Omar Ahmed
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ROLLING THUNDER (Dir. John Flynn, 1977, US)
* * William Devane is one of those dependable character actors who got around but never quite broke through as a main lead. Clearly, Rolling Thunder was an exception. Maybe it was Devane’s nose; weaselly and needle like that made him somewhat unlikable. Devane had that finely tuned yet somewhat irritating softly spoken art of Continue reading
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DUNKI (Dir. Rajkumar Hirani, 2023, India) – Home & Away
* * Many contemporary mainstream Hindi films fall short in comparison to their big budget South Indian counterparts. While the latter exhibit technical prowess, such films have regrettably started to trade in a troubling blend of toxic hyper-masculinity and nationalist jingoism. It’s likely that you’re acquainted with the specific films I am alluding to. In Continue reading
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GODAM / WAREHOUSE (Dir. Dilip Chitre, 1983, India)
* * * A NFDC production and accomplished Marathi poet Dilip Chitre’s only directorial feature film, Godam opens with a ritual, the sacrifice of an animal, auspiciously preceding the marriage of Yesu (Trupti), a teenage bride to a mentally challenged boy. The boy’s father, a perverted manifestation of the patriarchal system in which Yesu finds Continue reading
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MAAGH / THE WINTER WITHIN (Dir. Aamir Bashir, 2022, India/France/Qatar)
Actor and director Aamir Bashir’s debut film Harud (Autumn) was released in 2010, thirteen years ago. Bashir’s latest film Maagh (The Winter Within) comes after a decade, and it is a very accomplished work. I’m not sure why it has taken Bashir this long to make another film, but I can imagine funding for seemingly Continue reading
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SHIVAMMA (Dir. Jaishankar Aryar, 2022, India)
Directed by newcomer Jaishankar Aryar, Shivamma is a Kannada village tale in which a naive middle-aged woman, Shivamma (Sharanamma Chetti), becomes seduced with a get-rich-quick scheme that involves flogging a dubious energy drink with perilous side effects. I’m not sure to what extent Aryar’s intentions were to pitch this as a darkly comical critique of Continue reading
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