Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 246

Three Underrated Graphic Novel Memoirs To Read

Once you start reading graphic novel memoirs, you are bound to realize this soon enough – the graphic novel format is the most powerful way to tell your story. Which is why “Maus” by Art Spiegelman became the first (and only so far) graphic novel to win the Pulitzer prize. Spiegelman has inspired multiple generations of artists to elevate graphic novels to the literary level he achieved. And while it’s easy to look for the ‘best’ graphic novel memoirs out there, in our latest podcast episode, we talk of three titles are slightly underrated but worth your time.

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Firebird Film Review – Sparks Fly & Then Crash

Passions fly between a fighter-pilot and a private, at a soviet air-base during the cold-war era in this 2021 film. Directed by Peter Rebane, ‘Firebird’ is based on the memoir of Sergey Fetisov titled ‘The Story of Roman’.

Tom Prior plays Sergey, a young private, who falls for the dashing Roman, portrayed by Oleg Zagordnii. The two soon start seeing each other, until murmurs of their relationship reaches the ears of some seniors. Fearing repercussions, Roman decides to settle for a heterosexual relationship with a female comrade Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya), who originally had a crush on Sergey. While most descriptions of this film call it a ‘love triangle’, it’s a frustratingly tragic story of two men pining for each other, wherein an unsuspecting woman becomes a victim of their deception, foisted on them due to the regressive societal attitude towards queer relationships.

Visually, the film is quite stunning, with some cold-war era battle action unfolding on screen. The two male leads have an easy onscreen chemistry, looking every bit like two people wildly drawn to each other. Tom Prior is captivating as the sensitive, sweet Sergey, who isn’t able to let go off his first love. The viewer would want to comfort Sergei, knock some sense into him so as to move on, but the poor boy is just not able to part with the past. A few years later, a married Roman worms his way back into Sergey’s life, who is studying drama in the capital.

I understand that this is based on a real-life story, but can’t some tweaks be made for an onscreen adaptation? What happened to ‘creative liberties’ when they are really needed? Because I wasn’t a fan of the extra-marital affair sub-plot. Roman is a shitty husband, who marries his ex-boyfriend’s closest friend, keeps her in the dark about his orientation and happily lives a double life. Not cool. So what begins as a sweet romance, turns into a problematic tale, where the protagonists are betraying someone close to them. Roman is an asshole who wants to have his cake and eat it too. Not the hero the film makes him out to be. Sorry Sergei, but you were blind in love.

Except for the problematic plot, everything else is visually pleasing in this movie, the actors are great, and the juxtaposition of the cold-war conflict versus the Moscow theater scene adds an interesting charm to it. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but the movie misses the emotional poignancy of films in the genre. You aren’t moved by the tragic climax. I remember crying along with Elio in that last scene of ‘Call Me By Your Name’, where he sobs by the fireplace, as the haunting track ‘Visions of Gideon’ by Sufjan Stevens plays in the background.

Nonetheless, ‘Firebird’ is worth a watch, after-all it isn’t every day that you get watch a LGBTQ+ story about Soviet era soldiers. It’s a 7/10 from me.

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Listen to – 15 Freaky Facts About The Case ‘Conjuring 3’ Is Based On

‘Prey’ 2021 Film Review – Pretty Pointless

Five men are out hiking in the woods, and they soon find themselves being shot at by someone. They have no clue why. So all they can do is run for cover, while a mysterious shooter tracks their trail. How many will finally survive? That is all there is to the 2021 German film “Prey”, written and directed by Thomas Sieben.

Actors David Kross and Hanno Koffler play brothers Roman and Albert. The two are out celebrating the last few days of Roman’s bachelorhood along with three other friends. Just when they are about to get into their car after finishing a hike in a remote national park, where there is no network (obviously), somebody starts shooting at them. It soon becomes evident that whoever is wielding the gun, is making a game out of mortally wounding them.

‘Prey’ has a sharply cut trailer that will get thriller enthusiasts interested, but unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to expectations. Because even though the makers try to explain why the psychotic killer is murdering men in the woods, it’s not satisfactory. The reasoning is stale and predictable, and if you’re used to watching thriller films, you’ll be able to guess the climax early on.

