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First non-TV uncensored viewing.

Classic. The Casablanca line. Haha

Watched on Sunday May 25, 2025.

PVR Screenit Screening organised by me.

There's a word rarely used in India- Iconoclasts.

Meaning: a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions.

Nearly 80 years after Independence, we live on as if we are still chained. Chained to the prisons of identities we wedded ourselves to, to claim freedom. Chained to tribes we were told we must be a part of. Chained to the dreams of our forefathers and the anxieties of our past selves.

We erase, malign, or discard iconoclasts in this country. In such a tradition, the A to B biography or the more convenient hagiography seems like the only norm. To make a film which stuns its audience into silence, as espoused by a character in this film, is far out of normal imagination.

And yet, it's these very moments, which complement a fantastic real-life tale that are accomplished by the cast and crew here. This is a film not just for the usual down on luck or hard pressed artists but for those who fall in between the cracks of a society which holds onto rigidity out of fear and accidentally lets slip a few gasps of freedom. Akka certainly comes to mind here.

But so does a hero whose challenge is not just a harsh external world but an internal system which drives him to not be blind to his responsibilities and duties, merely in the service of the art.

This is a film for the hidden lives of those whose day in the sun never comes but whose echoes shape human history long after a press release whithers.

Thank you to all those who came.

In 2025, this feels right and timely. But to make this film in the middle of a war is actually pretty wild. That too riffing a real life incident which must have been months old at the time of filming.

Robert Noir. Gotta be my favourite genre.

Miraj IMAX

The precarious times the big screen faces means that a stiff uniformity is expected on most successful films. To deviate from the popular opinion is made to seem like a betrayal against cinema itself.

No matter what one says about Tom Cruise (and there's plenty to say), the man loves cinema. While for the 2020s, he is ed for the spellbinding magic of Top Gun Maverick, this is a man who has been committed to his work, to a dangerous fault, into five decades.

The Final Reckoning is hard to dismiss for precisely this reason. He gives his absolute everything to this film, from the stunts to the subtle humour in gestures. The underwater sequence, where the entire theatre sat in almost silence will be one of the highlights of 2025.

That said, just like he is this franchise's biggest asset, the gravitational force of his aura is its biggest weakness. It renders the ing characters almost meaningless. The final climax is nearly identical to MI: Fallout. The most threatening villain Hunt has ever faced loses his humanoid incarnation and save for one scene at the start, he is generally absent. This means that you don't feel the threat they are all fighting against, save for the grave expression on everyone's face.

There's such a nice opportunity here to critique the modern life (special note for the sequence in the submarine with Hajar and treill). Alas, this required more gifted writers or courageous filmmakers who dared to imagine beyond death defying stunts and something even more grave- risky storytelling where you actually say something permanent of note, without your lead character getting the laurels, as always.

I doubt this is the final film. If it is, it will be an underwhelming send off scene for most. For whatever you felt about No Time To Die, it said THE END in a satisfying way.

Rewatched after nearly 25 years. Amazing how I felt the same feelings as a child- what is happening

Huh?

This could have been told better.

Not a memorable film.

3D Citimall

Kept me engaged in the first 30 minutes and the introduction of Lovely was also nicely done. However, it clearly has no point to make and listlessly stretches its short runtime.

Some really creative CGI and 3D work was done here but the story criminally fails it. Feel bad for the technicians who worked on this.

Under-rated and under-discussed.

Made a friend watch it.

In 2025, this feels like a documentary. Most songs make you go

"Real song or is it from this film?"

PVR Citimall

First time on the big screen.

"There are times when I... I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money I can get away from everyone."

To watch a film in a theater in India is to be reminded of this sentiment again and again. My god, the group ahead of me in Row F, were pure assholes, devolved into being loud, constant chatter, and performing for each other as if they were on social media.

Coming back to the film, these two lines tell you everything about the age of billionaires and entrepreneurs and the core drive for most people to succeed now- a contempt for humanity.

An absolute masterpiece. A privilege to witness and be alive for. Kept watching the camera as it danced and gently glided into scenes which were more accurately, sequences.

PVR Citimall

Tears at interval block.

Hopeful feeling by end credits. I had forgotten films could still do this.

A tale which lies in reality, observation, and a simple expected imagination. A great ensemble effort about the basic humanity in all of us. Probably my favourite Tamil film since Kadaisi Vivasayi.

