Confessions of a Born Spectator

'Lola Runs' as the name directly translates to, is a German action-packed riveting film. I can surely place it on Numero Uno in terms of intelligent film making. The film explores a fragment of 20 minutes of Lola's and her boyfriend's life (a small time crook) as three alternatives. It teaches you the lesson that, you are what you are because of the choices you've made. The film is an excellent take on "what if's" and "what could be's" as it portrays the possibilities that can arise out of choices very smartly. The film consists of 3 Runs (as we can call it) which show Lola (and her boyfriend) trying to make a 100000 marks (which Manni, the boyfriend lost a while ago on a train) in 20 mintues, each time experimenting with a different alternative. The first two Runs shows failure in the end, with one of the principle characters dying, whereas the third run gives a very fresh and cinematic look to the film, where they come out of these 20...

This movie is the story of three friends: Gonzalo, Silvana and Machuca himself who belong to different social classes and observe the oppressive military coup which was fabricated to overthrow the first socialist president democratically elected in a Latin-American country, President Salvador Allende. This impressive, politically powerful and accurate, touching tale of friendship is one of my all-time favourite movies. The portrayal of emotional attachment between friends in the backdrop of a school, in which the Father (priest) tries to bring children from different social classes together, in the platform of education is truly fantastic. The director has done a real great job in capturing the immense potential of the script and has presented us a visually delightful movie which according to many, is the best Chilean movie ever-made. Casting is truly great as the actors (whom I've never seen before or after) have done a great job in coherently putting forward this realistic piece-...

I think, I watched this movie on Star Movies for the first time and if I'm not getting it wrong, it was a English dubbed version. Today I decided to watch this Majid Majidi master-piece again, after about 6 years (this time in Persian, with English subtitles) and am not able to contain myself from commenting. My limited vocabulary fails me to praise this marvelous piece of film-making. Majid Majidi captures a strata of Iranian lifestyle in a very heart-warming way using Ali as the central character. The simplistic nature, excellent acting by the complete star cast (including Ali's father), the premise of the story and the capturing plot can keep anyone glued to the seat for an hour and a half easily. One can always discover the marvels of photography and portrayal of life through this wonderful movie. The story revolves around a pair of lost sneakers and Ali's journey to get a new pair for her sister. In this movie, the sweetness and innocence of childhood is so effectively...