The film does have a few high-points, which manages to create a sense of dread for the first half of the runtime, but from thereon, it’s pretty downhill. A parallel sub-plot about Roman and his fiance told in tiny flashback beach montages doesn’t do much to serve the primary plot. The director should’ve just stuck to the cat-mouse chase, and given more thought to the antagonist. There are also some goof-ups that are irritating, like a scene where Roman is shown to quietly tip-toe close to the murderer – which would’ve never been possible in real life, because the terrain is filled with dried-up leaves, and they make a LOT of noise. No way you can walk on those without attracting the attention of somebody who is made out to be a pro-hunter.

The pace is slow, the acting is unimpressive, the killer isn’t daunting, and the motive is weak. Netflix has nailed the art of making packages look great, even if the product within is disappointing. Like getting a basic 40 dollar Nokia phone in super-fancy wrapping paper, when you wanted an I-phone.

It’s a 5/10 from me.

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Listen to – 15 Freaky Facts About The Case ‘Conjuring 3’ Is Based On

‘Kate’ Review: This Assassin Film Has A Killer Start

The first 40 minutes of the 2021 Netflix thriller film “Kate” looked like a suave live-action version of an action anime. And then things get less exciting. Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, written by Umair Aleem, the story is set in Japan and follows Kate, an assassin with a reputation of never having missed a shot. On the day of her last hit-job, she is poisoned and has 24 hours to extract revenge from those who targeted her.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is badass as the ruthless Kate – a mix of terminator and Alice from ‘Resident Evil’. There is a kick-ass sequence where she brutally kills a series of men belonging to a Yakuza clan, and the makers do not hold back any punches. So be prepared for some bloody fights. I am no medical expert, but the whole bit about Kate going violently berserk while she is also dying (sustaining herself on medication) seemed far-fetched. But like a good-old action fan, I am willing to suspend logic if the makers serve entertaining fights. And what’s cooler than an adrenaline fueled woman beautifully beating the shit out of fully grown evil men?

But like hinted earlier, things are great only for the first 40 minutes, from there on, things go downhill, because Kate is reunited with a teen called Ani during her revenge-rage-rampage, a teen whose dad she killed 10 months ago. Ani doesn’t know this, but Kate needs Ani to get to those who poisoned her. Do you know what happens when a morally grey protagonist meets a child in a film? They get soft. And when the badass protagonist goes soft, things get slow, emotional and predictably boring. Miku Patricia Martineau plays Ani, and even though she is endearing as an unloved kid growing up in a Yakuza household, the character is given needless space. The whole ‘loveless child & heartless assassin’ going on an suicidal adventure turns the stylish action film into a bit of a snooze-fest.

The cinematography is straight out of an A level action video game, and since the story unfolds in Japan, the makers give us a strong sense of setting – so you have vending machines that dispense clothes, fancy restaurants with Geishas, and large buildings with anime playing over them. The choice of background music was weird in parts, especially in a prolonged face-off Kate has with a tattooed dude called Jojima (played by Miyavi, a Japanese musician). A SUPER ANNOYING song plays during the fight-sequence with Jojima, and even their skirmishes were kind of awkward. Maybe the motive was to make it seem more realistic, the song is part of the scene, playing on the speakers and does not match with what’s happening, but c’mon you cannot pick such a bad track that it makes the viewer roll their eyes and press the fast-forward button.

‘Kate’ had great potential and could’ve been more fun with a shorter run-time. The makers should’ve avoided the melodrama and the 1980s’ tropes and served something more contemporary and gritty.

It’s a 5/10 from me.

But can a better script-writer/director take over and make a prequel? Because Mary Elizabeth Winstead was fucking good as the Yakuza slicing assassin.

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Listen to – 15 Freaky Facts About The Case ‘Conjuring 3’ Is Based On

The Book of Human Insects – Graphic Novel Review

Just for the brilliant art-work, ‘The Book of Human Insects’ by Osamu Tezuka deserves a 5/5, he is a Manga Master after all! However, the story is a dark noir piece that isn’t as intriguing as a fan would hope for it to be. It starts off mysteriously, gets a little shocking, bizarre and then eventually gets into the rigmarole of repetition and predictability.

