Channel Surfing is a much loved activity. This sport is easy, fast and informative. There is no other exercise which enlightens us on such a range of subjects at a single go. News, sports, soaps, animals and movies and also don’t forget the Spirituality, all can be scanned at a glance.
It is our inner state “at-the-moment” which is the decider. You hold the remote and press through. On every channel, your inner-string strains to tune itself to the happenings on the show-box. Sometimes you hit a jackpot and settle down for good. But, mostly you go round and round in circles.
Everyone has a “corner”. A “corner” is supposed to be located somewhere in or near the heart – some nerve-endings which stores our special affinities. All it requires is a trigger, some sight, sound, smell which fires off some spasmodic bursts of “pang” which we recognise as nostalgia.
If you actually check, all our memories are stored in some sort of vibrations. That’s why, things which affects us are also known to resonate. We know it, when we get tuned to it. There is something which “releases” us and we celebrate it by giving the TV remote a much-needed breather. After all, we are henpecked to concede to the wills of our “corner”.
I will recount few movies, which makes me stop the surf, put down the remote for good and enjoy the view. There are many “whys” in “what” we like. But even though beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder – still, there are always something common in all beholders. What you find good, others might feel the same too.
Pretty Women
It’s a story of unattached, un-inhibited love. There is a kind of freshness in the movie. I never tire of viewing this nostalgia laden story. Sometimes you search your entire life for that ethereal woman. Consider yourself lucky if you get one. I also love that last shot, a man crossing the Hollywood street singing –
What’s your dream?
Everybody comes here;
this is Hollywood,
land of dreams….
A Few Good Men
The crispiest dialogues I have ever heard in any English movies. And again, it is the absence of dialogue at a crucial moment which “caught-the-criminal”, so to say. This movie shows some examples of logical-entrapment – on how, through proper planning and words, one can guide the course of events.
The Remains of the Day
I find this movie painfully captivating. It’s a story of a man who loves being a butler to the point of obsession. It shows the life of a perfectionist who loses his love and life, but is more than happy to remain in his groove. The story does not single out any particular life. But it is a piercing sarcasm on all our lives.
Quills
Set during the French revolution as a backdrop, this is the story of Marquis-de-Sade, the noble who escaped the guillotine, but lived to tell the tale of sex. The movie is on Orgies Nonpareil. The story is of a man who has an obsessive-compulsive desire to write – to pen tales of coitus and copulation. He does this at all cost and under any circumstances. It’s a heady movie which rips you every time you see it.
Downfall
It seems that Hitler was reborn to act in this movie. A period drama depicting the times. We do not possess any yardstick to sense the wantonness of the Second World War. All we can resort to is Imagination. In Downfall, the picture and the story illustrates Hitler’s final days. And off-course, Hitler, played by Bruno Ganz has lived the character.
Priceless (French)
Well, with English sub-titles off-course. A story of a Sweet-Cheat who initiates the other into the trade. It’s a story of a Hotel Butler who falls for a free-loading woman. The baseline is – Love Hypnotizes. You can loot or get looted, all for a few moments of tenderness. The shot which stands out is :- The guy spends all his money on the girl and is finally down to the last dime. Realising this, the fair-weather girl prepares to bid adieu. The guy then takes out his “last dime” and gives to the girl, asking for a few more moments for an eye-full. Oh..I could never watch this shot without emotions!
neerajshrivastav 