring/ Banshun, 1949; Floating Weeds/Ukigusa, 1959) and Mikio Naruse (Floating Clouds/Ukigumo, 1951) found their rightful place among cinema lovers across the world, thanks largely to the work of one western critic, Donald Ritchie. Like the slow adoption of sound, the transition to colour also happened late in Japan. Yet, the three-hour Technicolor

Japanese Cinema Genres

Jidaigeki: Period pieces set during the Edo period (16031868) or earlier. Gendaigeki: Modern life films Samurai cinema: A subgenre of jidaigeki J-Horror: Horror films Kaiju: Monster films like Godzilla Anime: Japanese animation films, with style and stories distinct from others. Pink films: Softcore pornographic films, more socially-engaging and aesthetically better crafted than simple pornography. Yakuza films: Films about Yakuza mobsters. Seishun eiga: Films about teenagers

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events added a new, vibrant dimension to Japanese celluloid, marking it out as a country eager to translate its technological clout into a funfilled exhibition of cultural discovery.

Stocking up the Awards

In the 90s, Imamura won another Golden Palm for The Eel (Unagi, 1997), while Takeshi Kitano emerged as a prominent filmmaker with Sonatine (1993) and the Venice Golden Lion-winner Fireworks (HanaBi, 1997). Takashi Miike stunned the world by making over 50 films in just a decade, among them many notable ones like Audition (1999) and The Bird People of China (Chgoku no Chjin, 1998). Anime legend Hayao Miyazaki returned from retirement to make the multiple award-winning (including the Best Animation Oscar) Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, 2001). Filmmakers like Hirokazu Koreeda thrilled international audiences with moving films like Distance (2001) and Nobody Knows (Dare mo Shiranai, 2004), both nominated for Golden Palm at Cannes, but it is another genre from this period that has captured the imagination of the worldJapanese Horror or J-Horror as it is popularly known.

J-Horror: Thrilling the World

Japanese horror films are different from those made elsewhere in the world. Perhaps this is the reason for their overall popularity.

Though they often have the usual dose of gore and blood, they are rooted in mythology and culture and often extol traditional virtues like loyalty while punishing wrong and evil in the end, much unlike the mindless gore and violence associated with horror films elsewhere.
Ugetsu is often considered the first Japanese horror movie. Kwaidan and Onibaba were both popular in 1964 but were distinctly different. While Kwaidan was quiet and restrained, Onibaba was sexual and violent.
Despite many good horror films, especially those by Nobuo Nakagawa (Hell/Jigoku, 1960), and the pinky violence films combining eroticism with violence on trapped women and using images of extreme gore and sex, it would eventually reach global appeal in the 90s with a return to more dramatic and less gory cinema. Hideo Nakatas The Ring (Ringu, 1998) and Dark Water (Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara, 2002), Takashi Shimizus Juon: The Grudge (2003), Takashi Miikes One Missed Call (Chakushin Ari, 2003) and Kiyoshi Kurosawas Pulse (Kairo, 2001) were all remade in Hollywood, by the original directors. From films seeped in traditional theatre to action, drama and animation films, Japanese cinema has often gone into roads rarely travelled by other nations. And if the recent global popularity (of both modern and old Japanese cinema) is anything to go by, the fun has only just begun.

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Myth

SunDanceCentral
Dont let its size fool youtheres too much going on in Japans mythology for one person to handle, complains Sudarshana Sengupta. I started reading up on Japanese gods and goddesses and ended up skipping three meals before I was halfway through. Not because they are unappetising (quite the contrary, because anything Japanese reminds me of sushi), but because the pantheon features 800 deities, and, yes, Im still counting. The Japanese will worship anything if it stands still long enough and looks vaguely interesting. Have you not seen them all over the world, immaculately dressed, frantically clicking pictures of, well, everything? Thats the Acquisition of New and Improved Deities Squad at work, trying to pass off as enthusiastic globe-trotters. They dont fool me at all. But then myths are serious business in Japan. Like bedtime stories, they are an unfailing part of Japanese childhood that no one quite outgrows. Most of these are collected in the ancient Kojiki, and its not a book you want to pick up for light reading.

