Film: The Killing Fields
Director: Roland Joffé
Starring: Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, Craig T. Nelson, John Malkovich, Athol Fugard
Year: 1984
We stumbled upon this movie while researching for Cambodia trip. We opted to stay in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia to visit the real gory site and museum. Until then we were totally ignorant of this genocide which wiped off 1/4 part of Cambodian population. The movies was released in 1984, winning three Academy awards.
Plot: Based on true story of an American journalist, Sydney Schanberg of New York Times "The Life and Death of Dith Pran." Sydney was deployed in Phnom Penh in the early 70s to cover the civil war in Cambodia between Cambodian National Army and Khmer Rouge, a result of Vietnam war. Here he collaborates with Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist and interpreter who also works for New York Times. As Khmer Rouge (barbarians at their best) closes in, international embassies decide to evacuate their personnel and Dith sends off his family to USA, but stays back with Sydney. The situation gets worse as Khmer Rouge orders all the Cambodian citizens to be turned in. Sydney and others manage to flee, but Pran is unable due to his passport.
Khmer Rouge ordered cities to be evacuated in an attempt to create isolation. He is now caught in Pol Pot's "Year Zero" program. All educated people are killed including doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists. He fakes of being illiterate. He somehow manages to survive in the prison camp where he was starved and tortured. Eventually he escapes and reaches Red Cross Camp near the border of Thailand.
Sidney wins the Pultizer prize for his coverage of the Cambodian conflict, however, is accused by Rockoff (a friend who was there in Cambodia) of not doing enough to rescue Pran.
WeReflect: It is impossible not to be disturbed by the movie. Now overridden with guilt Sydney reaches the Red Cross Camp, reunites with Pran, and asks for forgiveness. And Pran's reply was "nothing to forgive Sydney" tells volume about the character. It depicts the darkest period of history where 2 million people were died due to starvation, brutality, torture, and pure hatred.
Pran's determination to overcome all odds and survive is a lesson to all human kind. A scene where he make a small cut on a cow to drink blood is the most heart wrenching. Pran played by Dr. Haing Ngor is a surviver of Khmer Rouge is the perfect cast. His performance is brilliant and natural for a nonactor. It is sad to know he was shot dead in 1996 in Los Angeles.
We have watched it after 31 years of its release and would say this is one of those timeless movies. It captures atrocities of Cambodian civil war, Khmer Rouge, and genocide distinctly. Despite this it tells the compassion and friendship grows even during the hardest time.
It is an intense journey of adventure and tragedy. And after seeing the real Killing Fields, we can vouch this film is well researched and superbly made. It stands testimonial to savagery of human race. Make time for it.
Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Genre: Young Adult
Publication: 2013
Blurb: When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.
On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.
WeReflect: I picked this book very well knowing it is the first in the trilogy to be followed by "China Rich Girlfriend" and "Rich People problems". Presently I'm reading the last one. This series is ridiculously addictive. It takes a little while to know and understand Nick's family tree, the companies his family is associated with, what shitload of money they have. It talks a lot about designer clothes, bags, shoes, cars, private jets, extravagant resorts, exotic foods, all opulent things. At a point in time I was curious to go and confirm whether the writer is a designer himself or a gay. I know it is so stereotypical and I'm trying hard not to be one. I even started wondering has he done so much research on designer stuffs and couture culture or is it a sponsored writing on brands? After sometime I have realized it is an futile excise to convert millions and billions dollars to my humble Indian rupees.
There are two things I agree with the writer on some level. One, older generation of the families are money-minded, pompous, and very specific about who they are friends with or who they get their children married to. On the other hand, the young guns of the family thinks otherwise and focus more what they really want. The second is how parents try to control their children, which is spot on in Asian culture. I can vouch for it being an Asian, yet I'm neither crazy nor rich.
It has delicious drama and satire that kept me hooked to the book. While into it I found it is ridiculous and less credible, however, couldn't stop myself from picking up two more books in the series just to know how it ends. I skipped the denotation of both Mandarin and Malay as it was tedious and killjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and appreciate the writer for giving insight into the Crazy Rich Asians, which might be all fictional or true. I could connect with the few places in Singapore having been there, though I have to say it is my least favorite city in the world. This book is addictive and super-fun read. If one is expecting life lessons or literary gratification just stay away from it.
PS: Film adaptation is dull, drab, and tedious
TV Series: Big Little Lies (Season 1)
Streaming Partner: HBO
Genre: Drama, mystery, dark comedy
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, Adam Scott, Zoë Kravitz
Year: 2017
“All conflict can be traced back to someone’s feelings getting hurt, don’t you think?”
We wanted to watch this ever since we knew it had won many Emmy awards in mini series category. And one more thing that piqued our attention was it is based on the novel of Liane Moriarty of the same name. We have read her "Truly, madly, guilty" and liked it. She is the author who introduced us to Australia. No, we knew the existence of this country on the map. The traveler in us knew that much. It's about Australian people, their lifestyle, habits, relationship, cuisine, etc. Fiction maybe, but window to their world nonetheless.
The second point was the actors, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley.
This miniseries consist of 7 episodes. The drama is set in Monterey, California about upper-middle-class people who has envious ocean-facing bungalow; big, spacious, sparkling kitchens; expensive cars; branded clothes; and beautiful children. The children are the common link between all major characters because they all attend the same elementary school.
