THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT A MOVIE

WRITTEN BY: ANURAG SAHOO

My friends always criticize me for preferring foreign movies to our own bollywood movies. Yes, I admit I do so. At first, I preffered only action movies but my choice changed. I find many foreign movies to be informative since they deal with international issues of various kinds. And through this, I also gained some knowledge about these issues which I would have never known otherwise. I would like to cite some examples. The highly-acclaimed animated Israeli movie, “WALTZ WITH BASIR” focuses on the horrors of 1982 israel-lebanon conflict from the perspective of a soldier. The Steven Speilberg directed Tom Hanks starrer 1999 classic, “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” shows one of the largest military operation in the history i.e the INVASION OF NORMANDY by the allied forces during the second world war. The scene of that movie in which the landing of allied forces on Omaha beach is shown still gives me the chills in my spines. Another classic, the 2001 academy award winner BLACK HAWK DOWN shows modern warfare during the UN peacekeeping operation in Mogadishu, the somalian capital which took place in 1993 in which two US Black Hawk choppers were lost by RPG shots. Leonardo DiCaprio starrer BLOOD DIAMOND shifts our focus on the civil wars which have ravaged sierra leone and many other African nations and all these civil wars are financed by diamonds which are purchased by common people in Europe, USA and other countries. The 1984 Al Pacino starrer SCARFACE which achieved a cult following showcases the rise of a Cuban refugee to a rich druglord. This movie is based in 1980s Miami which was really the drug haven in the USA. Through this movie I came to know about the drug trade which has boomed in the US. Even a comedy movie like TROPIC THUNDER informed me about golden quadrangle of opium production which are Vietnam, Myanmar and spans to Afghanistan. The 1998 Academy award winning movie AMERICAN HISTORY X deals with the sensitive issue of racism in the cosmopolitan city of Los Angeles. And yes, how many people in India knew about dinosaurs before JURASSIC PARK was released. DAY AFTER TOMORROW provides a dangerous view of what will happen to the world if we get defeated in the war against global warming. The soon to be released movie 2012 also shows disasters to befall on earth following the predictions of Maya Calenders about the Doomsday( a term given to the day the world will end). The Mel Gibson directed movie, “APOCALYPTO” shows about the lives and wars of the native Central American before the Spanish invasion in the 15th or 16th century AD. It never hurts to know more about anything. After watching these movies, I came to know about these international issues. I would say what is the harm if you become a well informed citizen. Likewise, there’s something about a movie and for me the thing is INFORMATION.