Once upon a time in Hollywood...

It’s 1964 –

Just after finishing black war comedy ‘Dr. Strange Love’, a super-genius film-maker Stanley Kubrick becomes fascinated with the concept of possibility of extra-terrestrial life. He begins searching for some equally Sci-Fi crazy and creative companion who can explore the universe along with him. Finally, through the common acquaintance, he meets another super genius Sci-Fi writer Arthur C. Clarke. Kubrick tells Clarke that he wanted to make a movie depicting the relation of human with universe, a work of art which sparks the emotions of wonder, terror and affects directly on their subconscious. Kubrick picks one of the short stories ‘Sentinel’ of Clarke. But to create a full-fledged 3 hour movie, they needed more study materials. Both spent almost 11 months just to research new materials and to construct the story-plot. After almost 4 years of penance along with novel development in parallel with the movie, in 1968, (To note, moon-landing occurred in 1969, a year later) film gets released as 2001: A space odyssey and creates permanent benchmark of Hollywood Sci-Fi and with that, begins the modern stream of space Sci-Fi movies. Every watcher’s reaction was falling into ‘O Jesus, I haven’t seen anything like that before’. The film is great and is now considered as bible for visual effects and space adventure movies. It was such a huge milestone that, all the upcoming space Sci-Fi films will be compared with the heights of 2001.

*****

Cut to 2013 –

There is huge advancement in technology, life-style and of course human ambition. World is witnessing the phenomenal impact of technology on Hollywood as well. In space epic genre, there has been series of world-class masterpieces by the time now, ranging from legendry cult Star wars to animation gem Wall-E, horrifying Alien to war-saga Independence Day, and ingenious Planet of the apes to delightful Elysium. Steven Spielberg to George Lucas, Ronald Emrich to our own Night Shyamalan kept making this genre richer. But, the masterpiece of all masterpieces hadn’t come yet which can deliberately take you to experience the agitating atoms of emotions, which uses 3D technology genuinely and at its best, which allows you to experience the silence that initially makes you at peace but later that solitude tests human fragility in a brilliant manner. But now…

*****

…it is no longer true, because another genius Mexican film-maker Alfonso Cuarón has already achieved the feet. After several years researching the space science and related books, movies, and qualifying them with professional advisors and scientists. Along with his son Jonás, he first finishes the writing and polishing of his stupendous screenplay. Then to cast for the main lead, the search began and after several candidates like Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Marion Cottillard and finally they select talented beautiful actress, Sandra Bullock along with charismatic, George Clooney after the same role turned down by Robert Downey Jr. The film is already under shower with applauds from critics and audience. Some critics are already citing this movie as the best space movie in the recent years or even this decade. Why? What is so special this space Sci-Fi movie has, which other movies don’t? Special effects!! Yes. Of course, with today’s technology, it’s far richer. Thrill? Yes. With just two characters (actually only one, other is just like cameo) and that also into space without any noise or external villainous interference, it’s commendable job to hold audience for more than two hours and not just hold but keep them well-engaged, connected. But above all, it’s a wonderful spiritual experience, just like 2001. Less dialogues, more connective!! I confidently say that, this is by far the only space Science fiction film which connects the audience at emotional level. First space-visit, predictably random chaos of ‘space debris’ (waste of destructed satellites moving in space orbit), Stranded protagonist, fight for survival, loss of hope, death confrontation, divine survival idea, final fight and redemption. This seemingly simple story is not about dialogues, temperament but it’s all about experience. You will be speechless at certain points because you may never have felt that terror, sorrow, faith and spirit so nearly, so lively.

*****

Medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone is on her first space visit along with mission commander Matt Kowalski, who is on his last trip. Their task is to service the Hubble telescope. At the final repair stage, they get abort message from the control station quoting that debris of destructed Russian satellite is coming towards them. Waste hits the space shuttle severely and only both turn out to be the sole survivors. Later, Matt also sacrifices to save Ryan but before that he fills her up with survival plan. Now, how can she survive, get redemption in her first space visit? Here, each character can be thought of as an alternate analogy. Ryan represents the prime subject who is burdened by her past (death of her only child), who is trying hard to run away from her past, her sadness. Matt represents the hope whose flamboyance and cut-to-edge love for life, influences Ryan. Under highly inadvertent circumstances when she is actually alone and when she realizes that she’s is going to die just ‘today’, that also in alienated and boring space where none will be around during her last moments, she discovers the power of spirit and invaluable gift of life. Her return journey to earth begins with the moment of self-realization, after knowing value of limited ‘Oxygen’ (Read: Breath of life) after going through hard fight for it in space. She determines to move back to earth by getting into dispatch capsule of the Chinese station which is entering into earth atmosphere, de-orbited by debris attack. In one of the most intense scenes when she starts ‘falling’ into earth atmosphere, now fearless, strong and unattached with the final result, she thanks to God and Life, ‘’No matter what’s the outcome, Either way, it's going to be one hell of a ride!!” The last landing scene is actually the first scene on earth in 2 hour movie. That’s the genius part!! Just like Ryan, you have felt nostalgic just by witnessing beautiful mother earth from the boring black-out space.  So when capsule lands on the lake and she starts drowning into water, she abandons the baggage (heavy space-suit) of grief and guilt and re-breathes freshness of new-life. After reaching the lake-bank, she kisses mother earth and begins the ‘baby-walk’ (physical side-effect of zero-gravity) towards her re-born life…

