Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 290
June 4, 2020
‘Ni No Kuni’ – No No Kuni!
‘Ni No Kuni’ is a 2019 animated film, it’s available on Netflix, and should be added to your ‘don’t even think about watching it’ list. I don’t even know if I should bother doing a full review, since I’ve already wasted a significant amount of time watching this monstrosity of a film. Since it was on Netflix, I fast-forwarded a lot of bits. And I usually NEVER fast-forward an animated film.
Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, this film is about two friends Yu & Haru who find themselves transported to a different world, where dogs walk like men and wars are still fought with swords. Yu & Haru are on a quest to find their friend Kotona, who was stabbed and transported into the other world with them.
Despite being a fantasy movie, ‘Ni No Kuni’ is as bland as bland can be. The heroes have the ability to travel between two worlds, but even with two alternate universes, the script-writers couldn’t get creative.
The characters are too flat, the colors too loud and the pace is slower than a snail. I have trouble sleeping and never crash before one am. While watching this film at around 9 pm, with dinner, my head was bobbing drowsily. That’s how boooooooring this film is.
The makers resort to cliches and time-tested formulas & tropes that have been done to death. Nothing inspires wonder or awe. There are no real plot twists. Animated films that were made in the early nineties are far better than this.
Nothing, absolutely nothing can redeem this film. I would give it a 1/5 rating.
June 3, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #6
The other day, a friend and I were having a conversation on poetry and I asked her to give me feedback on “Death & Darker Realms”, my debut book.
“I can’t give you feedback. Poetry cannot be criticized,” she said solemnly.
“Don’t understand why people have so much problem with Rupi Kaur. Don’t like her poetry, don’t read her poetry,” she added.
Thing is, I couldn’t disagree with her. I have NEVER written a poetry review. Because they cannot be reviewed. Each reader has something different to infer from a poem. And the effect of poetry is a completely unique experience. If you don’t like it, maybe you just don’t get it. Or it’s simply not for you, but out there, it might touch someone else.
This is one of the reasons why I refused to name any of the poems in ‘Death & Darker Realms’. They are simply numbered #1, #2, #3 and so on. Because as soon as you name a poem, the title sort of defines it. You rob the reader from making their own inferences.
‘The stars shone down & then finally fell
Fall they did to a morose knell…”
They are just the first two lines of poem number six in the book. It’s one of the shorter and older ones; written in my late teens. I still remember showing it to my grandfather one late evening.
“What does it mean?” he asked after reading all of it.
I explained how the poem was inspired from folk-tales that believe we turn into starts after our deaths. But some of us are born again, doomed to live an unsatisfied life on earth. Again.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, please check out ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
Thappad – A Slap’s Story
‘Thappad’ is a 2020 Bollywood film directed by Anubhav Sinha, starring Tapsee Pannu in the lead role. When its trailer dropped on YouTube it made quite a stir. People were either outraged or impressed.
The film follows the story of Amrita, a sweet home-maker by choice, with a loving husband who is up for a promotion. The first few minutes present a happy montage of a married couple in love. Things take a u-turn when Amrita’s husband slaps her at a party for no fault of hers. That one slap triggers her to introspect her entire relationship. And she decides to file for a divorce.
‘I don’t love you anymore,’ she tells the husband.
Almost everybody in the film tries to convince her that it’s not reason enough to end a relationship. Even her lawyer. ‘Think it through, divorce proceedings can get really ugly,’ Amrita is warned.
‘Thappad’ is an important film, that forces us to introspect how we still live in a jarringly patriarchal society. Divorce continues to be a taboo subject in the country and most women are expected to just suck it up and make the marriage work.
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The film shows the viewer how women are belittled in unwitting little ways and worse yet – how women themselves are complicit in encouraging such behavior. “Shit happens. People move on,” Amrita’s husband tells her. Not once apologizing for the slap. But the slap is not longer the contention anymore. It’s only a tipping point, that helps her see through all the ways in which she had been undermined in the marriage.
