Great Moments From Cinema - Prologue

Moving Magic
I am often asked as to why I bother. Why invest so much time into something, which is not even real. Why pretend that the celluloid medium is a gateway to fantasy and that like ‘Dorothy’, you too might end up finding a magic land over the rainbow. Why, sometimes even I question my own motivation towards cinema. It is probably like being in a relationship where you are not sure if it is love or just a veil of convenience, shrouding that what is true and real. Is it like an intoxicating mixture of romance and deceit, which at first, has an irresistible charm but which can only fade to black long before the credits roll? Is it because watching movies is like entering a mist, which looks inviting and we only comprehend what is immediate, not what lies ahead? Or is it like that undying urge to rise above the common and stare directly at that elusive spotlight which should have been your own? What is this theatre of dreams that has me trapped and like quicksand, is eating away at me slowly, one inch at a time? Is it really just a house of mirrors with thousand reflections staring back at me with an equal measure of ridicule and pity? Maybe the time has come for introspection and answers to all the questions, with a hope that at the end I either let myself be completely swallowed or fight my way out and regain semblance of sanity.

Filmmakers for a long time have been called “The Dream Merchants”. That’s because they sell dreams to all those who need them the most. Does it mean that there are a lot of souls that need saving? Is entertainment really deliverance for people needing an escape? That is one perception. The other is the more practical one of business. Movies, like any other industry, have a primary goal of making money. A movie after all, aims to satisfy the consumer demand. The real question should be if the demand is for the so-called “salvation”? Do people go to the movies for distraction? Are they so fed up by their 9 to 5 life that they need an outlet for their emotions? Do they see themselves on that silver screen? Do they wish for a life of the protagonist, no matter the darkest hour, because they know that the dawn has to come much before the lights in the auditorium? It is important to address these queries because therein lies the reason for my predicament.

I once heard a comment where it was said that movies are made for the people in the “cheap seats”. They are the working classes for whom perhaps, the above rules apply. If this were the reality then there would have never been a Walt Disney . Doesn’t an animated film bring an angelic smile to a kids face? Don’t they laugh when a pie hits someone squarely in the face? For them there are no 9 to 5’s. For them there is no alternate reality. For them the universe is just that small house and the backyard of their loving parents. Their movie experience differs a great deal from the grown-ups. But are these not the same grown-ups who can still laugh at ‘Tom’ knowing that he can never hope to trap ‘Jerry’? What is their involvement in a foregone conclusion?

For some people a movie is another form of art. It is equivalent to visiting an art museum or listening to a maestro in concert. It is a science of optics and lighting. They are continually amazed by the technology that can make impossible things come to life. They go to a movie for an experience which can enrich their knowledge, and like a vintage port, the taste of a good movie stays with them for a long time. This is yet another community which has me questioning my place in the fraternity of cinema watchers. How can single medium mean different things to different people?

Where do I fit in? Am I that person who is in a dead-end job and wants to momentarily suspend belief and believe that it is possible for true love to conquer all? Am I that person who is like the wide-eyed kid who likes seeing people making a fool of themselves? Or am I one of those who find it perplexing as to how a partially lit face can communicate so much more than spoken words? Do I find myself as one of these kind or am I all of them? What is this thing called cinema and what hold does it have over me?

There are movies which are truly great. Sometimes it is the story and sometimes it is the performance. Sometimes it is the special effects and sometimes it is the lack of them. There is a lot of literature, which explains why some movies are legendary and why some are just a waste of everyone’s time. However, there are no two people in the world that agree on almost everything that the critics say. That is because the same movie means different things to different people. It is an individual experience, which is unique. Their reason for seeing the movie may have been the same, but the opinion at the end may not be similar or it may be vice versa. This is the primer on which any analysis can be based. My reasons for seeing the films may be vague, but the feelings are real. I recollect with delight seeing ‘Hogwarts’ and ‘Minas Tirith’ come to life. I felt the panic as ‘Titanic’ went down and the relief when ‘Apollo 13’ landed back on earth. I felt ‘Terry Malloy’s’ grief at being a nobody and rejoiced in ‘Simba’s’ triumphant return to pride rock. I felt the old man’s loneliness at the end of Tokyo Story and ‘Guido’s’ confusion in 8 ½. I understood why Jack Nicholson wanted to be a better man and why Clarke Gable said that he didn’t give a damn. I marveled at Kerry Conran technical achievement as he showed his ‘World of tomorrow’ and the simplicity of Clint Eastwood in telling his ‘Million-dollar story’ . I got lost in the vast expanse of desert as I rode with Lawrence in Arabia and I felt trapped with a broken leg next to the Rear Window . I know now why for some people there will always be the Grapes Of Wrath while there are others who are always happy while listening to The Sound Of Music . Due to movies I can understand why people can commit murder to collect money on Double Indemnity while there are some who know that no matter what, You Can’t Take It With You . I can equally empathize with ‘Paikea’ who desperately wants to be a Whale Rider and ‘Forrest Gump’ who just wants to run. I can never get tired of listening to Jimmy Stewart deliver his filibuster in Washington or James Earl Jones talk about baseball on his Field Of Dreams . I feel as if I have lived JFK’s life through those anxious 13 Days as well as waded through the fountain during La Dolce Vita . Yes, it is the movies that make me want to strongly believe that someday we will make Contact with intelligent life in the universe while at other times I do feel that we are all trapped in a Matrix .

