The Boy and the World screen print that reminded me of my dad, who is ‘turning one-year old’ this week. Us, sitting together and looking up at the sky.
But you know what takes the cake? O Menino e o Mundo opened in Brazil on my dad’s bday: January 17th. You gotta be kidding me.
It’s another double feature!
La Doña has been in the mood for fighting this week [1], and this time she’s taking Deepika Padukone- or I suppose El Peñon de las Animas (The Rock of Souls) is taking Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram-Leela, where both balas and golis are exchanged nonchalantly, and music is spared in between two families that have been warring for generations.
Though Maria Felix is playing much more of a señorita role on this one (than usual), and this western musical (that’s what all rancheras are, right?) gets some pretty nifty cinematography and sassy moments and lyrics, there’s one thing that Ram-Leela has~~~ and that is Supriya Pathak.
Are! Mashallah, mashallah~
Oh.mah.gosh.
It’s a battle of the horse-riding sword-brandishing tough ladies that -actually- existed in real life, with lives brought onto the silver screen, beautified while being personified by THE faces of their own Golden Eras.
In the case of Greta Garbo, of course, with Hollywood in her most fun and most relaxed Queen Christina, often mistaken for a man and featuring the infamous scenes of Garbo kissing a lady and being romanced by John Gilbert while in mannish get-up. Then there’s the Mexican and Latin movie classic diva La Doña Maria Felix as Catalina Erauso, escaping a convent and dragging it up as Don Alonso, making the ladies of the Peruvian Viceroyalty swoon in La Monja Alferez, with a twist ending to match Some Like It Hot.
And to quote Toni Collette:
We’re women dressed as men dressed as women!
This is a tough one. I do have a terrible Greta Garbo bias, but I think I’m handing it down to La Doña on this one. Maria Felix is like the awesome fusion of everything that’s good with both Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford.
I’m still not so sure about Miyavi’s lyrics in English, but I do appreciate the fact that he tries and works the field for non-Japanese fans. Very much appreciated~ I will always remember his concert, and attending it with my father.
But Miyavi and his guitar, man. That goes beyond language.
I obviously didn’t know about this cover because it predates my Indian movie journey… but it’s just so damn good, you gotta put it out there, you know? Mother India is so the quintessential Indian movie that every single person (in Peru) that has ever spoken to me about what Indian films they’ve seen, they’ve all name-checked Mother India. Regardless of social status… university professors, business owners, bloggers, taxi drivers, waiters… they all name-check “Madre India.”
Kore, nani nani nani??? Kirei~~~ xD
Here’s Vishal Bhardwaj’s The Blue Umbrella. I think he’s missing a children’s film to make it a full trilogy alongside Makdee, which -in fact- would make it a Little Girl’s Trilogy. Come on, do it, Vishal. Pick another girl and pair her against another great actor. My pick is Naseeruddin Shah.
The introduction to this movie against the snow is very reminiscent of Iwai’s Love Letter. o-genki desuka? Why the random link-up? There’s random Japanese in the movie. xD What Japanese tourist travels with their Japanese-styled umbrella? xD
Since I got my computer back (and found a set of hindi fonts too), I’ve been playing around with a basic Rani Mukerji Fake Criterion collection. I decided to skip Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, but include Aiyyaa. I actually like the movie a lot more than I initially did. Plus, it’s not a supporting role, so it beat out roles in Yuva, Bombay Talkies, Veer-Zaara, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Talaash.
Serious dramas lend themselves out for cooler Criterion covers, though I must admit that I liked the disorder in the Aiyyaa cover. And I have to apologize for the Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, I just couldn’t think of any particular symbol from the movie… but at least I got to test out that new (tricky) hindi font.
I think I might do a Sanjay Leela Bhansali set.
I still think Paheli deserves a bit more than its current 6.8 IMDb rating, though I’m pretty sure it’s gone up a couple of decimals since I first rated it. I just don’t know why it was so difficult to find this clip of the ending credits song, Phir Raat Kati, which translates to something like Then the Night Passed. It sorta tells you a story throughout the song, and the choreography is super fun while not being your typical Bollywood number.
The music in the movie is also pretty good, with lyrics by Gulzar.
Too bad it’s in this pretty bad quality clip, though it’s better than the good rips of the credits with the small window.
Not exactly new talent, but just discovered~
Jamyang Dolma (降央卓玛) is a Chinese singer, though I’m sure people would identify as Tibetan (for the obvious folk roots in her music, as well), who has been featured on CCTV programming. I’m pretty sure she would identify as Chinese or Chinese Tibet, otherwise she wouldn’t be featured on the channel. She’s also done her music school at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music [1], where all the famous people in the industry have studied… including famed Super Girl Chris Lee [1][2] ;P
And lately Chen Bing [1].
I just sorta fell in love with that song That Day (那一天), which is included on this 2014 album called Golden Calling II (金色的呼唤 II), which you can preview on Xiami, while some of her stuff is also available on iTunes.
