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arunkj78
Reviews
Japanese Story (2003)
overrated
When I heard the title "Japanese Story", I though there might be something really aesthetic or unique about this movie and was expecting something with artistic value. But in my opinion, this turned out to be nothing more than a mediocre movie.
Almost everything in it from title to climax falls short of expectation. All it has shown successfully is the vastness and beauty of Australia and the difference in behaviour of Japanese and Australians. Collette has delivered a decent performance. I wouldn't call it excellent as there wasn't much in movie for someone to take it further and I don't expect anyone else to do better. I can't find any tellable story in the movie and if at all there is one, it is more Australian than Japanese.
The only novel thing in the movie is the sudden shock it generates in the viewers when the Japanese guy dies unexpectedly. His death is unique because the movie never fully explained the use of the character before killing it. It wasn't like someone getting killed in some shootout or by a vehicle accident. That character just dies awkwardly after diving into a shallow pond head first while the story was a positive note. It certainly looked like the death was meant to give a sudden jerk to the viewers. After the death, everyone does their part of mourning and the movie ends right there. Frankly, I failed to understand the message it tried to deliver, except for the fact that life is short.
This is rated 7/10 by IMDb users and I think that is a gross overrating. A rating of 7 is pretty decent by IMDb standards and this movie doesn't deserve that.
The Pianist (2002)
A Masterpiece
OK folks...here is the truth. I almost slept while watching Schindler's List...That movie I guess was first of its kind and I can understand its impact which it had on people. I though it was bit dragging sometimes. Don't get me wrong here, that movie was too lengthy for the content. I don't think anybody would talk about the movie Schindler's List, instead they would talk about Schindler.
It is not the same with 'The Pianist'. It just pulls you into another world and you realize it only when the movie is over. Tremendous movie making!! The central character in the movie is of course the pianist Szpilman but the movie comes a full circle by portraying the life around the pianist. It is the movie making that is prominent here. If someone talks about Szpilman more than Roman Polanski and the movie in general, I would be surprised. Here it is Roman Polanski that sells. For Schindler's list, it is Schindler who sells not Spielberg.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
an eye opener
It is just unbelievable to see so many people giving bad comments about this movie, especially Americans. It shows how patriotism and lack of information can sometimes blind supposedly the most civilized and free society.
Although most the facts mentioned by Moore is arguable both ways, the fact remains that the war in Iraq NOW is about oil and money regardless of the reason why it started. There has never been a country in this new era which has helped other countries without evaluating the sacrifices and benefits involved. NO COUNTRY WOULD SACRIFICE ITS PEOPLE FOR THE BENEFIT OF ANOTHER COUNTRY. People need to understand that United States is no exception. This is no shame to the Americans. There simply cannot be any such country, developed or under developed.
Having said that, I don't find anything wrong in Moore putting the whole blame on George Bush. He is the President of the nation. He is responsible for the action. If he is not to blame, who else should he blame? He doesn't need to blame the people for electing him because that is quite implied.
In fact, the people are not to be blamed much since an ordinary citizen has got his own worries. He doesn't have time to think about big problems of nations including his own. That is why we call him an ordinary citizen. Moreover he never sees or is never allowed to see the big picture. All he does is quickly process the information he picks up from news papers, magazines, friends etc and come up with a view which he finds comfortable. He never bothers to critically analyze the information and ask questions. As time goes by, these views get more and more concrete simply because the information that he picks up later on would be the ones that strengthen his existing beliefs. He rejects all other information just because they do not really matter to him. They do not matter to him as long as it starts affecting his life and his feelings he holds dear.
In a developed country like America this is particularly true because most people have what they basically need and are not really concerned about how others live. It is not their fault; it is plain simple human psychology. As long as the government supplies the ordinary citizen what he basically needs, it can be sure that he will not bother to ask unnecessary questions about why his government interferes in Iraq or other Middle East nations.
But in all nations, there are not-so-ordinary citizens or intellectuals, who live for certain ideologies. These ideologies can be good or bad. Although what is good and bad is a debatable issue, it is good enough to assume that the principle of 'live and let live' is good and anything that does not follow that rule is bad. When these category of people break the rhythm of an ordinary citizen by providing him with information that is contrary to his belief it is quite natural to find repercussions. When someone loses their dear ones for a cause and if they pick up any information which suggests that the cause was unjust, it is quite ordinary to see what we saw in the movie. In this case, Moore broke people's rhythm by providing information that they otherwise would not like to hear.
This movie is a very good eye opener to an ordinary American citizen. He needs to be more critical in what he picks up from CNN, MSNBC and BBC. He needs to understand that he has the right to get the right information. He needs to understand that what he sees may not be the full picture. He needs to understand that the other countries will judge him by the actions of his government. He needs to understand that American must not be built by oil from Iraq or Saudi Arabia, it must be built by Americans.