Cannot describe how thrown off I was when a song from Mohabbatein played over black screen.

Based on true stories of patients whose lives were saved by an Indian generic drug. Has fair bit of exoticism of India and yet, very realistic. Hires good Indian actors.

Central Chinese cast is solid and this is more fun caper than a noir.

Fear eats the soul.

What's left, is featured in this documentary.

I rewatched Atul Kumar's Taking Sides on stage last month. The play left me with a strong desire to revisit this film, something I had seen perhaps 12 years back and was still left in awe then.

It shudders me now as a cinephile- the camera always having allies or adversaries in the same frame for most of the film's closeups or mid-shots. The staggering performances- especially Clift.

The period in which this trial takes place - colonialism of the 19th and 20th Century is still very much alive. The constant reference to "civilised" nations in itself precludes a certain understanding of the exclusions and exceptions.

And yet, few films come close to making the moral and ethical rhetoric appear as compelling and cinematic as this.

Less a film on the realities of human justice, but more on what it should aspire for.

Friends trying to outgross each other

The price of garment tied to your age x 1,000 yen

Reading the signs as Haikus

The imagination of two beautiful women in the apartment complex.

The tension of capitalist exploitation

A very 60s film indeed.

As I always say, one can only make one half of a film. The other half happens in the darkness of the theater, in the hearts of the audience. What form will this film take in your hearts? As a filmmaker, that's what I most look forward to finding out. And so let us meet again one day in the movie theater. - Juzo Itami

If I told you that for years I have said this same concept, not just for cinema but nearly all forms of art, you wouldn't believe me. Juzo should rightly be given the credit for it.

A marvellous and one of a kind documentary I saw- mirroring the film in the exact sequence and helpfully breaking down the efforts behind it. That last 10 minutes are a masterclass on use of music in cinema.

Watched on CC with

- The Perfect Bowl, a short video from 2016 on the influence of the film on Japan, Ramen, and beyond.
- A video essay called The Amateur and The Craftsperson by Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos on the philosophy behind the film.
- Interview with the lead actress and the director's wife Nobuko Miyamoto and food stylist and Ramen chef on set Seiko Ogawa
- Ping Zhu's Studio Visit- the artist who made the Criterion cover
- Tessa Thompson on the film.

Movietime Cubic Mall, Chembur

Larry Summers, the former Secretary of Treasury of US, called Trump's tariffs "the worst, most consequential self-inflicted wound in US economic policy since the Second World War."

PVR Inox and other multiplex chains weren't surprised. They have been applying a self-inflicted wound since their juvenile hysterics over a select few South Indian films which dare to dub in Hindi but have a shorter OTT release window. They act out and miss out on audiences and actual cinema. Then they cry that they are forced to give theaters for events and no one is coming. Vaazhai, Thangalaan, Jigarthanda XX.

Which dumbfuck on Earth refuses to release a new Karthik Subbaraj film twice in less than two years? Congratulations. You are hired by the cartels killing cinema in this country.

I wish I had as much sassiness and brevity when it comes to Retro. I don't think I liked it as much as I wanted to. I watched the trailer probably eight times. It hypnotised me.

The cinephile Subbaraj comes out so nicely- the Pulp Fiction dance, Gladiator, Enter The Dragon, and closer to home, an influence of Rajamouli and Baahubali, even in the parts which I didn't like a lot.

There are two jaw dropping sequences in this film, crafted with so much precision and clarity, my cinema starving heart in Bombay was satiated. Then, with as much clarity as he drops these moments, he muddles the story by an ill-advised and frankly out of the blue mythologising. The talk of revolution in Jigarthanda XX also wasn't smooth but its images co-incided with its stated politics deftly. Here, it's all a bit muddled.

You just about get sick of the action, which while done fantastically each time, isn't backed up with enough philosophical or emotional punch. The device of the Saviour isn't fully used to settle on a political answer, there's no thought which complements the violence. It's just a story of a demon switching sides.

Suriya is in supremely fine form. I liked Pooja Hegde a lot, before the film sidelined here. Joju George is great. Santosh has kicked it out of the park with the music and the soundtrack, which makes even the lulls rise.

There's one good factoid revealed here- nowadays, you treat slaves as friends and then backstab them . I just wish Karthik crafts his messaging as completely as his action sequences.

SH Screening.