Between Heaven and Hell

Craving some actual company, Izanami then gave birth to Kagutsuchi (incarnation of fire), which was no easy feat and resulted in her untimely death. She was buried on Mt. Hiba and you can still see the spot today near Yasugi. Izanagi launched onto a desperate voyage to Yomi, or the Japanese underworld, to bring back his woman. But alas, people change, and our man learnt his lesson the hard way. Izanami, who had already consumed the food of the underworld, not only refused to return but also sported a particularly vile appearance thanks to her stint at Yomi, causing Izanagi to recoil and run for dear life. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and this was hell. She sent her entire legion of underwordly creatures behind Izanagi whose quick mind made him put a boulder across her cave leaving her trapped and screaming like a banshee, swearing that she would destroy a thousand living beings
No other genre of Japanese cinema has embraced myth and folklore into its seams the way anime has. Some common elements from Japanese folklore in anime include: Sacred Ropes (Shimenawa) A cord made of rice straw bordering a particular spot to mark it as sacred; placed around torii (gates), shintai (objects of worship) and shinboku (divine trees). They are often hung with gohei (wands). Anyone who's seen Tenchi Muyo or Blue Seed will be very familiar with shimenawa. Firefly (Hotaru) Firefly-viewing is the summer equivalent to sakura-watching. A folk belief says that fireflies are the souls of the dead. Spirit-Lights (Hitodama) Malevolent spirits depicted as glowing balls with trailing tails. Caricatures of hitodama sometimes appear in the kanji of supernaturally oriented anime, such as Yu Yu Hakusho. Kami Often translated simply as god, this word has no precise English equivalent. While Shinto deities are indeed kami, so are Buddhist saints, historical figures, spirits, ghosts, demons and even inanimate objects such as trees, mountains and swords. When anime characters clap their hands twice, they are praying to a kami. Mirrors (Kagami) Mirrors play an important part in Shinto ritual. They represent the disk of the sun, which is the light of the chief Japanese goddess Amaterasu.

The Birth of a Nation

The first batch of gods, whose names are either unpronounceable or lost in the pages of history, started out with plenty of space on their hands but not much to play with. So they created the original exalted beings Izanagi and Izanami, male and female respectivelyto bring about a change in the scenery. The pair went about doing the usual, building a bridge between heaven and earth, creating an island to live in and, somewhere along the line, falling in love.

Izanagi, like all men, was clueless, so Izanami, clearly the oldest New Woman, decided to take matters into her own hands and make the first move.
The gods were displeased, the forwardness didnt agree with their eighteenth century stomachs, and the children that were borne out of this unfortunate coupling, Hiruko (leech child) and Awashima (pale island) were not given godly status. Undaunted, the couple tried again, this time making sure all social protocols were maintained. From this union emerged the Oyashima, or the eight great islands of Japan. If youre wondering how, remember they are gods, and gods can do anything.

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everydayto which Izanagi countered that he would create 1500. He didnt know what he was talking about, but the gods were watching and taking notes. Izanagi managed to flee to safer shores but now accidentally, the cycle of birth and death had been created.

Little Miss Sunshine

Eager to support the cause of Izanagi, the gods went into overdrive. Every item of clothing that he shed resulted in new deities being created. As he washed his face, the water droplets from his left eye gave birth to Amaterasu, the sun goddess, while the right eye bore Tsukuyomi, the moon deity. Susanoo emerged from his nose and obviously had severe issues to deal with. Like all siblings, Amaterasu and Susanoo had violent squabbles that are the subject of many a folktale. She was the beloved of the gods while he was your regular annoying snot-nosed younger brother. Tired of his antics, she banished him to Yomi, and when he refused to go, she shut herself in a cave, engulfing the world in darkness. All the gods in turn tried to coax her out so that they could get on with their reading, but she wouldnt budge. Not until Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of merriment, did the funky chicken dance causing all the other deities, particularly the male ones, to hoot and whistle in delight. Curious about the commotion, Amataresu peeked out, causing a tiny ray of light to fill the world, and stood transfixed by the beautiful vision in front of her. The vision was only her own reflection on a mirror, but the momentary distraction allowed the others to pull her out and seal the entrance. Amataresu, charged with new-found vanity declared herself pleased, and the world was a sunny, happy place again. Traditional kagura dances are still performed at Shinto shrines to honour deities and unrelenting wives.

And the First Samurai

Susanoo, now officially banished, decided to take his unruly self and create havoc on other worlds. Naturally, he got into trouble wherever he went, even when he tried to help. On one of his many adventures he tried to overpower a ferocious dragon by making it consume unbelievable amounts of alcohol. Luckily for him, not only did it work but he also ended up retrieving a sword from the dragons tail. And for all those who think this is an old wives talethis is the sacred imperial sword of the Japanese royal family and you can go see it for yourself, provided of course that you can get the necessary permissions and fight an adequate number of dragons yourself. Eventually, that is the point behind the fierce protection of Japanese myths. It connects the people to their gods (or is it the other way round?) and shows that all men are direct descendants of the heavenly pantheon. The family tree is complicated, considering it transcends heaven and earth (and occasionally hell), but at the end of it all, Japan gets its first ever (human) emperor. Now I might have skipped a few generations here, but KamuYamato, the great-great-great-grandson of Amataresu and the son of Hoori and Tamayon-Yine, is the living-breathing-erring kind. His rule from 660 BC established the final handing down of the power of attorney from the gods to the men. They called him Toyo-Mike-Nu, but you can call him Mike because after all, he is one of us.