The story is about Toshiko Tomura, a young actor and designer, who wins one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan for her debut book. On the same day, a young woman kills herself, and it’s hinted that Tomura may have plagiarized and published the victim’s draft work. Tezuka then makes the reader dive into the dark twisted life of Tomura, who is compared to an insect that can mimic dangerous patterns to look like something it isn’t. It’s a trick to survive, we are informed. So the protagonist mimics people she develops an unhealthy interest in and then gets away with wild successes that aren’t hers to claim.

Unlike Tezuka’s graphic novel ‘Ayako’, where the readers get acquainted with the heroine as a toddler, we are introduced Tomura when she is already in her early 20s. This lack of background makes ‘The Book of Insects’ a little shallow. Tezuka’s gives Tomura an almost goddess like aura with confusing character traits, she is an odd mix of cunning and childishness. But where does she really come from, what makers her this chameleon like evil insect that can suck the life out of those around her? Well, we don’t know. Her character just gets annoyingly lucky and unlikable as the story progresses. At one point, it feels like she is a 12-year-old brat masquerading as an adult who likes to imitate others.

There are a lot of characters that make their appearance throughout the course of this book, and each one serves as a silly pawn in the heroine’s game. The author packs in scoop-hungry journalists, disillusioned artists, hot-blooded anarchists, right-wing crazies, corporate politics, among other things in this story. Tomura is always surrounded by blood-thirsty wolves, but they realize an important fact too late – they are snuggling with the hunter. The climax fits in with the narrative that is spun through the course of the story, but doesn’t feel satisfactory, because it mirrors a lot of earlier sub-plots. The author also gets a little too ambitious with conflicts, making it a multi-nation story. So Tomura is hobnobbing with the biggest names in world trade, and yet, she manages to get away with things that should’ve ideally resulted in early death.

It’s the dexterous illustrations that will have you hooked to every page. There is a lot of sexual content in the book and Tezuka draws the love-making scenes in a blurry artistic fashion that makes the panel titillating without being explicit or vulgar. Tezuka has the ability to make sex seems like an other-worldly experience through his art, as if a hurricane is sweeping one away. Seduction, sex and success are perhaps the strongest themes in this tale.

‘The Book of Human Insects’ is like a 16+ pulp fiction novel in graphic novel format, with the right kind of background music, it would probably make for an insanely popular mini-series.

It’s a 3/5 from me.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 47- The Sense of An Ending Explained

Bhoot Police Review: You May Want To Exorcise The Memory Of This Film

‘Bhoot Police’, the 2021 horror comedy directed by Pawan Kripalani sounds like it could be a fun Indian equivalent of ‘Ghostbusters’. However, when the film starts, it looks like a desert-themed movie, with long shots of arid land, and a cowboy sort of music playing in the background. Lead actors Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Kapoor play brothers Vibhooti and Chiraunji, who family has been in the ‘exorcism’ trade for decades.

The brotherly banter between Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Kapoor is so bad, it makes ‘Roohi’ (a 2021 Bollywood film in the same genre) look like a masterpiece in comparison. Had Rajkumar Rao and Varun Kumar (the leads in Roohi) been cast in ‘Bhoot Police’, just their dialogue delivery would’ve elevated the movie’s entertainment value. Instead we’re stuck with a one-expression Arjun Kapoor and an underwhelming Khan. There are a few ‘laugh out loud’ moments, but far off the mark for a horror-comedy.

Let’s talk about the plot – Brothers Vibhooti & Chiraunji travel in their eccentric van and exorcise ghosts, most of whom always turn out be people playing elaborate tricks for whatever reasons. Vibhooti is a greedy crook doesn’t believe in the supernatural and exploits blind beliefs of the ignorant, however his younger brother hopes they’ll come face-to-face with the real thing one day. Such an opportunity arises when a woman called Maya (Yami Gautam) seeks their help to drive away a witch from her tea estate in the hills. It’s here that their faith in the supernatural will finally be tested.

