Zodiac

 American true crime mystery movie “Zodiac” (2007) directed by David Fincher and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. among others.

Its based on a true crimes committed by one Zodiac who left ciphers and sent letters to the San Francisco Chronicle. Jake Gyllenhaal is a cartoonist in the SFC and Robert Downey Jr. a reporter in the same newspaper.

Mark Ruffalo is handling the case but they get no clues. They interview one Arthur Leigh Allen and all clues point to him as the possible Zodiac. But the handwriting match turns negative and the case is lost.

Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) pursues the case doggedly though he is only a cartoonist and not a police man. He is interested in the cipher code and does a lot of leg work which points him to Arthur Leigh Allen.

Mike Mageau who is the survivor from the first shooting of the couple in 1969 identifies Allen as the man who shot him. But by the time they start investigation, Allen dies of a heart attack.

So officially this case remains unsolved in America’s crime history. A rather longish movie which painstakingly takes the viewers through the happenings from 1969 onwards to more than 25 years later. A lot of detailing has gone into the script.

Of the actors, both Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo have done good roles as required of them. IMDB 5/10

Iratta

 Deadly Malayalam crime thriller movie “Iratta” (2023), directed by Rohit M.G. Krishnan and starring Joju George, Anjali, Arya Salim among others.

Its a story of twin brothers Pramod and Vinod (both played by Joju George) and their respective flashback stories. Both were inseparable in childhood, but had to be separated because of their abusive and womanising father.

Vinod had to stay with his father while Pramod went to his mother. Both enter the police and again both have back stories. Vinod is single until he meets Malini (Anjali) who is subjected to beatings by her husband, a pastor.

Pramod had a wife and daughter, but due to alcoholic ways, his wife separated from him for 17 years. Too much of flashbacks take place. Anyways, one fine evening, Vinod is found shot dead in the police station.

There are lots of suspects and investigations and police procedures, to’s and fro’s going on. Vinod is given to gambling and drinking and in one such binge, he comes across a teenaged girl in a lodge and rapes her.

Meanwhile Pramod’s daughter grows up in Mumbai with her mother and she enters the singing contest on live T.V. The ending is quite gut wrenching as Pramod has to deal with some uncertain truths, just when his wife was beginning to reconcile with him.

Joju George has done an absolutely astounding role as the drunken, brazen, cop in two avatars giving it all it requires to deal with the frustrations, despair and sadness. Watch the movie for his acting only. Its breathtaking.

Otherwise the overall script is okay, camera work and cinematography are all good and background music is superb. Rohit M.G. Krishnan has managed to etch a taut crime thriller on the screen with suspense towards the end. IMDB 5/10

The Dove's Lost Necklace

 

The second part of Nacer Khemir’s desert trilogy “The Dove’s Lost Necklace” (1994), a Tunisian film starring Navin Chowdhry, Walid Arakji, Nina Esber among others.

Hassan (Navin Chowdhry) is learning Arabic calligraphy and on a quest for true love. He is learning the 60 words for love prescribed in Arabic literature and has so far found 35 of them.

Zin (Walid Arakji) is a young kid who is a son of a djinn but everybody calls him a bastard. He delivers love messages for money and so that Prince Haroun, the prince trapped in a monkey becomes real again.

They find a half burnt manuscript which reveals of a lament of Princess Samarkhand. Hassan is looking for that book which talks about true love but the store room in which they look for the book is burnt down.

He finally finds Aziz (Nina Esber) the beautiful Princess of Samarkand and then loses her. Nacer Khemir has created a magnificent and enchanting story rich in metaphor and with a visual imagery stunning for all its beauty. The camera work and cinematography capturing the Arabian architecture and landscape is breathtaking. The rich Arabian music enriches the story to perfection.