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Culture

HelloKitty
Shelving her love for all things traditional and elegant in Japan, Janice Pariat embraces the all-new adorable. The Japan of yore is soothingly familiarthink graceful geishas, taciturn samurai warriors, beautiful, airy pagodaswhile the modern is, well, rather different to say the least. Kawaii (pronounced ka-wah-ee) has taken over Japan and, were wondering how and why. largest gathering of cosplay participants, a place that inspired Gwen Stefanis Harajuku Lovers line of perfumes.

Art
Condoms, Nippon airways jets, cargo trucks, ATM cards, postage stamps. These are just some of the places where you can find kawaii art in Japan. No surprise that even their FBI website has a happy mouse waving in the centre of the page. The biggest dispenser of cute animal imagery is Sanrio, the company that started Hello Kitty in 1974. Its 50plus cutesy characters now bring in over a billion dollars annually in profits.

Handwriting
This is where it all began. Centuries of perfecting the Japanese script (widely considered the most complicated in the world) were swept away when a group of schoolgirls in the 1970s decided it looked infinitely better coupled with hearts, flowers, stars, smiley faces and multiple exclamation marks. And, to top it all, they wrote left to right instead of the traditional vertical format. It became such a rage that a number of schools banned this style of writing for fear that it threatened Japanese culture. Not that it helped. The idea of kawaii sprang from textbook pages to incorporate a way of lifeto be shy and innocent, to dress like a child and even speak and act like one (called burriko). Far from being popular only with adolescents, kawaii became, and still is, a mainstream phenomenon. It is often seen as a form of post-war escapismfrom adulthood, the workplace and life.

Last Life in the Universe (Ruang Rak Noi Nid Mahasan, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, 2003). A movie about a suicidal, obsessive-compulsive Japanese librarian who falls in love with a feisty Thai girl. Dont miss the cute sailor-boy outfits. Happy Tree Friends (Aubrey Ankrum, Rhode Montijo, Kenn Navarro and Warren Graff, 2006). An ongoing flash cartoon series that takes the bloody Mickey out of cute Pokmontype creatures. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta, Hayao Miyazaki, 1986). The tale of little girl Sheeta and her link to a magic necklace. The element of kawaii is reinforced in most of the characters here, whether male or female. Carved or The Slit-Mouthed Woman (Kuchisake-onna, Kji Shiraishi, 2007). Not the best movie youll ever seethe spirit of a disfigured woman kills people with scissors, but despite being dressed in cute outfits, shes definitely not meek or childlike. The Adventures of Hello Kitty (Sanrio Digital and Dream Cortex) Fifty-two episodes glutted with cute, cuddly Sanrio characters. And they sing.

Fashion
It isnt hard to imagine the products stocked at Cute Cupcake, Candy Violet, BeKyoot and Cookie Fruits. Since the idea is to look as sweet and young as possible, there are frilly skirts, candy stripe stockings, tee-shirts in happy bubblegum colours and hordes of cute accessories including flower patches, animal purses and bow-andribbon hair bands. All this is also popularised by cosplay, short for costume play in which people don an outfit to represent a character mostly drawn from Japanese anime and shonen or shoujo (aimed at young boys and girls respectively) mangain both kawaii is emphasised through thoroughly adorable cartoon figures. Read Naruto, Bleach, One Pieceall popular manga seriesto see what I mean. Alternatively, take a walk through Tokyos Harajuku district, site of the countrys

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Yet, kawaii is also beginning to be viewed as a serious art form. An exhibition titled KawaiiAnother Life held in Tokyo recently brought together five contemporary Japanese artists to showcase kawaii artwork. In March 2010, there was a retrospective of Rune Naitos workhe was the creator of various popular images including the Rune-panda. In Brisbane, Australia, a show titled From Zen to Kawaii explored the development of Japanese art over the centuries.

Food
Apart from the cute cupcakes, ice cream scoops and smiling French fry designs found on clothing, kawaii food can also be real and edible. Animallows, for example, are the sugary, squishy equivalent of marshmallows. Or if youre the enthusiastic kind, pick up a copy of Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches or Cute Yummy Time: 70 Recipes for the Cutest Food Youll Ever Eat, cook books thatll teach you how to make smiley hamburgers, rice snowmen and risotto hedgehogs among other things. If thats not something you can stomach, settle for cute food erasers in various sushi, biscuit, fruit and milk carton shapes.

Entertainment
To begin with there is anime, usually adapted from popular manga series. These are huge not just in Japan but increasingly in the rest of the world especially the USA and Europe, and have spawned a wealth of accessories and memorabilia.

Needless to say most of the female characters in anime have large, wide eyes, and come outfitted in teensy sailor-girl costumes and ponytails.
What helped cultivate this look were celebrities in other forms of popular entertainmentfor example, Seiko Matsuda, a 1980s singer and model who charmed her audience with childish outfits and mannerisms. More recently, theres AKB48, an all-girls music idol group who dance around on stage in little skirts, knee-high socks and pigtails. The infiltration of kawaii into the music world could only mean one thingkawaii radio stations, which host J-pop and anime soundtrack songs. Top of the charts at the moment is Hirano Aya, a singer and seiy performer (a voice actor who lends her voice to an anime character) with her song God Knows from the anime series The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. On a more extravagant scale is Sanrio Puroland, a theme park in Tokyo, built entirely around Sanrios kawaii characters.

