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Showing posts from March, 2022

ESOTERIC ARTISTRY

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- Kavya Manoj

EISENSTEIN AND HIS REVOLUTIONARY MONTAGE-2

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EISENSTEIN AND HIS REVOLUTIONARY MONTAGE-2      Eisenstein is no stranger to any movie goer. This Russian director attained prominence with his montage-which works through implication rather than proclamation. The Psychological impact produced on the audience became prime inducement behind the directors wielding montage. This Civil Engineer made his career in “Plastic Arts” which aided him immensely in procuring his own place in theatre. During the Russian Revolution of 1917, he was enrolled in the Red army and assisted in entertaining the inmates. His entry into the Proletkult Theatre nurtured the communist sentiments in him and this eventually paved way for his directorial venture. At the onset he cloaked himself in the garb of a  costume designer. His fascination with Kabuki plays reflected in his works. In 1925, his first film Strike hit the theatres with a bang. He proved himself to be a worthy theoretician with his thought provoking article in Lef  edited by Vladimir

LEVIATHAN

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  Leviathan is 2014 Russian film following the life of a hotheaded mechanic “Koyla” who fights back when a corrupt mayor tries to seize possession of his ancestral home.  The film, starring Aleksei Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova ,Vladimir Vdovichenkov and Roman Madyanovin in the lead roles, is directed by the multi-award winning director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev. Leviathan was Andrey’s fourth feature film following films like “The Banishment”, “The Return”and “Elena”. Leviathan received both national and international recognition upon its release and was later nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign language film in 2014 and won the Best Film award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.      ANDREY ZVYAGINTSEV                            The film is set in a coastal town by the Barent’s Sea in northern Russia, where Koyla, his second wife Lilya and his teenage son, Roma lives.  The house’s prominent position attracts the attention of the mayor,Vadim w

POESIE:THE AMBROSIA OF LITTERATEURS

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POESIE:THE AMBROSIA OF LITTERATEURS “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquility.”(William Wordsworth, Preface to Lyrical Ballads ) “A drop of ink may make a million think.”(Lord Byron) What is the sole attribute which distinguishes literature students from their counterparts of other disciplines? It is their propensity in transmuting their imagination to exquisite poetic compositions. Verse makers brag of the poetic muse- their esoteric possession which stimulates them to create masterpieces out of mediocre elements. Through his poetic works, a poet, gives an outlet to his uncurbable desires, ineffable emotions and indelible memories. This poetic inspiration ,which Plato condemns as unreliable, is the life blood of every poet. The invocation of muse is more than a ritual for a bard, muse becomes the beloved to her poet and awakens his creative faculty. The enigmatic love which a male poet and his fem

cuando me dejaste, te llevaste el alma también

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cuando me dejaste, te llevaste el alma también Today, on March 18, Holi, the festive of colors, the color of my life faded forever. The color that gave me strength, realisation of life, happiness became a never fading memory. It was not a bond of just three months. It was a bond of the seven lives. When we say about love, people always start thinking about a boy-girl relation. Love is not that. When you are sitting alone and you think of someone and the memories, that is love. Today, I lost my friend. Not just 'a friend',but someone very close to me. I couldn't tell him everything. So, I thought of telling like this. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for holding me tight when i was breaking apart. Thank you for bringing a smile on my lips always. I was always afraid of doing things and being alone. You changed that. You taught me how to fight alone. Thank you for showing me the reality. Thank you for tolerating me. Thank you for teaching me what life

ATLAS AND PROMETHEUS

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Lives destined to pain and wail, Plea and Supplication to no avail. Strife eternal lies in place, Grief infernal marks their pace. Countenance belie the woe within, Sustenance deny the agent, withal. Yet much desired respite await, Titans revel and twine their bait. Much to say still much to hide, Willing ear seldom by side. None to blame but thyself: Hamartia beams within themselves. Curbing the desire and stifling the cry, Bore the globe and prick with a sigh! -Santhwana Thomas

WHAT IS A WOMAN?

