an 'Oskar' winning list.......

Schindler's List.......director Steven Spielberg's haunting masterpiece on the holocaust. Brilliant movie, this. Each of the actors outdoes himself in this movie. they all tapped into that innermost reserve of brilliance. everybody, scriptwriters, director, producer and actors....everybody. And Schindler's List was the result. One of the few movies based on true incidents to have turned out so beautifully.


For those unfamiliar with the holocaust, during World War II, under the orders of Adolf Hitler, millions of jew were massacred in Germany. it was during the holocaust that a rule was passed. Because of the war, predictable, Germany's economy faltered. And whoever owned an industry was seen as wokring for the improvement of the economy and certain priveleges were granted to them. Also, all they could employ Jews rather cheaply to work for them, thus solving the problem of labour and workforce. there was one tiny little flaw in this rule that was soon to become the driving force behind one man's actions. The Jews that were on the payroll of an industry were exempt from termination by the military.


Schindler's List is about an industrialist. Oskar Schindler. initially seen as somewhat greedy and profit-minded, though essentially a good man. He recognizes the flaw in the above mentioned rule, and bribes his way into the good books of the german officers and thus starts employing Jews so that he can make bags and bags of money for little effort. He soon establishes a Utensil industry. he takes on a man called Izhtak Stern, a jew, as his accountant. Schindler becomes friends with a German officer, Amon Goeth. Goeth turns out to be an evil, ruthless, utterly cold-blooded man. He's in charge of a concentrated camp. He can be seen killing a lot of jews in the camp for sport. gradually, Shindler realizes the inhuman traetment the jews face, and with the help of the kindly Izhtak stern, proceeds to get as many jews off the terminal list as possible by taking them under his employment. it all makes up to be a riveting movie. the sketchy outline i've provided hardly does justice to the movie, but thats the best i can do without reducing my readers to a sleepy stupor.


Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler. He plays the character with his considerable charm. and it shows. We find ourselves drawn to this enigmatic man with all his irresistable charm. He is initially self centred, not bothered about the plight of his employees, namely, the jews. but as the days pass by, he is increasingly tormented by the sight around him. he gets desperate to save as many jews as possible by employing them. And for this, he has to bribe a number of officers with a lot of gifts. All this anguish is brilliantly put forward by Liam Neeson in a truly masterful performance. There's a heart-rending scene towards the end where Schindler laments that he couldnt save more Jews. he looks at his watch, his car, his various other possessions and gives out a heart-breaking cry, that he could've given these off and bought more jews off. this scene would move the hardest of us to tears.


Ralph Fiennes has shown us over the years what a versatile and brilliant actor he is. he plays a gentle, lovesick character as deftly as he plays a murderous villain. he'll most probably be remembered for playing Lord Voldemort in the harry Potter series. here, he plays another murderous, evil man, Amon Goeth. Fiennes' performance here is perfectly, brilliantly evil. His very presence is evil. Yet, there's something in his manner that's disarmingly charming and innocent. He commits atrocities with the innocence of a child. you cannot help but despise him, but, there's a corner of your heart which forces you to like him, if only a wee bit. there's a scene where he's in bed with his mistress. he casually gets up, lights a cigarette, picks his rifle up and shoots dead four jews in the concentration camp. if you're a jew, and u sneeze in front of Amon Goeth, u're shot dead. If your shoulders are not upright, you're shot dead. the only reason Amon Goeth needs to kill is a Jew. And Ralph Fiennes does a brillaint Job here.



Ben Kinglsey plays the demure, dimmunitive clerk, Izhtak Stern. there's always an impression throughout the movie that Ben frequently underplays himself. In a few scenes, there's a few brief flashes of Ben's "Gandhi". but the overall performance is strikingly effective. he is very effective indeed as the gentle, very sharp clerk, who silently manipulates Oskar Schindler, changing him from a money driven man to the man who would go on to save hundreds of jewish lives. so in a way, Izhtak Stern is one of the heroes, along with Schindler. You feel sorry for him. You feel sorry for the jews. you feel sorry for everyone in the movie except the germans.


the music is brilliant. every note, every piece of music is brilliantly written. it carries the sombre mood of the movie to the end. its powerful, slow and melancholy, exactly what was required for a movie this serious. the brilliance of the director in the choice of the Black & White, which, perfectly sets the mood for the period the movie is set in, as well as gives it a Film Noir touch to it, very nostalgic indeed. Steven SpielBerg is a director, who, when he can think beyond CGi and computer generated special effects, is brilliant. Proving that point, movies like Schindler's List, Catch Me Is You Can, the recent Munich are in evidence.