Pawan Kriplani and team have a lot of ingredients right for this production, they have an interesting story, an eerie set-up in the hills, even an intriguing back-story to the witch, but the Kapoor-Khan combination doesn’t work. And some of the jokes are so terrible, they feel like they have been re-hashed from the scripts of Filmfare awards, like the nepotism dig at the actors. Kapoor is even worse than Jacqueline Fernandez, who gets to pretty much play herself, so not too many complains there. Jaaved Jafri plays a cop who is after the two brothers for fraud, and he had one of the most hilarious scenes in the film. Jafri would’ve perhaps been a more fun lead than Saif.

It’s one thing to make fun of nepotism, and yet give in to the temptations of going with big names. The makers do not spend money where they should have – VFX. The graphics of the supernatural elements are so bad, they make you cringe. If you are going to make a horror movie, at least spend some money on the damn visual effects! The 2018 horror film ‘Tumbbad’ which was made on a modest budget of Rs 5 crore had much better effects than ‘Bhoot Police’ that has been made on a budget of Rs 40 crore. Sigh.

This film could’ve been shorter and needed better leads and a better paid VFX team. The climax is actually decent, with an interesting little twist towards the end, but the good parts come too late. It’s a 4/10 from me.

Where to watch: Disney Hotstar Premium

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Listen to Episode 39 For – 15 Other Horror Films You Might Want To Skip

Death & The King’s Horseman – Review

‘Death & The King’s Horseman’ by Wole Soyinka is a play based on real-life events and sheds interesting cultural insights and beliefs of the people of Yoruba. For anybody who is a resident of a former British colony, parts of the play will seem incredibly entertaining, maybe not as much for readers who don’t have the historical context of what it means to grow up in a country that still hasn’t been able to shake off its colonial hangover.

The story is about Elesin, the horseman of a Yoruba king, and he is expected to carry out ritual suicide to follow the King in the afterlife. The tribe believes the king’s soul would be lost if he isn’t accompanied by the horseman and that can have disastrous consequences for his people. When the British officers learn about Elesin’s plan to kill himself, they decide to foil the ritual by arresting him.

The play isn’t sub-divided into acts, and is only four scenes long. Scene one is all about Elesin parading through the market with drummers and praise singers, as they prepare for his final journey. While it’s an interesting set-up, scene one felt a little dull, perhaps because its overladen with metaphors, and Yoruban sayings (in English), so it’s hard for non-African readers to grasp the in-depth meanings of what’s being said. It doesn’t help that Elesin isn’t a very likable character, even as he prepares to die, he uses his position to exploit a young woman, to have one last sexual jaunt, before his last eternal journey. There’s a lot of sexually charged double entendre that the characters exchange, even though it might seem like philosophical musings to casual readers who aren’t interested in reading between the lines.

It’s from scene two that Soyinka’s story really comes to life, and where we first start to see the subtle tensions between the white ‘masters’ and their underlings. Some of the most interesting characters in the play are introduced in this section, like Mr Pilkings, the arrogant (and maybe even atheist) district officer who orders his men to ensure Elesin does not commit ritual suicide. His wife is more sensitive to local customs and sentiments, and it’s actually in the British couple that we seen an interesting contrast of character. From scene two on, I found myself laughing out loud at several points and enjoying Soyinka’s wit and observations of the human behavior. The contempt for the British man’s absurd sense of justice is palpable through the pages. Like there’s one scene, where Elesin is informed how the officers have ‘shoot at sight’ orders if his followers try to brew trouble and he laughs on how they are willing to kill more people so that one man doesn’t kill himself. Yes, irony is strong in this one.

On one hand, Soyinka illustrates the British empire’s failure to understand or respect local traditions and customs, at the same time, he also highlights how the locals fail to evolve by clinging to primitive customs, hampering their own progress. ‘Death & The King’s Horseman’ powerfully portrays the power of community and rituals. Elesin’s son who was shown to be studying as a doctor in England, in in full support of his father’s suicide and is even ashamed when he learns that officers interrupted the ritual. It also serves as a strong reminder of how education cannot change deeply ingrained beliefs of a people. Well, that still hasn’t changed has it?

