by Alex Deleon
The Gala Berlinale Palace theater which is the main festival venue,
on Getaway Day, the fay after the closing festival awards
The day starred out with Volker Schloendorf's comperition entry "Return to Montauk" set primarily in New York City, starring Stellan Skarsgård as Max Zorn, a renowned Swedish novelist and Nina Hoss as his dried up ex-love from many years before. Got very tired of looking at Stellan's puffy face and philosophical pronouncements plus the tiresome scenes of effete New York intellectuals in general.
i had a good parterre seat but walked it after about 45 minutes when I realized I was bored to death and very hungry for a McDonlads Bacon and scrambled aggs breakfast, from where I am now writing this.
Next up, The Viceroy's House at 12:15. Same venue.
VICEROY's House, Gurinder Chadha. Competition.
Delhi, 1947' Lord Earl Mountbatten appointed as the last viceroy of India will have to oversee the Partition of the Indian subcontinent into two separate states, moslem Pskistan and Hindu Bharat (India). A massive colorful epochal film with lavish palace interiors and a cast of thousands of refugees. 14 Million people were displaced from their homes and home country and over a million slaughtered in race riots across the country. Real newspaper headlines of the time punctuate the telling along with much b/w archival footage to create a gripping documentary effect although this is basically a work of fiction based however very solidly on historical events. Jinna, the secular founder of Pakistan, Nehru the secular leader of India, and Gandhi, who was totally opposed to Partition, are all portrayed in many scenes agonizing over the impending division of the country along religious lines which will inevitably uproot millions and cost millions of lives in what was a tragedy comparable in scale to that of WWII in Europe -- the other great tragedy of the XXth century.
Numerous Indian films have addressed various aspects of the traumatic Partition but this is the first entirely in English to look at the events mainly from the British perspective..
This is an extremely powerful historical docu-drama made in the classical style that should go a long way toward educating the
outside world on the roots of a deadly dangerous conflict that continues to simmer tiday, seven decades later between two nuclear armed giants.. A triumph for Indian-English filmmaker
Gurinder Chandha who is herself the granddaughter of a woman who barely survived the insanity of this near double genocide and eventually emmigrated to England.
The central character of Lord Mountbatten is played by veteran English actor Hugh Bonneville (last seen here in Monuments Men), and Madame Sahib Edwina Mountbatten by Gillian Anderson. Bollywood star Huma Qureshi (Gangs of Wassexpur) and Dev Patel (The harassed quiz show winner in Slumdpg Millionaire) appear in key Indian roles. This was also the last screen appearance of the great Indian character acror Om Puri of the memorable bulbous nose, who appeared in over 100 Indian films and died in January at the ahe of 66. British-Indian director Gurinder, Chadha, 67, of Punjabi-Sikh origin via Kenya, came to international revognition with the feminist foorball (soccer) comedy "Bend it like Beckham" in 2002 but Viceroy will be remembered as her Master Work.Truly monumental in every respect.
Alex, HyarrbGrand lobby
Berlin