The most Freudian last frame in cinema history perhaps.

A masterpiece look at not just food but small, eccentric, and ironic look at the relationships between humanity and food as well.

I spotted two Ozu regulars. I spotted influence of Chaplin for the Omurice sequence. The scene in the restaurant at night of the two leads reminded me of Thief for some reason. A kind of story which won't make sense on paper but whose interstitials elevate it from a normal story of personal triumph and feel good self-improvement and common love to something inexplicably endearing.

The opening homage of sorts to Un Flic is hard to miss.

Found it to be a solidly entertaining and well written film.

4K DTS

In 1996, this must have been bold, weird, and refreshing. Now, 29 years later, most pop cultural OTT genre films are a bad version of this (and this isn't a great version in itself either. The transition is jarring and the lingering on the cameos inside the bar is indulgent).

PVR Imax Lower Parel. With Laser. (In Mumbai, apparently on this and Miraj can show the film as intended by makers)

Censored:

Inserted anti-smoking/anti-tobacco health spots (English)
Superimposed anti-smoking and anti-liquor static messages (English)
Muted and removed obscene words from audio and subtitle at TCR-00:23:37:00, 00:46:20:00, 01:42:10:00
01:46:38:00

Another spring after a Trump election. Another commentary on America and race, hidden inside a genre film. Peele opened doors for even experienced filmmakers to be freer.

I had missed the fact that this was shot with IMAX Cameras. Hence, my usual policy of boycotting Hollywood films in India was in place. I was obviously going to watch this later- I have loved Coogler since Fruitvale Station. But the IMAX factoid made me decide to go against my instinct and endure the Unkil Ainty cut. No, I am not going to say "not that bad". That's how you normalise illogical and dangerous things such as Indian censorship.

Gorgeously shot and framed. Fantastic music. Infact, that whole sequence when Preacherboy plays the guitar in the t is ace. I wish the story had something more on that anecdote on the power of music and why the antagonists are drawn to him.

If folks go in with the expectations of a Vampire gorefest, they may not be satisfied. But as a device to bring people in to reflect more on the director's views and POV as well as adding to powerful black cinema iconography, it does a good job.

Perhaps for the first time, I saw a film which vividly captures what the eyes see.

Like how it feels to see water for the first time when you immerse yourself after a splash.

TPCC Screening.

Cinema has no limits. Not even space. Just like dreams.

TPCC Screening

In awe of what the camera and editing achieve. Always dreamt of it being able to move like this.

TPCC Screening

Still think it's the first film where a filmmaker gladly trolls his audience. Genius.

PVR Icon Andheri

First time on the big screen

Current state of Hindi cinema is like the first five minutes of this film. People walking around proud, thinking Aa, gale lag jaa is not just acceptable, but an act of genius.

This is peak Clown Cinema.

Now not everyone likes clowns and neither are all clowns equal. The clown in this context is the most outlandishly dressed, slapstick, and havoc loving entity who will do anything for a laugh, non-stop.

The result is a cheek hurting ride through an expected and known story, with a few twists, turns, and self-aware/self-referential humour whose looseness in story logic, continuity mistakes, and clearly patchwork scenes make little difference.

This is the kind of chaos which spoils an entire generation in recreation and regurgitation, missing the point that even rib-tickling slapstick or "low-brow" humour requires an intelligence, respect for the audience, and an attention to detail.

Chaos and "masala" doesn't excuse caring. Did you get that?

C A R I N G. About what you are doing in the tiniest and biggest moments.

A film like this shouldn't have such good songs- and yet it does. It's Majrooh Sultanpuri after all. Iconic dialogues.

A good Saturday night indeed.

In this age of Amar, where everyone is calling you a "Mahapurush" every second and everything is a "heera" because it can fake a shine, be a Rajkumar.

PVR Citimall

Perceptions, expectations, and the human penchant for nobility. Thudarum uses these three elements against us constantly.

Featuring the Mohanlal everyone wanted in Empuraan, the film morphs itself half way through in a way which surprises you, even more so because of how commercial and "masala" it becomes. I do not resist such pulls but I found them escapists loopholes.

One can also not deny the shadow of the "D" film over it. If you walk in with those expectations, you are coming for the wrong film. The end is haunting, perhaps I suspect a homage of sorts to Kireedam.

Dug the background score and music in general. Most commercial Moorthy venture yet.