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Food

TheArtOfEating
Theres more to Japan than sushi, but is there more to sushi than Japan? Freyan Patel knows she makes no sense, but she cant help it when the only thing on her mind is salmon skin rolls It started off like most love stories do in the movies love at first sight. I had never seen a piece of salmon that pink, crab so white or tuna that, well, tuna-y. Thin, pink slices of pickled ginger lay on one side of the plate, a shallow bowl of soy sauce sat meditatively on the other. Green pickles, the colour of dull jade, beckoned me over seductively. Slowly, I touched the tip of one prong of my fork to the bright green paste, sitting so harmlessly on one corner of my plate, and brought it to my tongue. An arrow of something more than spice went shooting up my nose and suddenly, I was gasping for release. The spell was broken; I had fallen back down to earth with a thud so loud that everyone at the table was laughing at me. I told you to be careful with the wasabi! my mother all but snorted at me, as a gaggle of aunts and uncles looked on amused. I gulped down my glass of water and was given another by the waiter. Its quite spicy, he smirkedthe minx. I grudgingly took a piece of sushi, ate it so quickly I barely tasted itand moved on to the soup course. wont enjoy your meal. The Japanese are obsessed with perfection and sushi is a great example of this fixation. The proof, as they say, is in the puddingor in this case, the carefully prepared slices of fresh water eel served with a dash of teriyaki sauce and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Sushi Samurai
Its no easy task becoming a sushi chef, especially if you do it the Japanese way. An apprentice to an itamae (sushi chef) works under his master for 15 years until he can open his own sushiya. In fact, the apprentice only does menial chores for five years before he is allowed to even make rice for the sushi. He does this following his masters strict instructions. Once the itamae is satisfied with the way he makes the rice, he is allowed to stand next to the itamae at the sushi bar and is given the title of wakiita, which means to stand near the chopping board. He is now allowed to clean ingredients and prepare the accompaniments. After years of doing this, he finally becomes an itamae, and is allowed to stand in front of the chopping board to prepare sushi for customers.
Tampopo, Juzo Itami, 1985 The great granddaddy of all food films, this movie is like porn for foodies. If you havent seen Tampopo yet all I can say iswhy the hell not? I dare you to watch this film without craving a steaming hot bowl of ramen with slices of pork and spring onion. Eatrip, Yuri Nomura, 2009 This delectable morsel of a film explores the bond that humans have with food that nourishes not only the body, but the soul as well. Director Yuri Nomura believes in the nurturing quality of food, a concept that is not limited to Japan. Branded to Kill, Seijun Suzuki, 1967 It may not be about food entirely, but when you have a hitman with a fetish for sniffing boiled rice, its hard not to think of all kinds of creative scenarios involving said rice and mysterious targets. Or is it just me? Whats Up, Tiger Lily? Woody Allen, Senkichi Taniguchi, 1966 Woody Allen and food in one go? Yes please! This movie revolves around the secret recipe for egg salad.

Back for Seconds

It wasnt the perfect first time I had hoped for, and there were none of the fireworks I was expecting. But then again, who can honestly say their first time was all it was meant to be? As the law of the land goesif you build something up, its only going to let you down. Luckily, I did go back for seconds. This time, the plate of colourful fish and pickled roots no longer glittered before me, but stared me in the face, daring me to have a real go. I picked up my chopsticks and lifted a piece of salmon nigirizushi. Carefully, I dipped the fish into the soy sauce and added a dot of wasabi. My family sat still, waiting for my verdict. I chewed slowly, expecting to feel that arrow of wasabi shoot its way right through my skull at any moment. To my surprise, it didnt, though I could taste a hint of it. The more I chewed, in fact, the more I could taste and the more textures I could feel. A slow smile spread across my face, and my family let out a collective sigh of relief. I know it sounds overly dramatic, but sushi is one of the things my family is kind of weird about. That night, and many nights after, under the dim lights of the kitschy restaurant we favour, I learnt a simple lesson about Japanese foodits all about balance and perfection. If one piece of fish is sliced a millimetre too thick, if you add one unnecessary drop of soy sauce, chances are, you

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Besides the painstaking task of preparing sushi, the ritual of eating it is just as important. I say ritual because it has to be done following a certain system of rules and etiquette. You could just stuff a piece of fish into your mouth, but wheres the fun in that?

The Japanese believe in savouring their food, and considering the delicate balance of flavours they play with, you should at least grant them the courtesy of some restraint.
Every type of sushi has its own accompaniment, and if youre unsure of what goes with what, ask the itamae or a waiter. You might feel stupid, but think of how much stupider youll feel (and look) eating your sashimi with ginger, instead of ginger after nigiri.