The climax felt a little rushed and abrupt and for some reason I was perhaps hoping for more. While, I haven’t read any of Soyinka’s other works, this short play is brilliant in bits and makes the reader curious about his other works.

It’s a 4/5 from me.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 47- The Sense of An Ending Explained

‘The Sense of An Ending’ Explained

The 2011 Man Booker Prize novel “The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes has a cryptic diary entry that may leave some readers confused – so we quickly recap the entire story and then make sense of it.

If you haven’t read the novel, it’s absolutely worth checking out, especially if you like contemporary fiction with realistic themes. To those who have read it, you probably already know what the diary entry was about, but if it’s been several since you finished the novel, it won’t hurt to refresh your memory. While there could be several other explanations to one of the biggest cliffhangers in the novel, but we explore the simplest one.

Listen to our podcast episode 47 and please subscribe to the channel.

Duality

We are like two little plant pots
Hanging by an abandoned window
Fortunate to have those exact spots
The sun touching us with its glow
Old pipes dribbling nourishment
Rains reaching through as feasts
No doors to let in bereavement
Or even preying birds and beasts
A few feet apart, we keep thriving
Rare spells of drought barely daunting
Shrivel, shrink, fight & grow again
Soak the sun & share our pain
Had I been a lone forgotten sapling
Languishing by that rusted grill
Solitary survival wouldn’t be a thrill
Death would be welcome to take its fill
You my friend have been the fence
Where my vines found strength to lean
Orphaned as we were, left unseen
Duality made grass our side green

The True Story of Ah Q – Review

Who knew I would one day be scrolling the pages of Marxists.org and reading a Don Quixote like story by a 20th century Chinese author. Well, life is strange, and so is the 1921 novella ‘The True Story Of Ah Q’ by Lu Xun.

Readers who appreciate satires would love how the story begins, with the narrator declaring he doesn’t even know the protagonist’s full name. Ah Q is a bumbling uneducated man, who does any kind of work that’s available, earning just enough to keep him fed and drunk by night. And sometimes, not even that. He often gets into fights, but everytime things don’t go well for him, Ah Q perceives his losses as victories. For example, after being defeated in a fight, Ah Q slaps himself hard, making him feel like he hit someone else and thus equates the feeling with win. Absurd yes, but the author is taking a dig at his countrymen, illustrating how the Chinese consider themselves superior at everything and try to project even losses as wins. Such an attitude might be harmless in one individual, but can be dangerous when it’s reflective of an entire society.

Most viewers that have no context will just be left confused and irritated with the story, wondering why a revered writer like Lu Xun bothered to write about an imbecile of a man at all. So here’s some context – Ah Q is supposed to represent the vices of the older Chinese generation. The 1920s was a time of a lot of internal strife in the country, it had just become a new republic and was faced several challenges. Modern literary thinkers like Lu Xun wanted China to move forward and not be stuck in the past.

This, the story of Ah Q represents an unwillingness to change with time. The protagonist would rather make fun of scholars and the rich, instead of doing something bout his own pathetic state of affair. In the end, it obviously leads to his doom.

I’ve obviously read the English translation, so it’s hard to comment of the language and flow of the novella. As far as the translation is concerned, it’s on the dry side, so the narration gets tedious at several points. There isn’t much humour, the sarcasm isn’t very sharp, so halfway through, most readers might lose interest in the story.

A lot of it has to do with Ah Q’s characteristics, he is what the ‘Gen Z’ would call a “loser”. He is an alcoholic, he gambles, steals, harasses women on the road and mocks scholars. So by the time things really shake-up in the story, it’s hard to keep your enthusiasm instant. The author cleverly mocks “revolutionaries” and displays just how ridiculous political upheaval can be, especially when seen through the eyes of ordinary citizens.

Unless read in political context, Lu Xun’s novella isn’t enjoyable. It’s a 2.5/5 from me.