PS: Prakash Varma as CI George is so outstanding, hard to believe this is his film debut. So jealous of the ability of Malayalam filmmakers to extract the best from unexpected quarters.

Shemaroo DVD

First complete watch I think. watching it in bits and pieces growing up.

There's a real looseness and lack of focus in the first half which somehow condenses and makes the final parts all the more effective. Ace comic timing by everyone here.

BOTANY!

Watched on Monday April 21, 2025.

TPCC Mumbai screening.

Curated and hosted a housefull show.

Gorgeous frames and shots.

Felt the story could have mined itself to go deeper and engages audiences more authentically.

Good and smart way to talk about modern automated life.

An absolutely awe-inspiring film- not just because it was made in 1971 but because it's difficult to pull off even now.

Surreal, dark, satirical. Blends away genres to mock the stereotypes we all form of ourselves and our humanity.

G5A Cinema House

A friend had praised this film a lot.

Went in with zero idea about plot and my best to have minimal expectations.

Beautifully shot. Love the conflict the images generate- an unlikely natural setting for a story which is about the imitation of it.

I cannot dismiss this film simply. It has gorgeous contrasts, ironies and parallels, between the daughter and the mother, the way I felt a certain comment on drone warfare at one point (just my imagination) and the agri presentation here.

That said, there are repetitive dialogues and the mother-daughter story in the first part is lacklustre. It gets stronger as the film goes on but it felt very "staged".

And while the makers may have thought they offered nuance by the end, I felt it sorely underplayed the threat of what it's talking about. Data labelling may be different than data moderation, the latter is awful and nothing more than an imperialistic, colonial style outsourcing to third world and underdeveloped nations to shatter their mental health. Do read about awful experiences of those who worked under that setup.

Data Labelling is also not without controversy and the romantic coloring here is to the extreme. There's underpaying of folks, concerns of copyright, stolen data being used by Big Tech with their contractors, and awful, even illegal material being used to train AI models, which has to be first handled by a human.

I appreciate how it portrayed Adivasi women and lives, going against out assumptions and narrow world view. But its sanctioning of the second part made me realise that the film has a very muddled political message. You can be pro-AI. But to think anyone other than Big Tech will use it, in extremely harmful ways, is naivety, which our romantic re-imaginings won't fix. Nuance would have been to show the implications of it. I mean you have two children right there. What would their lives look like? What should they aspire for? Nothing was offered or even hinted as the expected Separation drama beats took up all the energy.

G5A Cinema House

That wonderful venue where today, literally, there was garbage at the mill entrance, that you had to by on the way to watch cinema. Not to mention the never ending construction which has been going on ever since I have been coming here post the pandemic. If this is the best the elites of this city can do to create a space for audiences and artists, no wonder art culture is so fucked here. Matter of time before the real estate whores come for this area and G5A also. Weird pauses on the sound. Better screen experience this time atleast.

About the film, nicely framed and shot. It aims for distillation and slow drip of information and emotion. Yet, it spoonfeeds you plenty. Like its intention and focus, but it fails to acknowledge the dehumanising which is relentless in a techno-capitalist society.

There are films which show and not tell.

There are films which keep telling and don't show enough.

Then there seems to be a third way that is found here. Showing and telling at the same time. Again. And again. And again.

I wouldn't have bothered to watch this- save that someone shared the wonderful Swanand Kirkire song last week and when I read that this film is set in the film world of the 1950s, I had to check it out. Bad decision.

Awful melodramatic take with poor scene design, contrivances, and sorely lacking performances at a few places. The low budget yells at you so loudly.

Ages horribly. It only ends up with intentions. And awful final shot.

Watched on Wednesday July 17, 2013.

Fantastic classic opening which teaches you to not believe everything that you see.

If only the film had enough to keep this motif alive.

Humanity is an ocean. If a few drops of the ocean are dirty, that does not make the ocean dirty.

Reminded me of the wonderful Lebanese film Insult from 2017.

Eyes welled up by the end. A much needed story of humanising that which is being constantly dehumanised in today's world- the connections between people. The apathetic and cynical way of looking at every neighbour and every 'other'. Striking visual language, especially the way the arrest sequence was made.

Watched on Friday April 11, 2025.

Miraj Wadala

The "boxing film" gets a major rejig and subversion this Vishu in the form of Alappuzha Gymkhana, where the expected and the unusual mix for a fun, hilarious, and entertaining film.