The only problem with the film was that the makers tried to make the plot too complicated by squeezing in multiple stories. They had their heart in the right place, but it drags down the pace of the film and makes it boring in parts. Almost each character is unnecessarily given their own little story that comes off as too contrived.
Special mention to Kumud Mishra, the actor who played Amrita’s father, his character was brilliant. He is supportive of all her decisions, as long as she is sure of them.
While the editing could have been tighter, to make it a more compelling watch, ‘Thappad’ is definitely a recommendable film.
June 2, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #5
“Abandoned amid life
Bearing marks of strife
A structure in the middle
An unanswered riddle”
– First few lines from poem number five in ‘Death & Darker Realms’.
Was inspired to write this one after a late night walk in Delhi in 2018. When I was still a full-time broadcast journalist.
It’s funny how little things like our surroundings can trigger the urge to write. Like a rundown building in this case. I drew the little doodle off a graphic novel that I was reading for the picture.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, please check out ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
June 1, 2020
Hello Anxiety
Did you read my little random list of music recommendations? There’s a song in it called ‘Hello Anxiety’ by a Thai artist that I have been enamored with. Despite the grim title, it’s a fun song, with an upbeat disco vibe to it.
But anxiety isn’t fun, is it?
Absolutely not.
I had an anxiety-ridden weekend; the kind where you just don’t understand what in the freaking world is messing with your head.
‘What is everybody up to? I finally finished editing my book and have passed it on to someone else for proof-reading and basic editing. But I still feel anxious and stressed out’ I messaged in a group that has a few of my closest gal pals.
“Why? You should be celebrating,” one of them said.
See that’s the thing – even I don’t know why. I was really looking to relax and bask in the warmth of relief after having finished a major writing project. The reality was just not in sync with my expectations. Kind of like those reality versus expectation memes. Just not funny though.
When I told husband about how ‘down’ I felt for no tangible reason, he gave me a warm bear hug. Always a nice temporary solution.
And no, it’s nowhere close to that time of the month.
Death & Darker Realms #4
‘Before the umbilical cord was shorn
Mother had made her mind clear
‘Anna I’ll call her’ she said that morn
I cried, mother too shed a tear’
These are the first four lines of the fourth poem in ‘Death & Darker Realms”. It might start off as a seemingly innocent verse about a mother naming her child. But names can be so much more. As we grow up, some of us might begin to dislike the ring to the moniker we had no role in choosing. Some of us are teased endlessly by a little twist in the pronunciation or spelling.
When I was ten, two kids in my boarding school would call me ‘snake’, because they couldn’t think of anything intelligent. I used to find it bizarre and just ignore their silly attempts to make fun of me. Where is ‘Sneha’ and where is ‘snake’? But we were ten. Although, some others had it worse.
The poem also deals with bullying, body-shaming and bulimia. Issues that a lot of us face, either when we are younger or even when we are happily settled in well-paying jobs.
The page from a graphic novel serving as the background in the picture might seem random at first glance, but it’s a visual metaphor that might make sense when you read the entire poem.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, please go and buy ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
May 31, 2020
Pom Poko – Review
Pom Poko is a 1994 Japanese Animated film from the repertoire of Studio Ghibli. Directed by Isao Takahata, this one might have racoons as its heroes but hits you right in the feels.
While it’s not as fast paced as all the Japanese action anime shows of today, Pom Poko is a beautiful long film that reminds us just how messed up the world has become because of the speedy development us humans seek everywhere.
The film starts off with a happy children’s song and raccoons hunting for food in a lush countryside setting. But the green surroundings that they spend blissful evenings in, is invaded by monstrous machines meant to cut down trees to make way for modern residential buildings.
The raccoons of Pom Poko are no ordinary animals, but have the power to shape-shift. And they want to save their habitat from being annihilated by rapid industrial development. The idea is inspired from Japanese folklore about how some raccoons turn into humans during the season of spring and sing songs.
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With the help of some experienced raccoons, all the young ones begin to train to shape-shift into humans. They then try all kinds of tricks to stop the construction work that is eating away their home-land. What follows is hilarity, craziness and a clash of two worlds.