All in all, Schindler's List, for me is one unforgettable movie. it is tragic at times, deeply moving and totally rivetting.

until i write again, Adios!

The "Legend" of Troy...........

I never for the life of me could understand why the great war was called the Trojan War. cuz the Trojan's dont win. they get screwed........royally!! (pardon the pun) and mind u, this turmoil was all back when i was 10 yrs old. i then told myself that it was called Trojan War as the Trojans were the bad guys. or so i thought!! i lived happily with this notion for several years. as far as my information went, Achilles, the demi god, was awesome. King Agamemnon(top left) was this noble, and powerful king. Menelaus was the vengeful husband, which is understandable. after all......which husband wouldnt turn murderous when his wife was stolen by a pip-squeak?? or anyone for that matter? and then,Prince Hector, the Trojan prince...terrifying, powerful and utterly loathesome. Prince Paris.......i dont recall any particular opinion of Paris.......but i do remember thinking of him as a pussy. and then, my favorite...Odysseus........noble, strong, silent and wise.

so like i mentioned.......i lived happily "ever after" with this notion. then i happened to watch Troy!! i mean......."Troy", the movie by Wolfgang Peterson. now that experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Troy is a brilliant movie in what it manages to achieve. the actors were all brilliant. now.......after watching Troy........the points of view i had were taken by the throat, shaken violently, and then put down, looking distinctly ruffled and different. all of a sudden, King Agamemnon is a slimy, greedy creep. Menelaus, justified though his anger is........is a little gullible. he was foolish enough to believe that his brother was avenging his brother's insult. but the truth is...agamemnon saw this as a window of opportunity to attack Troy, a city he's been itching to attack for god knows how long. Achilles( right).......he's shown to be vain, self obsessed and callous when it comes to others' interests. he's walking with his head in the clouds. and with good reason too. there's only one tiny little problem i have with achilles. how on earth......JUST HOW on earth does he manage to stay so clean shaven throughout the war????

Odysseus is unchanged. he's still the wise, reliable, strong, silent hero. nor has paris changed. he's still a pussy. now, helen, for all her description as a really beautiful woman, does seem interesting. now, all beautiful women seem all the more beautiful when they're silent and poised. now, helen in this movie is rather beautiful, but she seems slightly wooden. she's at her most beautiful when she's speaking. interesting, what? and then.....Paris....the pussy. he's just that. nothing but a coward. he was initially cowardly enough to run away with her. then he was cowardly enough to ask the people of Troy to fight for her, while he watched. and then finally.....he, coward that he is.....shoots Achilles, mortally wounding him, all the while when Achilles was saving Paris' cousin, Briseis. now that is the nadir of cowardice. there's also a scene where Paris foolishly challenges Menelaus to a fight and then runs away from it. that should tell ya..........Paris sucks!!

now we come to the most interesting part. Prince Hector. the oft reviled hector. played by Eric Bana......brilliantly. in this, Hector comes across as a reluctant, tormented hero. he doesnt approve of his brother's actions. nor does he approve of his father, King Priam's decisions based on a bunch of conniving, foolish courtiers. but then, he would not hesitate to strike down those who dare threaten the very existence of Troy, King Agamemnon in this case. You can see and feel his torment as he looks upon his baby son for what we know would be the last time.

Special mention must be made of a few fine points. Brad Pitt does an excellent job as Achilles. His disdain of agamemnon is all too obvious. there's a scene at the beginning of the movie where achilles is asked to hand over a sceptre to his king. Achilles growls, with a sense of disgust, "he's not my king!!". and then, King Priam, played by the legend, peter o' toole, who would be remembered for "Lawrence of Arabia". Peter O' Toole does a great job in his portrayal of King Priam as a senile old man, who was brave aeons ago. The Trojan Horse was brilliantly reconstructed ....as was the destruction of Troy. the haunting background score is just brilliant.....filling us with a sense of melancholy as we watch the destruction of a brave kingdom. all for what? just so that the young pussy of a prince could keep his prize.


the most tragic thing about troy is, we begin feeling good about a lot of characters. we start liking them. hence it is with a sense of sadness we watch the movie, as.....we know about the ultimate fate of these characters. if u ask me, i didnt want Hector and Achilles to die, but i knew they would. i felt helpless. my only saving grace was that my hero, Odysseus would still be alive. and also, Odysseus was played by a fine actor, Sean Bean. Troy is a movie not to be missed. it'll defintely leave an impression on you.