A portion in the climax does remind me of Thallumaala, which I didn't like that much. However, it does a good job of addressing it and going past it. Naslen plays the same person with a different journey. I liked the nuance and maturity of the "boys" in this film.

In an age where cinematic rage across state borders is being encouraged, it's nice to see a film which should have all the excuses to be ruthless choose comion instead.

Until proved otherwise, I will always believe Freud "ghost-directed" this film.

The match cuts. The circular and almost repetitive acts of the men and women in this film.

The importance of breasts in this film- getting the mother's call right after their first appearance is hardly subtle.

Filled with no one you like. The poor younger girls disappear and as does Raul's friend.

I was invested and engaged throughout. However, the final few moments felt rushed.

Prime Video Rental

Japanese dub

Liked it much better than the first film.

Yet, makes use of the "detective" very less than I would like.

PVR Juhu

The dumbasses who run PVR Inox should get this message.

This film was being shown at Lido at 5:15 today and it was much closer for me. Still, I went for the PVR Juhu show because the Lido audi is EMBARRASSINGLY small. Do these idiots not see the size of TVs now on sale in showrooms or online? The rise in projector screens being sold in India? Rise of projector sales? You really want folks to spend money on a screen which is slightly better than their TV? Really?

Coming to the film- look, if you grew up watching American Pie and other American sex comedies, why shouldn't India have its own version? The false taboo on sex in this country must be pierced and lampooned constantly.

However, this is not that film. Mostly because it's confused about what it even is.

Confusing structure of the story, the little breathing room given to sequences for us to fully absorb what Mandar's appeal was to so many women, how exactly was he "hunter" or was it all in his head? Like I see Kshitij's exploits but not Mandar's. Why? Are you trying to explain or justify away his behaviour?

This was far too long a film for its subject matter and coming two years after Don Jon, it honestly would have been dated even in 2015. I get the intention it had but the results were far from satisfactory.

It spends little to no time telling you how this objectification of women settled in Mandar's gaze in the first place. How the separation of the genders and the anxiety placed by society on any between them inadvertently causes a dehumanisation.

Also the device of Yusuf's V/o suddenly goes away. Strange film.

Absolutely cannot recall most of the story.

Was mildly amused I think.

Start of the "my god, who do all these folks look the same?" phase of Hindi cinema for me, when I unfortunately started paying attention to it again.

TPCC Screening

Our next screening is on 20th April. Follow TPCC on Insta for updates.

Schedule will be updated here. www.instagram.com/theparallelcinemaclub/

Watched on Thursday April 3, 2025.

Do you understand what death is?

How could he? Death is something in video games. You die. Then you can come back to life again. A world with no permanent consequences. Spend enough hours on it- who is to say where you really live?

People still say words and beliefs of a time long gone. 'Stop beating around the bush'- where are these bushes? 'make hay while the sunshines'. Who has seen hay in real life? They still say 'bless you' when you sneeze and 'oh my god' is still everywhere. But when have so many humans, believed in God so less, collectively?

Do we understand...what understanding is? Did love come in life before the heart emoji? Did you really feel strong desire for them or are you trying to prove something to no one who is listening, that you too, are like them? Do you the time when we were more than chat windows? I do. But like a dream I never lived.

Do you understand what life is? UnGoogled, unplugged, and unexplained? What happens when you let the technologies of billionaires raise your children? Perhaps that word hasn't been invented yet.

Do you Understand..you watched this on a platform that claims to be different but isn't. That they will now make a sequel and sequel. And more hollowness will come, where once there was light.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Listen. That's the slow drip of us being numbed. To prevent us from ever understanding. Ever again. All thanks to a valley covered in silicon.

Do you understand what human beings are? Wait. I asked my computer. He will let me know.

PVR Citimall. Original Version.

A few years ago, I had read an article on why even slightest comments, from random quarters, rattles the Indian government and society. I think I found the same one and it has one observation which holds true every week when everything is shut down with a hammer:

Given that the BJP’s electoral control depends on cultivating an aura of invincibility, this sort of challenge is a huge problem for the party. “Once the aura gets pierced, it doesn’t take time for a slide to start much like I(M) in West Bengal,” he said. - Scroll Article

Lucifer itself was a savvy, albeit muddled attempt to show the present state of India within confines of masala mainstream. Armed with a bigger budget and cast, Prithviraj and team do everything at a bigger scale- including making bigger mistakes.