This film is adorable and all the animal characters are ‘oh so cute’. But I felt a sense of desolation throughout the movie and that is kudos to the makers, for being able to make the viewer see the despair of mute animals, whose homes are cleared every day by projects involving deforestation.
Pom Poko is a shadow war between innocent animals and cunning humans. And what’s truly beautiful about this Ghibli creation is that despite the plot involving a lot of fantasy & fun, it it manages to be real and grim at the same time.
I cannot remember the last time an animated film moved me so much. Except for the fact that some viewers may think that Pom Poko’s pace is rather slow, this one is a gem.
Also, towards the end, things get a little bizarre and outlandish, just like most Ghibli films. But that’s what I like about them!
May 30, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #3
“For him, I almost forgot my own self
But in years life made him wise
For him, I erased who I used to be
And he finally saw at what price”
These are a few lines from poem number three in “Death & Darker Realms”. This one is about how often, both men and women, tend to lose too much of themselves in a relationship.
It’s hard to remember the exact inspiration for the poem, because there are enough people around us, who turn into strangers when they become too involved in an all-consuming affair.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, you can find the e-book on Amazon. It has 40 poems dealing with death, depression & dysfunctional relationships.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
(Please check your country’s amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app)
May 29, 2020
5 Songs for the Summer
Maybe this is too late a post. Summer is slowly fading and monsoon has begun knocking doors in my part of the world. But the pleasant showers have blessed only select regions and the rest of India is still battling the blaze of an angry sun. As if all the anxiety, paranoia and despair surrounding the COVID19 pandemic wasn’t enough. And then there are also the locust swarms.
What a shit year.
But there is always music to distract us. A friend had asked me for some suggestions and I thought maybe I should make a post out of it too. So here are 5 songs that I have been playing a lot on my phone these days.
Hello, Anxiety – Phum Viphurit
This song has am amazing Daft-Punk/Disco vibe to it. Phum Viphurit is a Thailand based artist and has a voice that will throw you off, in a good way. Because he looks like a cute teen college boy, but sings like a seductive Jazz God. Almost.
2. Cake by the Ocean/Ghungroo Mash up – Penn Masala
I discovered the Acapella collective ‘Penn Masala’ way back in 2009 when the film “American Desi” played on HBO. There was a really cool mix of a Bollywood song called ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ in the film and I frantically googled to find out the MP3 version. That’s how I came to know about them.
While the members of the collective keep changing, one thing is constant – the awesomeness of their covers. Love this cover.
3. Death With Dignity – Sufjan Stevens
‘Spirit of my silence…. I can hear you… But I’m afraid to be near you… And I don’t know where to begin… And I don’t know where to begin. Somewhere in the desert there’s a forest… And an acre before us… But I don’t know where to begin…”
These are the lyrics of the song and it makes me feel like I am sitting by a stream and somebody is singing close by in the woods. It has a dreamy tune and a calming effect.
4. Closer by Chainsmokers – Retro ’50s Prom Style cover
Trust YouTube’s algorithm to randomly suggest you songs that are fun. This one is a really fun retro cover that makes you start tapping your feet around the house.
And the entire band is so adorable, they swing happily throughout the cover and their energy is infectious.
5. Le Temps de l’Amour – Françoise Hardy
I heard this song first in 2014 and it’s back on my list after a long time. No clue what the lyrics mean. Don’t care. It’s just got an interesting beat.
And that’s the end of the list. Have a great weekend!
May 28, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #2
“But most minds weak
Fickle, cajoled with ease
Never the same streak
Each day a renewed lease”
A few lines from the second poem in “Death & Darker Realms'”. It’s about death and how we forget it’s always looming, in the next corner perhaps.
I can’t really remember when this one was penned. But it’s one of the more newer poems in the collection, possibly written in 2018/2017.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, you can find the e-book on Amazon. It costs less than a dollar.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
(Please check your country’s amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app)