A Fine Balance
And thats another thing about Japanese food. Its not just about satisfying hunger or titillating your taste buds. Its a religious experience, akin to prayer and meditation. Everything on your plate has to be in harmonywith each other, and with the person eating the foodonly then can the meal be truly complete. Meanwhile, I was curious to learn more about Japanese cuisine. While delicately wrapped rolls of crab meat and pretty globules of glistening ikura (salmon caviar) are as close to perfection as one can get, I knew there was more. And so, after a lot of convincingI told you, my family is weird about sushiI finally got to try something different. Gone were the delicate slices of translucent flesh, dressed with pretty slivers of pickle. I was thrown into a world that, compared to the delicate ladies cloak room of the sushi bar, was like the mens dressing room at a gymnasiumenjoyable, but a bit too much to handle, to say the least. Welcome to the world of meat.

Teriyaki Tales
To start off light, the first thing to sample is a succulent dish of yakitori. Here, bits of chicken are skewered on bamboo and barbequed over charcoal with salt or tare sauce, made of mirin, sake, soy sauce and sugar. Adding offal, such as chicken gizzards, crispy chicken skin, small intestines and chicken cartilage, gives yakitori an interesting, and delicious, spin. Next up is teriyaki. Outside of Japan, teriyaki is broiled or grilled meat, marinated in tare sauce. But in the Far East, fish such as tuna, salmon and marlin, are cooked using this method. Another famous style of cooking is teppanyaki (cooking on an iron griddle). While were most familiar with beef or shrimp teppanyaki, in Japan they use this method to make yakisoba (fried noodles) and to grill okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes). Last, but not least, is tempura. Having originated in Portugal, tempura has worked its way all the way across the globe to become an extremely popular Japanese dish. It consists of deep-fried anythingfrom shrimp to vegetables and even ice creams, and as the rule goesif its fried, its got to be tried. But then, what Japanese food doesnt merit a place on everyones must-try listirrespective of family quirks?

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Sports

Far Out, Far East

Sitting pretty in a corner of the world, Japan has been quietly producing a number of offbeat sporting heroes, notices Regan Luis. My first, albeit brief, brush with Japanese sporting culture came at age seven, when I enrolled for karate lessons. While most kids my age wanted to learn roundhouse kicks and back-fist punches to impress the girls or out-bully their tormentors, I merely wanted to karate-chop the caps off my Thumbs Up bottlesjust like Mr. Miyagi, the greatest martial arts instructor to ever grace celluloid, in The Karate Kid (1984). Plus, there were the cool white uniforms and the promise of black belts, nun-chucks, poisoned darts and personal training sessions with Jackie Chan. To cut a long story short, my dream of becoming the karate kid next door vanished into thin air the day I noticed that my pot-bellied instructor bore no resemblance to the mildmannered Okinawan. To make matters worse, a weeks worth of punching air and doing one push-up a day had armed me with a disproportionate amount of superheroesque confidence. I was ready to take on the world. As it turns out, there isnt much the Japanese martial art can do for you when youre dangled by your collar in midair, two feet above the ground. And I soon realised that Mr. Miyagis one-legged crane technique was only fit for bird impressions. Lesson learned. championships, in 1993 and 1994. The quarter-tonne bull of a man delivered the final blow to his opponents with his signature move, the Banzai Drop. Put simply, he sat on them. I know that youre thinking Yokozuna doesnt really qualify as a genuine Japanese sporting hero. But then again, watching semi-naked men lift each other by their loincloths in an attempt to push each other out of a circle is not my idea of a sport anyway.

Iron Guts
Competitive eating may not be much of a sport either, but try telling that to Japans Takeru Kobayashi, a wiry 58 kg, 5 feet 8 inch eating machine, who holds two Guinness
A bunch of misfits have been thrown together to save the pride of an ailing high school sumo club in Shiko Funjatta (Masayuki Suo,1992). In Fred Schepisis Mr. (1992), Tom Selleck plays the role of a fading baseball star, who has trouble fitting into Japanese society after he gets traded to the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central baseball league.

Baseball

The Other Sitting Bull

Sumo wrestling is as quintessentially Japanese as a sword-wielding samurai with raw fish on his breath. But its ironic that the generation that grew up watching Star Sports in the early 1990s, still considers a Samoan named Rodney as one of the greatest sumo wrestlers of all time.