The title sequence featured inside the burning train was tasteless to say the least. I have a strong revulsion for sexual violence in cinema, especially when it’s done so recklessly. But then- should we not show it at all? When abuse and rape cases pile up to levels of an unabated epidemic in this country, do artists ignore it? Hide it like society does? I guess the debate will never end.

As for the bits which were deemed controversial- as you can guess, they were an attempt to show the truth of what’s going on. You know it. I know it. They know it. Their voters know it. This brouhaha on it being shown on the big screen will require some scientific investigation for sure.

If it had been left on its own, it would have died as a lacklustre, disted, and crammed film which worships Mohanlal and Prithviraj to its own detriment. There’s zero tension or actual danger in its 3 hour runtime. A few images and moments are nice to see in an Indian mainstream but everything around it is done so badly, you would struggle to it fondly.

Congratulations. We have our own Roundup series like South Korea.

Our latest series of screenings at TPCC will serve as a primer into experimental and avant-garde cinema!

Featuring short works from renowned artists such as Michael Snow, Takashi Ito, Toshio Matsumoto and more, the screening will highlight both Eastern and Western approaches to experimental filmmaking.

American Avant-Garde:

Wavelength, Michael Snow, 45 min
(nostalgia), Hollis Frampton, 30 min

Japanese Avant-Garde

Atman, Toshio Matsumoto, 12 min
Spacy, Takashi Ito, 11 min
Ecosystem 5 - A Tremulous Stone, Teruo Koike, 16 min

The screenings will be followed by a brief discussion.

Date - 27th April
Time - 6:30 pm - 9 pm
Venue- 1201, Embassy Chambers, Khar West
( maps.app.goo.gl/8EkUyYryZ9XFsZHz6 )
Tickets- ₹250 per person

(Tickets are non-refundable. If you cannot make it and wish to transfer your ticket to someone else, kindly share your payment proof with them.)

To Book:

forms.gle/xQ9oo39S9bmyVy5k8

• Wavelength
• Hapax Legomena I: Nostalgia
• Atman
• Spacy
• Ecosystem 5 ~ A Tremulous Stone

As they keep writing an obituary every month, becomes more and more important to record and .

• Merry Christmas
• Captain Miller
• National Theatre Live: Vanya
• Kaifinama
• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
• Malaikottai Vaaliban
• Dune
• Dune: Part Two
• Bramayugam
• All India Rank

...plus 61 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana
• What Time Is It There?
• Embracing
• 66 Scenes from America
• A River Called Titas
• Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin
• Our Beloved Month of August
• Intimate Lighting
• Daisies
• Stranger Than Paradise

...plus 39 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Citizen Kane
2. Vertigo
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. Tokyo Story
5. The Rules of the Game
6. The Godfather
7. 8½
8. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
9. The Searchers
10. Seven Samurai

...plus 990 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Happiness of the Katakuris
2. Audition
3. Ichi the Killer
4. 13 Assassins
5. Deadly Outlaw: Rekka
6. Gozu
7. Graveyard of Honor
8. Izo
9. Dead or Alive
10. Shinjuku Triad Society

...plus 39 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Halloween
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Black Christmas
4. Psycho
5. Peeping Tom
6. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
7. Deep Red
8. Blood and Black Lace
9. The Burning
10. Alice, Sweet Alice

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Five Venoms
2. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
3. Enter the Dragon
4. Once Upon a Time in China
5. Crippled Avengers
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7. Drunken Master II
8. Five Element Ninjas
9. The Protector
10. Iron Monkey

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Woman in the Window
2. The Big Sleep
3. Double Indemnity
4. Chinatown
5. Touch of Evil
6. The Third Man
7. Out of the Past
8. Kiss Me Deadly
9. Laura
10. Sunset Boulevard

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Underworld
2. The Racket
3. Thunderbolt
4. The Big Gamble
5. City Streets
6. Little Caesar
7. The Maltese Falcon
8. The Public Enemy
9. Quick Millions
10. The Secret Six

...plus 872 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Past Lives
2. A Silent Voice: The Movie
3. Forever a Woman
4. Us and Them
5. The Farewell
6. Dou kyu sei – Classmates
7. House of Hummingbird
8. K-On! The Movie
9. Lost Ladies
10. Little Forest

