Monika’s Pensieve

So yeah - I think I’ll spend most of March sitting in dark cinema halls :]
I’m putting the schedule of the festival below - I’ve marked the films I cannot possibly miss with red. The festival takes place in all cinemas in the Multikino and SilverScreen chains.

Tuesday, 24th March 2009
18:30 Hello

Wednesday, 25th March 2009
18:30 Tashan

Friday, 27th March 2009
18:30 Outsourced

Please let me know ASAP if you want to attend any of these films with me :) I want to get tickets fast cause otherwise I’ll be nervous I’m going to miss something :] My mum (who is still as big a fan of Bollywood as ever) has already declared she wants to see the four films in red with me *grin*
Below is the film spotting part of the post… I’m only spotting the films in red - I probably won’t see the remaining three because I think seven films in a week is a little over the top… although I could be talked into it ;)
Note to Kin: Tashan (the Wednesday one) has Saif in it, but it was a major flop at the box office and all the trailers look terrible IMO…

{FILM SPOTTING}

Water (Canada/India, 2005)

Polish Distributor: Epelpol
Release Date (worldwide): 8th September 2005
Runtime: 117′
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: Lisa Ray, John Abraham
Production House: Deepa Mehta Films, Flagship International, David Hamilton Productions, Echo Lake Productions, Noble Nomad Pictures, Téléfilm Canada
Plot: (from imdb)

The film examines the plight of a group of widows forced into poverty at a temple in the holy city of Varanasi. It focuses on a relationship between one of the widows, who wants to escape the social restrictions imposed on widows, and a man who is from the highest caste and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.

Trailer

Comment
This is something I’ve been wanting to see for ages. The only reason I haven’t bought a DVD from amazon or somewhere to see it is because I’d hoped there would be an opportunity to see it on the big screen :) Deepa Mehta’s Earth made a huge impression on me and I’ve wanted to see more of her films ever since. And this film is top of the list :)

Dostana (India 2008)

I already spotted this one here :)

Taare Zameen Par (India, 2007)

Polish Distributor: Epelpol
Release Date (worldwide): 21st December 2007
Runtime: 165′
Director: Aamir Khan
Cast: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan
Production House: Aamir Khan Productions, PVR Pictures
Plot: (from imdb)

An art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh teaches at a local boarding school and thinks that every child is special and must have his chance of enjoying his/her school days, so he breaks all the rules of ‘how things are done’ in the school to let his motives became successful, all the children respond to him with joy, all except a small boy named Ishaan Awasthi, of eight years old who seem to be in a different world all the time. Nikumbh soon finds out that Ishaan is unhappy about something. He attempts to help him. The questions remain will he be successful or will the errant prove dangerous for him.

Trailer

Comment
This is Aamir Khan’s directorial début and it got a tremendous response in India. Rarely does a film with practically no dance numbers do that well in the Indian box office, so I’m quite curious :) And then there’s the dyslexia theme - not a common one.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (India 2008)

I’m a little stunned that the opportunity to see this has come so quickly! It was released in India in December so this is really very fast. Anyway, this was originally spotted here.