Yokozuna, as he pompously called himself (his name means grand champion and refers to sumos highest rank), was portrayed as a Japanese champion sumo wrestler in the alleged sport of American pro-wrestling, also known as Soap Opera for Men.
While he competed under the Japanese flag for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was, in fact, born as Rodney Agatupu Anoai to Polynesian parents living in California. In the time spent performing choreographed antics at the WWF, Yokozuna won a total of five titles including two world

Yoshitaka Moris Hyaku Hachi (2008) offers an interesting insight into the world of a Japanese high school baseball team. The movie follows a couple of backup players as they struggle with their own limitations and undergo rigorous training to accomplish their goals. Dont let the lack of extravagant sets, flying warriors or deathdefying swordplay deter you from seeing Shunichi Nagasakis no-frills karate flick Black Belt (Kuro-obi, 2007), which is set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 1930s. Shinobu Yaguchis Waterboys (2001) is about an all-boys synchronised swimming team that enlists the help of a dolphin trainer from a local aquarium.

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records for stuffing his face with the most amount of food in the least amount of time. Yes folks, he has held world records for grotesque gastric feats such as brace yourselfdevouring 57 cow brains in 15 minutes, 41 lobster rolls in 10 minutes, 20 pounds of rice balls in 30 minutes, 97 hamburgers in eight minutes, 64 tacos in 15 minutes and 63 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobayashi also held the hot dog-eating world record for six consecutive years, from 2001 to 2006, at Nathans Coney Island eating contest. And like most great athletes, he attributes his success to his own unique technique: the Solomon method, as he calls it, involves splitting the frankfurter in half and gulping both parts at once, and dipping the bun in water or 7-Up before stuffing it down. This is followed by his trademark body wiggle, called the Kobayashi Shake, which supposedly does wonders to compact food in the belly. If you ever want to buy him lunch, Id recommend the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Daredevil Laundering
If you define sport as any activity or experience that gives enjoyment or recreation, then extreme ironing (you heard that right) certainly qualifies as one. According to the official website, extreme ironing is the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt. The sport involves taking a battery-powered iron and board to a remote and dangerous location like a mountainside and ironing a few items of laundry. It has also been performed while cycling, skiing, snowboarding, canoeing and even under water. Invented in 1997 by Phil Shaw from the UK (those eccentric Brits, I tell you), the sport was perfected ten years later by a Japanese office worker named Hitoshi Matsuzawa, who accomplished his extreme ironing feat atop Japans highest peakthe 3,776-metre Mount Fuji. Matsuzawa founded a group called Extreme Ironing Japan, which has become a rallying point for like-minded extreme ironists across the country. Matsuzawa lives in the hope that extreme ironing may some day be recognised as an official Olympic sporting event (dream on, iron man). With iron and board in hand, he has now set his sights on Mount Everest. But why, you ask, would someone want to climb nearly 30,000 feet just to iron a shirt? Because its wrinkled, silly!

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Cultures in Conversation

DressCircle
Anindita Biswas explores the frilly world of costume drama.

Background
Remember the days when a long ruler could be flourished as a sword or a mothers dupatta could be the blue cape of royalty? One will be hard put to find a kid who hasnt fought over donning the role of a favourite character in the play-act games during recess! In any case, the historical proliferation of costume dramas can generally be traced to periods following great social upheaval like wars, revolutions or other calamities. This can perhaps be explained by the general need to escape the unpleasant reality and a real or imagined nostalgia about a secure, ordered past that had no scarcity of resources. Conversely, these films were sometimes also aimed at the fashion-starved female members of the audience.

Spectacle has always been the mainstay of cinema. Right from the first curiosity of the magic lantern summoning spirits in freak shows, to the allure of watching Madhubala or Madhuri Dixit resplendent in the mesmerising regalia of iconic personages, audiences of all ages and backgrounds have always wanted to lose themselves in the spectacular world of cinema. Add to that the temptation of actually experiencing historical events or myths that have intrigued public imagination for decades, in all their past glory, and you have the almost irresistible allure of the costume drama film. The inclusion of the term popular to classify the historical background of costume dramas is significant as this is where it can be distinguished from general period pieces. A costume drama involves considerable (even extravagant) expenditure in attire and sets in order to excite public imagination for narratives attempting an authentic revival of famous historical events and personages.

Costume Dramas in Japan

The problem with providing an idea about ancient Japanese films or culture is that its formal aesthetics seem to be rooted in their culture and cannot be understood with the broader, particularly westernised appreciation

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of cinema that we seem to possess. Though Japan became increasingly westernised in its later mode of film production, the assertion provided above as to the occurrence of costume dramas in temporal history might not entirely hold good for Japanese cinema due to its intense tradition of theatre. Film was valued as a medium by the Japanese upper classes right from its introduction in Japan, unlike in the West where its patrons were primarily from the lower classes. The upper classes were also the patrons of the classical kabuki and new age shimpa schools of theatre and hence film as a mode translated simply to filmed stage plays for the first few decades. According to Donald Richie, Japanese audiences tended to perceive film as a new form of theatre. Japanese cinema is still clearly demarcated into historical, period films that are classified as jidaigeki and contemporary pictures as following the classic division of theatre schools in Japan. From the initial stages of mass production of films in Japan, costume dramas have enjoyed a prominent place in the many canons spurned by the Japanese film industry.

who naturally leaned towards mythological performances due to their immense appeal with the masses at that time, it slowly grew mature enough to deal with epic literature and historical fiction. The appeal of this inclination can easily be understood at a time when the idea of the moving image was alien in Indian society and it appeared as though films could actually bring the mythological characters alive. In Japan, however, the extreme popularity of the theatre as a mode of entertainment ensured that films were limited to being an artifice to capture dramatic performances. When the line between theatre and films became more clearly demarcated, the jidaigeki slowly started catering to the old theatre crowd while the gendaijeki paved way for more radical experiments in contemporary cinema. Costume dramas in jidaigeki tended to draw inspiration from folklore and samurai tales.