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Nutcrackers
• Harbin
• The Life of Chuck
• Matt and Mara
• Nightbitch
• Rez Ball
• The Wild Robot
• We Live in Time
• Emilia Pérez
• Eden

...plus 248 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• French Cancan
• The Bad Sleep Well
• The Bitter Tea of General Yen
• Shanghai Express
• The Awful Truth
• The Ladies Man
• The Burmese Harp
• Tokyo Story
• The Last Laugh
• The Blue Angel

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Before the Revolution
• A Fistful of Dollars
• Fists in the Pocket
• The Battle of Algiers
• Galileo
• The Great Silence
• Once Upon a Time in the West
• Theorem
• Danger: Diabolik
• The Sicilian Clan

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I watched on the big screen in 2023- from commercial theatrical viewings, special screenings, and film club screenings. (Excludes MAMI).

Almost at one film a week. Pretty happy. Hope the figure doubles in coming year.

• Wonka
• 12th Fail
• Napoleon
• Jigarthanda DoubleX
• Japan
• Mark Antony
• Oppenheimer

  TWICE

• Jawan
• Jailer
• Barbie

...plus 46 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Wishlist for MAMI 2023. May end up doing a quarter of these or even less.

But hey, a guy can dream.

• Anatomy of a Fall
• Monster
• The Burmese Harp
• Perfect Days
• 20 Days in Mariupol
• Pictures of Ghosts
• Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
• Four Daughters
• Beyond Utopia
• Kokomo City

...plus 101 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
2. Vertigo
3. Citizen Kane
4. Tokyo Story
5. In the Mood for Love
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. Beau Travail
8. Mulholland Drive
9. Man with a Movie Camera
10. Singin' in the Rain

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
• Tokyo Story
• In the Mood for Love
• Beau Travail
• The Rules of the Game
• Cléo from 5 to 7
• Meshes of the Afternoon
• Close-Up
• Persona
• Seven Samurai

...plus 43 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
• Kaithi

• The Outlaw and His Wife
• The Phantom Carriage
• The Last Laugh
• Faust
• Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
• The Saga of Gösta Berling
• The ion of Joan of Arc
• The Circus
• Pépé le Moko
• Hôtel du Nord

...plus 25 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. A Trip to the Moon
2. The Great Train Robbery
3. The Birth of a Nation
4. The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris
5. Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
6. Broken Blossoms
7. Within Our Gates
8. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
9. Way Down East
10. The Phantom Carriage

...plus 1235 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Souvenir: Part II
2. Petite Maman
3. Drive My Car
4. Memoria
5. Titane
6. The Power of the Dog
7. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
8. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
9. Annette
10. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Titane
2. Bergman Island
3. Drive My Car
4. Licorice Pizza
5. Memoria
6. Parallel Mothers
7. Il Buco
8. Happening
9. The Tsugua Diaries
10. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Metropolis
• Nosferatu
• Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
• Napoleon
• Grand Illusion
• The Rules of the Game
• Children of Paradise
• Rome, Open City
• Paisan
• La Terra Trema

...plus 29 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

26 Films watched at MAMI 2019.
Tanuja Chandra's 'Aunty Sudha Aunty Radha' is missing on Letterboxd.

• Beanpole
• Babyteeth
• Honeyland
• Bombay Rose
• Pain and Glory
• The Lighthouse
• Sorry We Missed You
• Ad Astra
• Les Misérables
• The Irishman

...plus 16 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The least fun I have had at the festival. Saw great films in an overwhelming majority so here they are.

• Boy Erased
• The Eyes of Orson Welles
• BlacKkKlansman
• Hotel by the River
• High Life
• Ash Is Purest White
• Wildlife
• Burning
• Non-Fiction
• Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

It's illegal to make a film about space unless you have a father and a daughter.

• High Life
• Interstellar
• First Man

• All You Can Eat Buddha
• Zama
• Jimmie
• Pin Cushion
• Arrhythmia
• Beast
• The Rider
• An Impossibly Small Object
• Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
• The Reports on Sarah and Saleem

...plus 23 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• River's Edge
• Isle of Dogs
• The Heiresses
• Damsel
• The Bookshop
• Girls Always Happy
• The Captain
• Madeline's Madeline
• Eva
• A Dysfunctional Cat

...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.