Shariq’s Département

One noteworthy reason to see “Milk” is the amazing, Oscar-winning performance delivered by bad boy Sean Penn.  After you watch his naturalistic, turn as gay activist Harvey Milk, you will wonder, as Robert de Niro suggested, how you ever saw him as macho and a bad boy before.  And this is what transporting method acting is all about.

The other reason to see “Milk” is the veracity and verve with which it delivers it’s core message: fight for what you believe to be true, to be fair, to be within the vibration of integrity.  Even if everyone tells you that you want too much, that things will never be equal or fair in this world, still try to change things, still try to make a difference.  For in the end, even if you ignite a few others to your world view, much can be changed over time.

This is what Harvey Milk achieved in his short tenure as a San Francisco city politician.  Even though he was assassinated, he managed to inspire so many gay men and women around the world that it was ok to stand up for your rights, to demand an equal voice, to be treated like family.  And so, as the movie points out, the gay movement carried on.  And it has grown.  And as the world’s consiousness expands over the next few years, even more barriers will be broken. 

It is ironic that this movie comes out just when Proposition 8 has passed in California.  But remember, things get worse only to get better.  Proposition 8 reminds us how many fearful people still live, even in the enlightened state of California, who believe that their close-minded beliefs are more important than the fair rights of every human being.

Bigotism is on the way out.  This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius.  Harvey Milk was ahead of his times, but this movie is perfect for NOW, for this time of change on the planet.

Hanna Schmitz, as played by Kate Winslet in what will probably be the Oscar-winning performance by a leading female actress at the award ceremony on Friday, is a desolate, scarred soul.  She has a secret that will be uncovered during the course of the movie, but from the very first instant we see her, we notice the glaze in her eyes, the intense concentration she puts on small events, the weariness with life that is alleviated by the wonder of hearing others read fantastic tales of literature to her.

As the movie progresses, Hanna is put on trial for Nazi era crimes, and we feel a mix of horror and recoil from this simple-minded person who cannot comprehend the nature of her crimes (seducing an under-age boy, Michael in the first segment of the movie was just a start).

She ends up in prison partly because Michael (played very naturally by the talented David Kross) is apalled at what he learns and chooses not to disclose a vital piece of evidence that could save her.  He walks away.  But his life also falls apart.  He is haunted by his lack of compassion for this woman who was his first love (albeit under false pretenses).  He fails to connect to his wife or his daughter.

The adult Michael (played by the handsome Ralph Fiennes), revives by finding the fountain of compassion within his soul.  He reaches out to help and teach a Hanna who still disgusts him.  And he flowers with this act of kindess.

The ending of the movie (which I will not disclose) complicates things as Michael finds his embarrasment a deterrent for a more complete forgiveness, resulting in disastrous consequences.

But the compassion he shows for Hanna while she is in prison will stay with me for a long time.  For such acts are what brings out the divine within each of us and brings us happiness as we align with our soul.

Amidst the controversy over whether Indian slums are really quite as dire as the movie makes them out to be, “Slumdog Millionaire” shines because of the focused spotlight it puts on those forgotton beggars and indigents on the streets of Asia who are accepted as a part of everyday reality.

And what Danny Boyle is able to achieve in this movie, within the conceit of a “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” gameshow format, is quite remarkable.  The fact that there are still millions of children in this world who are denied schooling, forced to work and open to exploitation is graphically depicted in flashbacks as the slumdog protagonist Jamal (played amiably by Dev Patel) gets his day in the Sun.  The editiing is crisp, MTV-like, with quick jumps and panoramic vistas of slums extending in serpentine ways across Bombay, as a pulsating soundtracks underscores the harsh reality of that we would all like to avoid.

No matter how technologically advanced India is today with its software and global outsourcing industries, no matter how much growth is projected for its future, the world cannot allow such debasement of children and humanity, not only in India but in so many countries of the world in Asia and Africa. 

The movie heralds a clarion call to arms to the world to make the changes necessary.  No human being deserves such a life of misery.

And for this, in addition to being an entertaining movie with a satisfying ending, I would be happy if “Slumdog Millionaire” won the Oscar for best movie of the year.

Going in to see Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon”, I was a little skeptical.  Ron Howard has never been one of my favourite directors.  He has had a historical tendency to simplify stories and sugarcoat them, as he did in “A Beautiful Mind”.  So I wasn’t expecting too much from this new movie, but something was drawing me to see it.

First of all let me say that the movie is absolutely fantastic.  Even if you have no affinity for Nixon at all, the script is marvelous, maintaining constant tension as the two counterpunchers attempt to get the best of each other, and their initial successes go against our preconceptions of them, and away from the way we want history to go.  So when Frost (played by a fantastic Micheal Sheen, who, I am afraid, will miss out on another Oscar nomination) finally corners Nixon, there is a tremendous sense of satisfaction that ripples through the audience. 

Frank Langella as Nixon is riveting to watch (and he will get the Oscar nomination).  And here is why the movie is so important to watch right NOW.  Langella, in his portrayal of Nixon, captures the Cheyney-esque approach to power and politics: I’m a bigwig - I deserve the fancy houses and the private golf club memberships; I’m defending what’s right, and I’ll do what it takes to win.  This is the politics of fear, politics for the few and for the rich. 

This portrayal of Nixon’s admission of his failures is poignant and timely as we shift to the new Obama administration on January 20th.  An administration committed to hope and change where everyone can participate in the American dream, not just for a chosen few who got the golf club membership.  This is an amazingly exciting time, as the world and most humans will change dramatically in 2009.

Set the right tone by watching Nixon wallow and dissolve in this fine movie.  Then open a bottle of champagne and celebrate the future and stay positive through all the hiccups that change always brings about.

With a record 14 Oscar nominations and only 2 Oscars awarded to Meryl Streep, the greatest living actress in the world, I feel optimistic that this could be the year that Meryl gets number 3.

Why?  Because she has two great performances to be released this year.

The first is in the movie version of the hit Abba musical: Mamma Mia!  Meryl looks phenomenal in the movie (see the pictures above), and this will be a wonder opportunity for her to showcase her beautiful voice.  The movie will be released on July 18th.

The second is the film version of the award-winning play Doubt, to be released in October.  The play is fantastic and provides a meaty role of strict nun for Meryl (the part was played to great acclaim by Cherry Jones on Broadway).  My only hesitation about the movie is that the priest accused of child molestation is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is a good actor, but always appears a little slimy.  This will change the dynamic of the movie, as the original play had a priest who looked innocent - somehow I don’t see Hoffman as looking innocent.

I look forward to seeing Meryl’s magic!