Plot: The story follows the lives of three women. Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), mother of a teenage daughter and a first grader. She is divorced and remarried, but still has trouble dealing with her ex-husband, Nathan and his new wife Bonnie. She is nosy and likes to meddle in other's business. Madeline befriends with Jane (Shailene Woodley), a single mother. She recently moved to this town for her son Ziggy's education. She has a dark past too. The trouble starts when Ziggy is accused of physically bullying another girl in the school. Then the battle lines are drawn between mothers and they are expected to take sides. Third is Celeste (Nicole Kidman), a successful lawyer once, now stay-at-home mother to her twin boys. Superficially her life is picture perfect with young, rich, good looking husband. She is in denial of physical abuse meted out by her husband, Perry. Their relationship is volatile and aggressive. Along the way the three women forms a close knit friendship.
WeReflect: We know that somebody is dead and the investigation is on. The story jumps forward and backward giving us the hint to predict who got murdered on the fateful trivia night. The climax was predictable, but the whodunit part had us in awe.
Until the first two episodes we were thinking "Oh! Another Desperate Housewives". However, the drama is gripping from there afterwards. The best scenes for us are Celeste's sessions with her therapist. First she overlooks her husband's violent behavior, then she blames herself for the abusive relationship, she desperately tries to believe her husband loves her, and finally comes to term with the need to leave the vicious marriage. It talks about domestic violence and how difficult it is for women to walk out that relationship.
The soundtrack was melodious. We loved the Elvis version of "Wonder of you" song on the trivia night sung by Ed. We never heard of that song before and we've heard it multiple times after that. Such beautiful tune and lyrics. And we need to read the book too. Oh! We're not that sort of people who couldn't read or see something while already knowing the story. It intrigues us more to know how different it is in book or vice versa.
Very much excited to watch season 2 with the same main cast along with Meryl Streep. And Who doesn't like Meryl Streep?
Film: Raman Raghav 2.0
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, Sobhita Dhulipala
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Genre: Neo-noir psychological thriller
Year: 2016
Plot: Movie begins with the disclaimer "It is not about the 1960's serial killer Raman Raghav". Raman (Nawazuddin) is a serial killer who hacks his victims to death with an iron rod. He thinks himself as a messenger of God to eliminate people. He loiters aimlessly in slums, rundown apartments, markets, and busy roads. There is no purpose or intent for his killing.
Raghav (Vicky Kaushal), Assistant Commissioner of police is the investigating officer in this case. He does not believe Raman's confession to crimes when he surrenders himself. However, Raman escapes the police custody. He goes in for a few more kill including his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew.
Raman firmly believes Raghav to be his soulmate, another messenger from God to kill people. Raghav is a misogynist cop who snorts drugs, treats his girlfriend like shit is as deadly as Raman. Only difference is he is on the other side of law.
One day Raghav brings another girl to his girlfriend's house. In an altercation he accidentally kills his girlfriend. Now everyone knows Raman is stalking Raghav. What happens next? What happens to the other girl who witnessed the murder?
WeReflect: A psychological thriller that is definitely not for the faint hearts. It is grim, gruesome, and totally dark. The movie is split in chapters in Quentin Tarantino style.
We have seen a lot of psychos onscreen and they all looked similar so far. But Nawaz has set the bars high now. His transformation from poor homeless man to maniac beast to eccentric monster is spell bounding. Seeing pure pleasure in his twinkling eyes after each kill sends shiver down your spine. The scene where Raman meets Raghav is comical, sublime, and so natural.
I loved Vicky Kaushal in Masaan. He has done total justice to the role of Raghav, brooding, menacing, and ruthless.
Every minute detail is taken care of. A lot of research has gone into the making. The location varies from dark dingy rooms to slums to high rise apartments. Most of the violence happens off the screen, so all the gory details are left to our imagination. Out and out Anurag Kashyap movie. We could see young cousins squirming in their seat and for them it is not an easy watch. Must watch if you love psychological thriller and Kashyap style movie making.
Book: Luckiest Girl Alive
Author: Jessica Knoll
Genre: Mystery
Publication: 2015
"Moving on doesn't mean you don't talk about it. Or hurt about it. It's always going to hurt."
Blurb: As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve. But Ani has a secret. There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.
The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?
WeReflect: When I hear a book name with 'Girl' in it, I bound to think it is either of mystery or thriller genre. Gone girl, The Girl On The Train, The Girl With The Dragon Tatto are the few books which made me to believe so. And I was right. It is a debut novel by Jessica Knoll.
TifAni is living her dream life as editor of the women's magazine in New York. She is engaged to Luke Harrison, filthy rich and belongs to the "right kind" of family. She wears her clothes right and flaunts emerald engagement ring as an armor. With a dream wedding only a few months away, she agrees to be part of a documentary about an incident of 14 years old.
Yes, she has a rather dark past. She attended prestigious Bradley School in Main Line, Philadelphia. Like all teenagers she wants to be part of the popular group. She has a crush on Liam, a fresher like her. Eventually she becomes friends with the cool kids. She is invited to a house party by famous boys. She drinks a lot and sloshed out. She wakes up next morning only to realize she is being raped by three boys. The doctor she saw for "morning after pill" is unwilling to call it rape as most of her schoolmates. She is being taunted, bullied, and tormented. Yet, she wanted to be in good books of her tormentors. Another horrific tragedy hits the school, which Ani becomes part of.
She wants to make peace with the past. She wants a closure, so she can move on with her perfect life, the one which she has worked so hard to get. Now is the chance to tell how she is "the luckiest girl alive".
I think I'm accustomed now to protagonist being nasty because Ani is one. She is mean, obnoxious, superficial, and shallow. I know I have to sympathize with her after being through such tragedy, but I couldn't. And writer did not make any attempt to portray her otherwise. I appreciate her for that.
The story toggles between past and present. The writing is captivating, though of a different style. It starts off as annoying only to be developed as engrossing. The ending could have been different, but I'm not fretting much. All in all a fitting debut for an author. I'm shocked to know author herself is a rape survivor and that makes the story much more credible.