Production, Reception and Present Stature

One peculiar trait of costume drama films in Japan is the noticeable use of open spaces and convincing locales with the emphasis more on the narrative. This is distinctly different from European or Indian modes of production where particular emphasis is laid on the dresses, jewellery and set design to convey the grandeur of the past the film addresses. Costume dramas have enjoyed enormous popularity with the general populace of India in the past. Mega budget productions like the pioneering Mughal-e-Azam )K. Asif, 1960), Pakeezah (Kamal Amrohi,1972) and even recently Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Devdas (2002) have enjoyed sensational success in India. However the guaranteed success of costume drama films that promoted it to being the staple diet of Indian film production in its initial stages has been anything but nullified. Modes of film production have changed, as has the societal conditioning of the average Indian film consumer. Today, a mega budget venture can simply be flicked away by a film watcher thanks to the vast number of options available.

Perhaps due to their strong linkage with the traditional forms of theatre, these films are able to access the aesthetic traits of the old Japanese society, untouched by Western influences.
Apart from prominent directors like Kurosawa with the legendary Rashomon (1950), many other directors like Teinosuke Kinugasa (Jigokumon, 1953), Tadashi Imai (Bushid Zankoku Monogatari (The Cruel Code of the Samurai, 1963)) and Tai Kato with his series (Red Peony Gambler (Hibotan Bakuto, 1968-1972)) practiced the jidaigeki form of filmmaking.

Commonalities in Jidaigeki and the mythological drama in India

Perhaps the common point of reference that might explain the popularity of costume dramas in the early cinema of both India and Japan lies in the rich tradition of oral storytelling and theatre. Although the tradition graduated to exist in distinctly different forms in the two countries, the mythological folk theatre in India and the sophisticated kabuki in Japan that served as the precursor to films, shared various attributes. Early films in Japan and India both showcased men performing womens roles and employed commentators who narrated the happenings in the films and kept the audience entertained through comic allusion. Although the introduction of films in India took place under the aegis of entrepreneurs like Dhundiraj Govind Phalke

Costume drama films in Japan seem to have suffered a slightly better fate even with the film consumers palette growing more and more globalised. The number of costume dramas produced in Japan still exceeds India by far, especially with directors like Yoji Yamada of Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei, 2002) and The Hidden Blade (Kakushi Ken: Oni no Tsume, 2004) fame, concentrating on making a series of costume drama films. However, the production value of Devdas and Tasogare Seibei remain on entirely different levels qualitatively.

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How Theatrical!

fishyfeeling
What do Guy Ritchie and raw salmon have in common? Find out when Christian Seiersen delves into his metaphorical pouch to convert the theatre into a Japanese sit-down.

Chicken Katsu Chronicles of Narnia

There is something eerily unnatural about sushi restaurants serving the fried chicken dish of chicken katsu, its like displaying the Beano comic strip at the Louvre. Dont get me wrong, I love fried chicken as much as the next mechanic. I just want it served in its natural habitat, resting in a bucket and presented by someone wearing a hair net. When its served in unfamiliar surroundings where the accompanying sauce is not made by Heinz, and to the serene twanging of the shamisena traditional threestringed instrumentyou feel like a cat has just rested a mauled pigeon at your feet. It could have been done so much better. I felt similarly after seeing The Chronicles of Narnia. When it comes to translating childrens literature into the Twilight Zone of filmsyes, even rugged vampires arent safeits a case of counting the casualties. So whos the ringleader, whos responsible for deep-frying the metaphorical chicken? A mastermind, perhaps, propped by an empire of cartoons, loved by millions. A certain Walt Disney, a man obsessed with drawing racist mice. I digress, well leave such matters to Cartoon Network. Granted, Walt himself wasnt single-handedly responsible for the butchery of Narnia, he didnt personally slip fake tan vouchers under the fabled Prince Caspians door. And, to be fair to Mickey Mouse, he straightened out when he met Minnie, but you get the idea. Think of classic childrens literature as no mans land, venture too far and you risk a deadly salvo from entrenched film critics. Like the Somme, you may get the results on paper, but at what cost? Stick instead to films like Inspector Gadget where casualties are minimised or, in the case of strained political analogy, the Falklands War.

