7th Film Festival „Bollywood and beyond“: The Tweets (incl. Trailers)

Short Twitter reviews I posted after each screening during the Bollywood and beyond festival in Stuttgart:

Today’s Special (USA 2010): Deliciously funny & touching indie food movie. Naseeruddin Shah steals every scene he is in. I liked the movie right from the start – any film movie starting off with the music of 1957’s „Eena Meena Deeka“ & food scenes is my thing. The movie will be released in the U.S. on October 8, 2010. Check out the official website and the Facebook fan page. ***** of *****


Dil Bole Hadippa (IND 2009): This perfect feel-good movie exemplifies pretty much everything I like about Bollywood: great acting (Rani Mukerji is perfect!), smart & funny script, catchy songs, beautiful colours, social commentary (yes, you’ll even hear a moving feminist speech in the end!). *****

Ishqiya (IND 2009): Entertaining popcorn flick about small-time crooks (great as always: Naseeruddin Shah) & a feisty widower (Vidya Balan). *****

Dharavi – Slum for Sale (D 2009): Doku über Spekulanten im Großslum, die wg. des komplexen Themas viele neue Fragen aufwirft. ****

Kerala Café (IND 2009): Fine Malayalam anthology with episodes by ten different directors ranges from humourous to touching.The strongest episode in „Kerala Café“ was the hilarious „Happy Journey“ by Anjali Menon, the youngest & the only female contributor. She was present at the Stuttgart screening – watch out for her feature debut „Manjadikuru – Little Red Seeds“(official website / Facebook group).****

Lamhaa (IND 2010): Fast-paced terrorism thriller. Nicely shot, but the script is as confusing as the Kashmir conflict itself. ****

Paltadacho Munis – The Man Beyond the Bridge (IND 2009): Naturalistic portrayal of a village outsider. First Konkani feature. ****

Raspberry Magic (IND 2010): Sweet kid’s movie about an 11-year old US-Indian girl turning family therapist. ****

Florida Road (USA 2010): NRI family drama in Durban/SA. Screenwriting son fights for attention of his father. TV aesthetics. ***½

Well Done Abba (IND 2009): Silly but enjoyable comedy about rural corruption, w/Bomani Irani hamming it up in a double role. ***1/2

Harun – Arun (IND 2009): Charming but overtly cartoonish kiddie movie dealing with the India/Pakistan conflict. ***

Love in India (D/IND 2009): Uneven clip & interview collage about old & current love & sex myths. ***

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa – Will you Cross the Skies for Me? (IND 2010): Disappointing Tamil love story. The protagonists are too confused for you to care about them. The soundtrack is not aming Oscar winner A.R. Rahman’s strongest work. ***

Right Yaa Wrong (IND 2010): Starts as exciting action thriller, ends as surprisingly dull courtroom drama. A Waste of a great cast (e.g., Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma). **½

Thanks Maa (IND 2009): Well-meant but overtly long and cliché-ridden drama about Mumbai street kids finding an abandoned baby. **½

Vihir – The Well (IND 2010). Aimless Marathi coming-of-age tale. By the time tragedy happens you’re too bored to care. **½
(The jury cared. They gave this movie the „German Star of India Award.)

Next Indian film festival on my calendar: River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival (Facebook group).