Walid Arakji is a stunner of an actor, a young child, with a naughty smile and lots of energy. Navin Chowdhry has done a good role but it is Nina Esber who captures the screen presence with her ravisihing good looks and beauty. IMDB 6/10

Wanderers of the Desert

 

First part of a three part Desert trilogy “Wanderers of the Desert”, a Tunisian film by writer/ director Nacer Khemir and starring Nacer Khemir, Souflane Makni, Noureddine Kasbaoui, Hedi Daoud and Sonia Ichti among others.

A young teacher arrives in a remote village of which many have not heard of. When he arrives, the villagers welcome him, but there is no school building.

The teacher is told that the young men of the village go around wandering in the desert like a ghost due to a curse. Once a year the wanderers come back and the teacher is given a book which he has to make them read so that the curse will be broken.

There is lot of mystery and mystique in the story. A young kid breaks all the mirrors in the village in order to make a garden. There is a beautiful young girl who comes in front of the teacher and makes some hand movements.

One villager is digging for a treasure for 50 years but finds nothing and dies. Suddenly a boat appears in the desert and the police arrives to investigate the sudden disappearance of the teacher.

Its not a linear story line but quite a fable mixing up Arabian culture, mysticism, folklore, legend with some stunning desert visuals and hauntingly melodious Tunisian music. Without the credits, it is difficult to know the characters, but the young kid is quite a devil in the movie.

Nacer Khemir manages to captivate the audience with the never ending suspense. Viewers are trying to piece together the various scenes in order to make a context out of the story. IMDB 4/10

Kalikallam

 Action packed Malayalam movie “Kalikkalam” (1990) directed by Sathyan Anthikad and starring Mammootty, Murali, Shobana, Sreenivasan among others.

Its a classic robinhood story as Mammootty is a robber who robs from the rich and corrupt and spends that money for the poor & disadvantaged. He assumes various roles and identities to dupe the police as well.

Murali is a new police officer and honest one at that. Its a cat and mouse between Murali and Mammootty and try as he might, no clues lead the police to the robber.

One too many murders take place and Murali being a suspended police officer on the spot is arrested and tried for murder. Mammootty is moved by that prospect of an innocent police inspector going to jail and makes amends towards that end.

There are many other character actors in the movie including Shobana who is reduced to a side role as somebody who is pining for the robber. Innocent, Mamukoya, Shankarady, Sreenivasan, Sukumari, Philomena all play useful little roles in their inimitable manner.

This is more action oriented than the earlier movies of Sathyan Anthikad. There is an underlying subtext to the movie in the form of subtle messaging towards corrupt persons and innocent guys getting caught instead. Fine acting by Murali — he was such a fantastic actor in the Malayalam cinema. IMDB 5/10

Bim

 Award winning Trinidad and Tobago film “Bim” (1974) directed by Hugh. A. Robertson and starring Ralph Maraj, Anna Seerattan, Wilbur Holder, Lawrence Goldstraw among others.

Its a kind of a political drama movie of the Indians settled in Trinidad and Tobago. They are nearing their independence from the British empire and Bim (Ralph Maraj) is their natural born leader, though his past is that of a hoodlum doing all sorts of bad things.

Bim’s early age was in an upheaval, becuase his father was killed right in front of him by another Indian rival. He is rejected by his school and taunted and bullied by the afro students. He has no choice but to take to crime to live his life.

Bim’s early love life Anna (Anna Seerattan) later takes to prostitution and he discovers Anna while at one of his sexual flings. Bim gravitates towards political leadership in order to take revenge upon the killers of his father.

While the political climate is hotting up, Bim continues to be arrogant and rejects the offer of a political alliance with the leader of the blacks in Trinidad. The print uploaded on youtube is of a poor quality and overall production values are very poor.

But this movie is supposed to be a cult classic in Trinidad which is why i think somebody should digitally enhance this movie to latest standards. The plot is decent and the story conveys what is intended. IMDB 3/10

6.01 kms

 First run of the new year. 6.01 kms to start the year. 2kms warm up followed by 3kms of tempo pace and 1km of cool down. Happy New Year friends and have maximum fun while running. Cheers.