mehboob khans mega nationalistic epic gets its metaphors mixed up- i think. the 'son of india' leaves dehradun and traipses through new delhi monuments singing and gets to the evil city of bombay to find the father who has abandoned his mother and him. while two street songs catalogue Bombay's postcard images- gateway of india, marine drive, etc; it is the set piece that really explores the darkness of the evil empire with the degrading conditions of living in slums/ villages -a brilliant rooftop chase sequence to a bridge below which the homeless father lives, to the huge elephanta statue just off a village street where god delivers his protection and judgement. but for me the images that really stay in my head are the action scenes in the sewers below the city that lead directly from the warehouse of the villain.
the brothel in mandi reminded me of another house of women in beijing in 'raise the red lantern'. but here the rules are made by the doyenne played brilliantly by shabana azmi. under her protection are a collection of terrific women actors- smita patil plays the virgin illegitimate child of a local powerbroker, soni razdan a brazen prostitute, neena gupta a childlike dancer- and the list goes on. it is a relief to say the least that the film does not make complete victims of these women, even when they are asked to be removed from the city by the moral police of the town, by keeping the tone tragi-comic rather than out and out melodrama. that cant be said about 'bhumika' though. based on a real life, i guess it does not have a choice. smita patil plays an actress caught in a marriage with a gold digger husband who controls her every move. his jealousies and manipulations drive her to other men who each creates a prison for her in their own way. the tragedies and disappointments do not end. naseeruddin shah and amrish puri play love interests. but if there is anything that makes the film constantly watchable it is smite patil who looks searingly beautiful throughout.
the first shot of 'le million' is a pan across the roofs of paris until we look through a dormer into a large hall where celebrations are on. the early french musical plays like a p g wodehouse comedy of errors when a lottery ticket is won by a down-on-his-luck artist- and then is lost by his fiance. through the rest of the film the jacket with the ticket is chased through town with a group of underground thieves and an opera singer. one beautiful sequence is the love song in the opera where the real love story and the operatic love story intertwine. the false setting and paper flowers are loved and adored for their artificiality and their fakeness.
no such moments of magic in the american musical 'follow the fleet' with fred astaire and ginger rogers although some terrific dancing. two sailors come into town and fall for two sisters; and then leave. one particularly memorable dance sequence is the sailors performance for the guests on the ship who are longing for some american music.
'los angeles plays itself' was a perfect cinema city film looking at locations in the city made mythological through cinema and the history of those real spaces, all underpinned by an anger emerging out of a belief that the movie industry has disrespected and lied about the city that it claims to represent and live within.
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