The emotions felt during or after a movie are what makes me want to love it. I love the grandest thought to the smallest details about a movie. I love that inspired writing can change even the dullest of moments to something special. I love the fact that films can have an opening word like “Rosebud” or closing words like “Nobody’s Perfect” and become legendary because of them, just as much as I love that people get delirious when movies start with a caption like “A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away…”. I love that dialogue like “You Had Me At Hello” means the same thing as “Shut Up and Deal”. I love the fact that the icon of slapstick comedy, through a silent film like City Lights , can make people cry. I love that I can get equally moved by either watching great acting like Brando wishing that he was a contender or by watching the opening of an animated film like The Lion King . I love to see Gene Kelly jumping up and down in the rain, just as much as I love to see Julie Andrews describe her favorite things. I love to see the ‘Beatles’ running aimlessly after a Hard Days Night just as much as I love the notion that getting someplace is as easy as following the ‘Yellow brick road’. I love that I can still feel the same thrill when I see a bicycle fly across the moon as much as seeing horses running next to a moving goods train. I love the fact that later in life I can say that I was around when The Lord Of The Rings films were made just as much as I would love to experience them again for the very first time. I love that smart dialogue delivered by Gable , Bogie , Stewart , Hepburn , Stanwyck , Powell and Grant is the best stimulant for my brain. I love that a people can discuss ‘quarter pounder’s’ and ‘foot massages’ before going on a ‘hit’ and I also love that two people can spend the entire night talking, and fall in love because of that. I love that I can just sit for hours and watch Jean Arthur , Teresa Wright , Setsuko Hara , Kate Winslet and Zhang Ziyi do nothing but inhabit the screen. I love to see Rex Harrison trying to understand why a woman is not like a man just as much as I love seeing Uma Thurman go on a killing spree to prove that she really is. I love that nobody can order a ‘Martini’ like a womanizing British spy. I love to revel in the tranquility of an Ozu film, just as I love the vitality of a Fellini one. I love to see the gangster blood fest in a Scorsese movie just as much as I love the poetic and elegant fights of a Zhang Yimou film. I love the feeling of anticipation before a Spielberg film just as much as I love the feeling of suspense during a Hitchcock film and just as much as I love the feeling of happiness after a Capra film. I love that Woody Allen can make movies which break your heart while making you laugh. I love that only in movies can a mammalian bone thrown in the air morph into a spacecraft and yet not seem ridiculous. I love that I can watch a woman get killed in a shower or man get up with a horses head in his bed and still not feel revolted. I love that a movie can have just one guy on a beach talking to a football for 90 minutes and yet hold my attention. I love that an animated film like Grave Of The Fireflies can be the strongest lesson against war. I love that documentary films such as ‘Up Series’ can make me a part of other people’s lives of whom I would have otherwise never heard of. I love that ‘Middle Earth’ is even better than the one in my dreams as is the ‘Kingdom Of Narnia’. Maybe, what all of this analysis shows is that I love my life when I watch a movie. After all, these are just moments which you treasure for a long time. Moments, which I would now like to share.

I think I comprehend now. Movies are my ‘Neverland’. I am all of them. I am the man who is fed up of his routine life. I am that kid who stares at the screen in fascination. And I am also that person who appreciates each and every nuance that goes into making a film. Yes, it is mist with no long-range visibility. But I can carry a torch to face what comes after it. Yes, it is like a fascinating mixture of romance and deceit. But it is also great to match wits against it. Yes, it is a house of mirrors. But I can smile back at those reflections. And yes I know that ‘Tom’ will never catch ‘Jerry’. But boy, will I have fun seeing him try.