has been curbed by a recent bout of food poisoning. In movie terms, a Hugh Grant rom-comdone so many times it could morph into a soap opera, even with the same name. With his inane politeness, Oh golly, I may have piddled on your lavatory seat , and elegant plume of floppy hair, he would be more at home on the Discovery Channel. A treacherous gibbon, perhaps, that charms the feathers off a bird before stealing their eggs. In fact David Attenborough should do a documentary on the untamed lion that is Hugh Grants acting career. Nomadic, he has roamed the Hollywood plains searching for the spectral oases of a thriller film or, dare I say, an Oscar nominee, only to plod dejectedly back to the Bridget Jones pride. Though I mock him, Hugh has been a cornerstone of the romantic comedy sector. If you will, the equivalent of a lift operator who has worked, unquestioning, for 50 years. When he bows out there will be many a thirty-something saluting him with their Haagen-Dazs ice cream tub while watching a pimple-faced alternative. Something with Michael Cera.

Sashimi Guy Ritchie Gangster films

On a sushi menu where flavours are often intertwined to achieve the supreme combination, the raw fish that is sashimi holds no alliances. Like a renegade cop it doesnt need partners; rice would slow it down, ask too many questions; and, seaweed would smother it. Sashimi works alone. But such brash characterisation is not enough these days. Unlike the flickering era of black and white films, it is no longer sufficient to dress a bad guy in a blackened cape and have someone appear beforehand, wearing glasses to bolster the veneer of intelligence and saying, trust me, this guy is well evil.

Nigiri Hugh Grants rom-coms

With only a slab of rice and assorted topping to its name, nigiri sushi was never the shiniest bauble on the Christmas tree. Its more an innocuous red one, used to make up numbers. Thats not to say nigiri doesnt have its uses, its a steady winch to lower newcomers into the realms of Sushi or the reliable mule for Sushiites, whose adventurousness

Nowadays Sashimi needs a genial cockney accent, a sharp tailor and a drinking spot in South London. It needs a part in a Guy Ritchie gangster film.
Some wonton destruction and sharp one-liners later, Ritchie would have late-night crime thrillers from Bravo queuing up to get a piece of this Sashimi, the new, raw

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talent from the wrong side of the tracks. Just look at what the director did for British footballer-cum-actor Vinnie Jones or Hollywood hardman Jason Stathams careers. In the films Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Ritchie succeeds on a well- trodden path, making criminals likeable. Lock Stock saw his depiction of Londons largest marijuana dealers as a gaggle of hippies, who fight intruders with air rifles. Now tell me Sashimi doesnt need some Ritchie magic to accompany its stab at being professionally well ard.

Maki Shutter Island

Comprising raw fish wrapped in a layer of rice and then seaweed paper, maki is a product of meticulous preparation. I like to imagine that each responsible chef is fresh from learning the trade in a Japanese training montage, packed with close-ups of their master raising his eyebrow quizzically and stroking a swan. Outlawed by the fast food nation, the band is forced to meet in abandoned houses that double up as a fight club for Brad Pitt. Although not conceived in similar circumstances, for a film constructed with equal flourishes of skill see recent blockbuster Shutter Island. The opening scene is a cinematic omen for things to come. Waves lash furiously against the islands rocks, an atmospheric score is carved over the backdrop; were in thriller country and director Martin Scorsese is in his element. The Johnny Depp to Scorseses Tim Burton, the ever-prolific accomplice

Leonardo DiCaprio is along for the ride and together they engineer a blitzkrieg of shocks, scares and anything else needed to convince you that investigating a lunatic asylum is a really poor idea. With an increasingly raucous entourage of successful films and a respectable South African accent on his CV accents can be the graveyard of stars, just ask John Wayne when he played Genghis Khan in The Conquerorit would take a brave man to bet against DiCaprio not getting an Oscar soon. Especially after previous winner Adrian Brody bore the thespian torch for his compatriots by fronting the recent remake of Arnie-classic Predator; hardly

screen-shattering.

Christian Siersen is happy to be back from his epic world tour. Catch him on christianseiersen.wordpress.com and christian.seiersen@googlemail.com.

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One word that describes you best Insane The most unforgettable film for you Les Quatre Cents Coup (The 400 Blows) An actor from world cinema you adore Jean Reno The filmmaker who has left a mark on you Francois Truffaut The villain you love to hate Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (more mainstream than world cinema) A book that has shaped you Jack Kerouacs On the Road Given a chance the one actor you would love to be Johnny Depp Your favourite international cuisine Japanese Your favourite international holiday destination... Savusavu (The Jean- Michel Cousteau Resort) A song which you cant stop humming Currently Waving Flag by Knaan (the World Cup hangover, I guess) Your favourite movie adaptation of a book... Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water For Chocolate) by Laura Esquivel A horror movie that gives you sleepless nights... Dont watch them! One scene from world cinema that you can never forget The chicken chase standoff scene in Cidade de Deus
Pritam Saikia Marketing Head HM-Mitsubishi Motors

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