I N T E R S T E L L A R - An Epic Masterpiece with a Heart

I N T E R S T E L L A R – An Eternal Journey

What is the reason films are made for? What is the point in showcasing our creation? It's just for the people of the world to celebrate!

            Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar”, honestly, is the greatest form of human creation on the celluloid. As the rare of the rarest directors, Nolan’s singular vision and artistic freedom to make the impossible possible and explore all the uncertainties infinitely, his “Interstellar” is just a ‘gargantuan’ making. Mankind’s next step is the greatest and Nolan has taken the most celebrated human invention – movies – to an all new level. The cerebral thread of “Interstellar” is the awesome experience of space and an altruistic portrayal of human emotions across solar systems. One would have never watched and never ever will watch a movie like “Interstellar”, henceforth. Period.

Christopher Nolan - Modern film-making genius

                “Don’t go gentle into the good night”. “Love is the only perceived human emotion that could cut across the dimensions of time and space”. “We are not meant to save the world. We are meant to leave it”. Some of the most memorable phrases in human history find a significant rank in the epic of “Interstellar”. Many suggest that Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” is the modern presentation of legendary director Stanley Kubrick’s evergreen space odyssey, “2001: A Space Odyssey” made in 1975, about 39 years ago, But for me, as an avid viewer of world cinema, I find these two films just contrasting in every way. While Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” has a timeline and truth, Nolan’s “Interstellar” is just timeless and an outcome of pure imagination with an endless voyage across galaxies. If not a fiction, “Interstellar” could be touted as the ultimate survival story in the history of mankind. Throughout the film, one thing was certain and many things were uncertain. Certainty is that no frame in the movie was seen ever before and never again; uncertainty is that no frame in the movie is predictable and even if predicted, went awry. A noble film-making is always in that way, and through “Interstellar”, Nolan proves it yet again that he ain’t just a normal film-maker but a superlative human-being who makes movies for the world to celebrate and be proud of them.

"Don't go gentle into the good night" - 5D Space with time and gravity dimensions

            I have been following the movie “Interstellar” ever since it was in the pre-production stage and I could truly tell, the making of “Interstellar” is insanely humongous just like the movie itself. Being a perfectionist himself, Christopher Nolan paid attention to every detail in the film including that of a dying earth, hopeless planets, image of the black hole, iced clouds, 5-D spaces which traverses time and gravity, time (years & light years) of space travel and a spaceship that included ultra-power navigation. To make the film look logically true, Nolan took theoretical physicist Kip Thorne in for the movie and started to build the look of the black hole by formulating equations. Newton’s “Laws of Motion” & Albert Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” were used fundamentally to predict the movement of objects in space and how actually (or may be approximately) a black hole could look which tested the ultimate intelligence and creativity of the physicist. Possibly, Kip Throne believes that he might take his study which he did for “Interstellar” to the Noble Prize evaluators and who knows, he might even win that prestigious honour thanks to Christopher Nolan.

Theoretical physicist Dr. Kip Thorne with "Interstellar" star Jessica Chastain working on the physics of 'Black Hole'

            The finest aspect of the film is its reality and grounding to basic film-making. “Interstellar” is not about ahead-of-the-times film-making, but it is an elevation of contemporary film-making to an all new level. Many who closely follow Nolan might agree with me that he hates the use of technology and is an avid follower of grounded, realistic cinema. This is the reason why “Interstellar” was not made in 3D which he believes will ruin the core soul of the film and people will amuse more only for the 3D shots and leave behind the imagination and superlative storytelling. Nolan’s gigantic creations like “The Dark Knight” (2007), “Inception” (2010) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) have also been a pioneer of contemporary films at their times and with “Interstellar”, Nolan has raised the bar for the world film-makers even higher. The main reason for making “Interstellar” in IMAX is that Nolan wanted people to experience the real sound of space and zero-gravity. And well, he has succeeded big time.

The 'gargantuan' making of space in "Interstellar"

            The casting for “Interstellar” is just perfect as it could get. Matthew McConaughey as Cooper lives the role of a bounded father and as an ace pilot of space-crafts. Anne Hathaway as Dr. Brand and Jessica Chastain as Murphy show their true class act and are definitely star performers. The other show stealers are the ever graceful Michael Caine and the surprising Matt Damon. Music by Hans Zammer is path-breaking and every frame and its mood are lighted up with his everlasting background score. Sound editing, cinematography and Visual effects lend justice to the infinite creativity of Nolan. Special mention to Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Lynda Obst Productions, Legendary Pictures and Syncopy – all production houses – of “Interstellar” for bringing the film in time as promised. In the business side, “Interstellar” made at an estimated budget of $165mn – comparatively moderate for a space film of this level – has now grossed more than $200mn (within 7 days) – official figures awaited – and is set to become the highest grossing movie of 2014 (including theatrical rights worldwide, DVD sales, TV rights and brand partnerships). “Interstellar’, however, is more than just business.

Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway in "Interstellar".

