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Winter’s Tale
Set in a mythic New York City, and spanning 118 years, Winter’s Tale is about miracles, sublime love, and the age-old battle between good and evil. To justify the title, there is tons of snow and extreme cold in the story and the locations, including a barefoot walk on ice by its heroine.
Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) is a state-of-the-art thief, whose own heart is stolen by a 20 year-old rich girl, Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), daughter of millionaire Isaac Penn...
‘one By two’ fails to reach the half-way mark
A term used by two restaurant guests, instructing waiters to serve one dish/beverage to the two of them in equal portions, ‘one By two’ apparently wants to suggest that the sharing of a man and a woman’s lives, first as boy-friend and girl-friend, and then as husband and wife, are of a similar equation. It also takes a long, indulgent look at TV reality dance shows, how they attract both bottom of the rung strata and ac...
A matter of life above death &nbs...
Review of the film, Vampire Academy
Quite literally, the film is set in an academy for vampires, though the theme, obviously, is not restricted to academics. There is a lot of blood, some gore, plenty of blood-drinking and very human like intrigue within the Moroi (peaceful, mortal vampires) and the Strigoi (immortal, evil vampires). The last thing you expect in a horror film is talk-talk-talk, yet there is plenty of it here. Sadly, even after so much verbosity, little is conveyed effectively. ...
Working her way up from the sound and editing departments in several outings over 12 years, Indo-Canadian director Shreela Chakrabartty debuts with Rock Paper Dice Enter. It is written by another Indo-Canadian, Kash Gauni, who has jointly produced the film with Shreela. There’s one more Indian connection, a character played by Ojas Joshi, but that is where the Indianness ends.
Canadian in feel, inspired by Hollywood in treatment, and international in the issues it addresses, the film has ...
her
‘her’, a futuristic story about ‘him’ (Joaquin Phoenix) and five hers (Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde and Portia Doubleday), is an engaging film that compels you to reflect, and challenges you to label it. At first, it appears to be a tongue-in-cheek take on futuristic technology (writer-director Spike Jonze had a real-life terrible experience with a smartphone app). Then, it draws you into the lonely world of the curiously named Theodore Tw...
Yashwant International Film Festival organisers Jabbar Patel and Vijay Desai insult media
This year marked the fourth successive edition of the Yashwant International Film Festival (YIFF), held in Mumbai and organised by the YashwantRao Chavan Pratishthan/Chavan Centre, a Foundation inspired by the memory of one of India’s leading politicians and a patron of the arts, Y.B. Chavan. It comprises a selection of films courtesy the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF), which precedes it, an...
Here's my IFFI 2011 'star'-cast:
Features
Consul of Bordeaux: ***
Bullhead: ***
Palawan Fate: **1/2
Elena: ***
Nader and Simin, A Separation: ****
Oranges and Sunshine: ***
Restoration: ***1/2
Mill and the Cross: ***1/2
Volcano: ***
Mother's Paradise: **1/2
Abu, Son of Adam: ***1/2 (seen at MAMI's MFF)
Dance Town: ***1/2
The Dry Valley: **1/2
Joanna: ***
My Australia: ***
National Alley: ***1/2
House of Tolerance: ***1/2
The First Grader: **1/2
Koko and the Ghost: ***
The K...
Open Doors and attractive prizes for India at Locarno
Olivier Père, the French film critic who is a member of IFFI jury, is also the Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival. In his second capacity, he brings welcome news to Indian film buffs and budding scriptwriters. Locarno co-production lab ‘Open Doors’ will focus on India in the 64th edition of the festival, to be held during August 3-13, 2011.
The Open Doors segment is supported by the Swiss foreign ministryâ...
German director Fatih Akin’s Master Class at IFFI 2010
Heavy turnout greeted Fatih Akin when he arrived at the Marriott Hotel in Goa to conduct a Master Class. Indian director-writer Anurag Kashyap posed the questions, as Fatih shared his experiences of growing up as a Turkish boy in Germany, and traced the influences and incidents that led him to become a film-director. At 37, Fatih is a celebrated director and his work has been appreciated at many major film festivals. Fatih says he ...
Alain Corneau: India every year
French film-maker Alain Corneau plays jazz music, has a kind smile, speaks English reasonably well and is an India-lover. He's a member of the jury for the competition section at IFFI 2005, and will also be presenting his latest film, The Words of Blue. Siraj Syed spoke to the maker of films like Le Nouveau Monde and Le Cousin, and his love affair with India.
Siraj: Is this your first trip to India?
Alain: Oh no! Ever since 1982, when I ...
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About Siraj Syed
 Syed Siraj
(Siraj Associates)
Siraj Syed is a film-critic since 1970 and a Former President of the Freelance Film Journalists' Combine of India.
He is the India Correspondent of FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the international Federation of Film Critics, Munich, Germany
Siraj Syed has contributed over 1,015 articles on cinema, international film festivals, conventions, exhibitions, etc., most recently, at IFFI (Goa), MIFF (Mumbai), MFF/MAMI (Mumbai) and CommunicAsia (Singapore). He often edits film festival daily bulletins.
He is also an actor and a dubbing artiste. Further, he has been teaching media, acting and dubbing at over 30 institutes in India and Singapore, since 1984.
Bandra West, Mumbai India View my profileSend me a message
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