Above words won’t suffice because words can never beat experience!! That initial long-shot of conversation between astronaut team with adoring view of earth in background, that ‘predictably unpredictable’ (90 minutes, the orbit completion time) chaos of space debris, and that tight 90 minutes survival window before another ‘attack’ comes, that thrilling journey towards the shuttle before O2 expires, that heart-melting scene of belt abandon, that sudden confrontation of raw helplessness after realizing that burst of ridiculous talks and flamboyant charm of Matt is no longer going to be around her which was unknowingly filling hope and fighting spirit in her subconscious, that state of hard certainty that she is gonna die today, that setback of abandoning all hopes by reducing O2 supply to have less painful death, that intense nostalgic realization of social importance when listening to dog barking on radio, that brilliant scene where Ryan free-heartedly weeps but her tears don’t fall but float in space due to zero-gravity, and finally the thrilling last ride towards her home just like kid desperately wants to hide into mother’s lap, is all brilliant!!! But, the last but not the least, this unparallel movie experience won’t be this rich without Steven Price’s masterful music score. It is like the silent, third character of the movie. You can’t filter-out the extremely appropriate musical score from the film without compromising the rich quality of experience and apprehensiveness. It’s a soulful under-current of the film. It was similarly important in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The best thing this movie effectively conveys that very less number of other movies do is ‘whether there is space’s zero-gravity or free fall in atmosphere, direction and gravity of human emotions always determines his destiny!!!’

*****

DESSERT:

“The camera is a third astronaut, and that astronaut is the audience. The audience is floating in space, following these characters that are bonded by the loss of physics in zero gravity, floating and rolling and spinning. The idea is to immerse the audience so that your emotional experience is projected onto the screen in a primal way.”

-  Alfonso Cuarón [Director, Gravity]

-   Harshil

'Ship of Thesis' ~ Sailing into my world of words

Once upon a time in a last century before the world witnessed Christ, A Greek historian, named ‘Plutarch’ raises a philosophical dilemma,- 

“If a ship‘s (Let’s say ‘Blue Vader’) planks have turned old and weak so they are replaced by new stronger material and so eventually the whole ship. So will it still be the same ‘Blue Vader’?”-

                                  

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Centuries later, British philosopher, Thomas Hobbs extends the paradox:-

“Now let’s assume that another ship is built using recycled material of planks of ‘Blue Vader’. Now, which one of ships is to be called, 'real' Blue Vader’? ” -

*****

“Pictures are wonderful. How are you managing to do this?”

“Well, I just sense the situations and surroundings using voice and touch. I just let my camera follow my intuition.”

“That’s wonderful. You are icon, you see? You can be huge inspiration for others who have such limitations (physical). ”

“I actually don’t see it as limitation but just the new way of conceiving …”

- Her name is Alia. She is a celebrated photographer who has lost her eyes (but not vision!!) due to some cornea infection. She uses her intuition and auditory conscience to 'capture' surrounding arts. Later, she goes through cornea transplant to regain her eye-sight. Miracle happens? Nope. She used to perceive the world with her own inner sense and intuition. When she struggles to cope up with new 'replaced' sense to perceive the world, she realizes that she has lost her own ‘sense’ while gaining the other, new one.

*****

“Universe is so huge. How does it matter even if our actions are not aligned to it?”

“That’s the only thing what really matters. If it doesn’t matter then what else would?”

- His name is Maitreya, a mid-forty rational-minded and moralistic monk. He is not ‘Jain’ Monk. It doesn’t even matter here what the religion is and the director hasn't even mentioned. Maitreya can very well debate with his pure rationalism and sharp insight. He is smart, rational who strongly oppose the pharmaceutical companies which use animals for trial-testing of their drugs. He is fighting for the cause in Court. Now, his life takes interesting turn when he is diagnosed with ‘liver cirrhosis’. Doctor suggests him to undergo operation and for that, he will have to take lot of medicines. Now, his moral dilemma is that these medicines are manufactured by the companies to whom he has been fighting with. He denies it. Doctors, Friends, monks,

all try to convince him but he is not able to choose between saving his life and compromising his morals.

*****

“He must have been given a huge amount of money for this. Now, how does it matter?”

“My friend, it will still be the same wrong, won’t it be?”