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WHAT IS A WOMAN?      "I am no Spring. I am fire's daughter. My unbound hair, become a thousand serpent,fills the air with poison; In my eyes' desolate heat forest fires burn, a hundred saplings fall to ashes;"                                                         (-Supata Bhattacharya, Draupadi)          Hurrah! It's Women's Day! Envelop your Mommy with tons of Roses, bind your wife in a tight embrace, gift a chocolate to your daughter and say-"Happy Women's Day and I Love You!" Then tomorrow,as usual, push her into the seamless abyss of soot and tears then let her rot there till the same day, next year. What is Women's day? Is it a bail given to a culprit who committed the incorrigible crime of accepting domestic drudgery without any vehemence? Is it an off day given to an unpaid labourer who willingly sacrificed her life at the altar of her husband and children? Is it a bonus for a typical woman who is often denied her usual

EISENSTEIN AND HIS REVOLUTIONARY MONTAGE-1

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Montage- one of the most whimsical terms of students of film studies was a contribution of the experimental Russian Filmmakers, especially Lev Kuleshov. Eisenstein was deemed to be the Monarch of Montage since he exploited this technique for creating meaning through collision and juxtaposition of shots. Thus meaning was procured through association. By availing itself of fast editing and unconventional camera angles, Montage marked  a paradigmatic shift from the hitherto accepted linear narrative techniques of movies. The rebellious potential of Russian Revolution laid its clout on film industry as well. Lenin and Stalin had considerable recourse to the influential and propagandist attribute of film.             The government of Russia also fell back on films during political unrest owing to the industry's political and social ascendency. It was deliberated to create a stir in the populace and prompt them to be insurgent. Unfortunately, Russia lacked a conc

പാതാൽ ലോക്

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പാതാൽ ലോക്     ഇംഗ്ലീഷിൽ എഴുതാൻ ആരംഭിച്ചതായിരിന്നു, പാതി വഴിയിൽ വെച്ച് അത് ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചു. അത്രമേൽ ഹൃദയസ്പർശിയായ ഒന്നിനെ കുറിച്ച് ഹൃദയത്തിന്റെ ഭാഷയിൽ തന്നെ എഴുതാം എന്ന് കരുതി. ലോക്‌ഡൗൺ കാലത്തുടനീളം സുഹൃത്തുക്കൾ ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ട ഒരു കാര്യമായിരുന്നു സീരീസ് കാണാൻ. ഒരു സീരീസ് കാണുന്ന സമയം കൊണ്ട് 5-6 സിനിമ കാണാലോ എന്ന കാര്യം പറഞ്ഞ് ഞാൻ എന്നും ഒഴിഞ്ഞു മാറി കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു. പക്ഷെ ഒരു സമയം എത്തിയപ്പോൾ എന്നിലെ സിനിമകളോടുള്ള കൗതുകം പതിയെ മാഞ്ഞു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു, അങ്ങനെയിരിക്കെയാണ് കുറച്ചു നാൾ മുന്നേ ഒരു ടീച്ചർ കാണാൻ പറഞ്ഞ പാതാൽ ലോക് എന്ന സീരീസിനെ കുറിച്ച് ഓർമ്മ വരുന്നത്, കൂട്ടത്തിലെ ആരും കണ്ടിട്ടില്ല എന്നറിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ടീച്ചർ ചോദിച്ച ഒരു ചോദ്യമുണ്ട് " ഇതൊന്നും കാണാതെ പിന്നെ നിങ്ങൾ എന്ത് ചെയ്യുകയാണ് എന്ന് ". ഇതേ ചോദ്യം ഇന്നെനിക്ക് എന്നോടു തന്നെ ചോദിക്കാൻ തോന്നുകയാണ്. "ഇത്രയും നാൾ എന്ത് ചെയ്യുകയായിരുന്നു?". കണ്ടു തീർത്ത രാത്രി ഉറക്ക് പണി മുടക്കിയിരുന്നു, ഇടയ്ക്കിടെ ശ്വാസവും, കറങ്ങി കൊണ്ടിരുന്ന ഫാനിൽ നിന്ന് അന്ന്  കാറ്റ് വീശിയില്ല.പണ്ട് 'നൂറ് സിംഹസനങ്ങൾ' വായിച്ചപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ കടന്ന

THE MADMEN OF KWAI

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INTRODUCTION The surveying Eagle and its unparalleled vision acts as the establishing shot in the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai.  Most war movies are either for or against their wars. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) is one of the few that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals (Ebert). The movie, directed by David Lean is based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although there are historical elements reflected in the plot, most of the characters and events in the plot are entirely fictional. It stars prolific actors like William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa. The Bridge on the River Kwai  is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. The seven academy awards in its name itself is a testament to the genius of the director and the plot. David lean elaborated on his process of writing in an interview given to BBC. He says “I try to imagine what the finished movie is going to look like o