            The interpretation of Murphy’s Law – “Whatever can happen, will happen” – and the unanswerable question of “they” are snippets of utmost intelligence, Nolan has given through “Interstellar”. People who question about the logic of “Interstellar” might need to revisit the theatre once again, as I find no reason to test the logic when the film is about fiction and represents imaginative creation. Overall, “Interstellar” is just extraordinary, completely satisfying experience and the cerebral of modern-day limelight for cinema. Maybe, sometimes, it strikes to be as the greatest film ever-made.

Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" - a film that the world should celebrate. Infinite imagination and altruistic presentation. 

            Finally, if “Inception” gave us all fantasies to dream within a dream, “Interstellar” now gives us a chance to explore the space in an unadulterated brilliant way destroying all the impossibilities. Take a bow, Christopher Nolan. You deserve much more, more than your first Academy Award for Best Director, which happens next year.

I N T E R S T E L L A R (4.5/5) – Par Excellent! An Epic Masterpiece from Nolan.

The curious case of JIGARTHANDA - An Epic Feast!

              Through Jigarthanda, the quality of Indian cinema just got richer. After innumerable reviews and of course, loads of appreciation for Jigarthanda already, I still couldn’t stop myself writing about this epic classic. Karthik Subbaraj has taken the world into the historic city of Madurai in its contemporary style and delivered a world-class cinema that will be remembered for ages.

            When people argue about whether Jigarthanda showcases the crime imitating art or the art imitating crime, I see the movie depicting a crime which felicitates art and the art which suppresses that crime. It is quite unusual for cinema to come across a film like Jigarthanda which is nothing less than a humongous milestone for the entire industry. It is arguably the finest kind of film-making the industry could have seen in a decade or so. Such was the effort of the entire team that every frame is sculpted to a divine grace. The sculpture was built off a single rock and the final product was however having beauty all around. Truly, Indian cinema could have never witnessed a film that conveyed the power of cinema as a medium to influence people so much than what Jigarthanda did.

         Jigarthanda Trailer . The movie as an experience is unparallel to anything I have seen of late. Enthralling performances, quintessential music, parallel-quoted maverick screenplay, violent-patient fantasising cinematography and to top it all a commanding direction, Jigarthanda brings out the best from every resource to make it an epic composition. It takes the courage of Siddharth’s calibre to play the character allowing the demon to rock from other end. Many times, missions fail without a balanced launch-pad and Siddharth as a talented young director chasing his first film fills the role as perfect as anything to be that launch-pad for ‘Bobby’ Simha. After all the result is eventually to make Jigarthanda the sweeter it is meant to be. Simha’s lifetime performance as A.Sethu will remain longer in the hearts of filmgoers and there cannot be surprises if he wins as many awards as applicable, since every bit of them, he deserves it thoroughly. The characters Oorni, Raasu, Palani, Senthil, Soundar, Kayal, Muthu (the acting teacher, wow!) will be immortal just because of the fact that every character is uniquely sketched for a masterpiece.

Jigarthanda Poster

            








               Jigarthanda easily falls in the league of Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muththamittaal, Bala’s Nandha, Ameer’s Paruthiveeran, M.Sasi Kumar’s Subramaniyapuram and to a great extent Gautham Vasudev Menon’s romantic classic Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya for adopting meticulous, passionate film-making and inducing life in every frame remaining in our lives and as part of them forever. Very rarely such films occur in Indian cinema and Jigarthanda (rightly chosen as Forbes’s Top 5 Indian movies to watch in 2014) delivers a master-class attaining this cult-status. Films like these bring pride and joy together and cast away all the benchmark and blue-print for its legacy of films to come. It is fortunate as well as amusing to quote, the genius Karthik Subbaraj has just arrived. Therefore, it will be pleasing to know, there are lot of archery up his castle and the battlefields are getting ready to be made.

            The film is a monumental production in terms of uncompromising imagination and quality, special thanks to producer Kathiresan for allowing the director to bring his story to life. Santosh Narayan’s music is one of the greatest value-additions in the film; unbelievable music composition right from the beginning to end. The theme music for the don, the gibberish interlude, the Jigar and the Thanda montages, Kannamma song’s orchestration and RR, everything from Santosh is just mesmerizing and elevates the film to an altogether different level. Jigarthanda, I believe has also showcased how tearing apart the ‘image’ of a person could be an unbearable factor and that the cinema medium has every power on Earth to make or break anyone; everyone!

Karthik Subbaraj, Siddharth and Karunakaran during the making of Jigarthanda

            












          Karthik Subbaraj’s Jigarthanda is an immortal classic which will pave way for more similar ideologies to arise as movies in the years to come. The director’s vision has rightly given the confidence, pride and joy to the people at the right time which itself is the biggest achievement for the film. This is great for the entire team and particularly the director as the mastermind for bringing Quentin Tarantino kind of absolute film-making in Indian cinema. There are still secrets to identify even after watching the film multiple times and that is even more special for the film. Never before realized the value of tears and just by seeing the one drop of tear in Simha’s eyes, Jigarthanda says it all!

Jigarthanda: Epic Feast!