- His name is Naveen, who is not interested in anything but money. He keeps himself sunk into trading and share market. His moralistic grand-ma sometimes criticizes him to be so money-minded. She is angry with him as he doesn’t care about significance of his existence to the society. Such ‘moral-talks’ make him annoyed. But due to incidental suspicion regarding his kidney transplant, he comes to know about kidney-stealing case of a poor labourer, Shankar. Following the roots of the scandal, he ends up reaching to Stockholm, to confront the receiver of Shankar’s stolen kidney.

*****

Now, imagine the ‘body’ as ‘ship’, ‘organs’ as ‘planks’ and 'dilemma of existence' as ‘Theseus Paradox’ then this crafts the one of the best Indian masterpieces, which can stand proudly in the line along with World cinema. Finally!!! Finally, a movie with such a humungous international appeal with fantabulous screenplay and stupendous cinematography is becoming the epicentre of quality fresh and masterwork vibrations of Indian Cinema. Finally, we have the movie to which we can proudly tag, ‘MADE IN INDIA’ and really ‘boast’ about it. When premiered in numerous European film-festivals, the film achieved huge acclaim and praise from gem chaps of the world cinema and some of the champion directors of Indian cinema. Veteran film-maker Shekhar kapoor excitedly said, ‘Thank God, finally I will be able to retire peacefully!!’ Genius film-maker Anurag Kashyap appropriately said, ‘Easily the best movie made in Indian cinema in decades. Anand (the Director) has put ‘all’ of us to shame!’ A very talented director who is known to make brilliant films on hugely diversified subjects, Dibakar Banerjee says, “’Ship of Theseus’ has given me serious doubts about myself as a film-maker. I seriously introspected myself for two-three days as a film-maker.”

*****

‘What is so special about (and in) the film?’ - Probably the first brave and well-crafted attempt in Indian Cinema, which correlates and eventually converge the Morality, Identity, Existence and Spirituality into a dense but still very well digestible and multi-layered drama [so easily, the one with lose-motion effect for those who just enjoy mind-less and sense-less stereotyped drama.] This movie is definitely out-of-league for the traditional ‘halla-gulla’ type entertainment lovers. It addresses the theme of existence, philosophy but not like heavy boring lectures but a brilliantly simple, a genuinely aesthetic and a sheer entertaining way. ‘Honest’ pace is one of the strongest USPs of ‘Ship of Theseus’[I get confused when I hear when people say the movie is very slow or fast, After all, it’s a movie not a Rajdhani express!!!Wherever and whenever it is needed, it should halt and give audience a chance to explore the moment and surroundings in the context of movie plot which is rarely taken care of in Indian cinema.] It brilliantly follows with Maitreya’s daily walk-ride and also halts sometimes to capture the living-on-the-edge, very transient existence of caterpillar. [One of the best scenes in the movie, showing sheer perishable life of insect whose existence depends on others (our)’ moves] It also addresses the restlessness of Alia when she realizes that along with her eyes, something else also has changed. It also depicts human duality in terms of sharp, rational arguments of Maitreya and his life-saving moral-dilemma. It also salutes ruthless, so-called (rude, emotion-less who doesn't care and listen to their parents) but also frank, nonmanipulative, self-righteous youth and also shows tragic-reality of kidney scandals and shallowness of anger, pain and sorrow in the shadow of greed of money. [One important beautiful scene where Naveen slams his grand mother (old generation) for hypocrisy and at the same time, helping her to get cleaned like good grandson.] It is just the absolute genius of the director that how wonderfully all three stories converge together in the end. Master-stroke (or Master-reference) of the film?: As ‘Theseus’ Paradox’ addresses, ‘If a ship is modified, plank by plank, at the end, will it still be the same?’ Same paradox in the context of the movie: “If an organ is changed in the body, will it still be the same or it will change something? If yes, then what is that? ’- Movie tries to provide the answer: 'a soul'. Remember, ship is just the symbol! If some physical part is changed then something else definitely changes, what can that be? As in film, it may be your photography instinct or your moral values or even the surroundings! Biologically, our body also entirely 'regenerates' cell-by-cell in seven years. So the question is still the same: ‘are we still the same???’-

*****

It is very rare and fortunate that such piece of gem (in typical other words, 'so-called' boring art film) is still waving ‘House-full’ sign at theatres when it is not even got to released other than big cities. So, PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Don’t miss this ‘pioneer masterpiece’ and as one of the critics (of course, non-indian, dude!!) rightly said, ‘hidden gem of Indian Cinema.’ It’s nothing but the delicious treat to witness this masterwork on a big-screen.

DESSERT:

“You have an intricate problem that you can’t solve, and sometimes even simply articulating your problem brings you closer to the answers. Sometimes the solution lies in articulating.”

– Anand Gandhi [The director, ‘Ship of Theseus’].

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