By Troy Ribeiro
FILM: Frozen
VOICEOVERS: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Santino Fontana, Jonathan Groff
DIRECTORS: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
When the vivacious little sister Anna (Kristen Bell) pesters her older sister Elsa (Idina Menzel), “The sky is awake, so am I, so, I need to play”, you realise that there is more to just the sisterly bonding.
Frozen is Disney’s take on Hans Christian Andersen’s, fairy tale, The Snow Queen, set in distant Arendale. It is a captivating, emotionally tugging animated story of two princesses, Elsa and Anna.
One fine day, while playing, Elsa accidentally strikes Anna and she freezes. Not knowing how to cure the little one, the king rushes his daughter to a wise old troll king who tells him that princess Elsa is “cursed or blessed” with a ‘Midas touch’ like phenomenon, but instead of gold, her touch or strong emotions could freeze everything she touches.
The best way to avoid a similar situation would be to “keep her powers hidden from everyone including Anna”. And the wise troll further advises Elsa, “Don’t feel and don’t show your emotions. Fear will be your enemy.”
So, Elsa locks herself in a room to protect Anna from the dangers of her association. And as years pass on, Anna grows up to be a lonely princess craving for love and her sister’s company. On Elsa’s coronation day, while Anna is a little nervous but overjoyed to see her sister, Elsa remains aloof with gloves on her hands. But Anna’s sudden decision to marry Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) of the Southern Isles triggers Elsa’s ire and this time she unintentionally freezes her entire kingdom by plunging it into a prolonged winter.
Scared, frightened and not knowing how to reverse the situation, Elsa goes into a self-imposed exile to a remote mountain peak, where she lives in an icy castle.
What follows is Anna’s pursuit to get her sister back. Like a true classic fairytale, Frozen has elements of sunshine, fun, romance and tragedy. Being a musical, every element is connected with a number of songs, each better than the other. — IANS
A tribute worth a watch
FILM: Saving Mr. Banks
CAST: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell
DIRECTION: John Hancock
An engaging, well-crafted and mounted drama, Saving Mr. Banks is the Golden Jubilee tribute to Walt Disney’s 1964 family musical hit, Mary Poppins.
The film is an intimate representation that unravels the source, adaptation and making of the legendary classic, Mary Poppins. Touted to be a “real story” of Walter Disney’s travails in the making of the film, it also encapsulates the life of the author, P L Travers along with dollops of Disney magic.
The screenplay by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith seamlessly stitches a layered narrative, one in the present period, which happens to be 1961, where it exhibits the conflict between Travers and Walter Disney and the other in 1906 that explores Travers’ childhood in Australia; her relationship with her alcoholic father, Travers Goff, her mother’s attempted suicide and the arrival of her aunt, her hope for a better tomorrow.
The film opens to author P L Travers caught in a quandary over financial issues in London. Her agent tries hard to find her a good patron who would give her a substantial royalty. But unfortunately, she is pretty finicky about transferring her rights of the book.
So in a stalemate situation, her agent cajoles her to travel to LA to negotiate with Walter Disney directly, who for the past 20 years has been trying hard to adapt the book for the film. While the first half of the film delves in building the personality of Travers intermingled with her memories as a child. The second half throws you into the battle royale, where Disney musters all his charm and enthusiasm in the hope that Travers may concede to the idea of letting go her book for a film version.
But Travers remains inflexible and continues to clash with the team working on developing the script. Thwarted at every turn, it looks as though Mary Poppins will never be made. But thanks to Disney’s perseverance, he manages to strum the right chord with Travers.
Though viewers are aware about the conclusion of the film, it is the journey that is remarkable. The film works purely and simply on all fronts. The acting, script and visuals are all fascinating.
With twice Academy winners, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, Saving Mr Banks is a viewer’s delight. — By Troy Ribeiro/IANS
DVDs courtesy: Saqr Entertainment Stores, Doha
A rich brew of drama
FILM: August Osage County
CAST: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard
DIRECTION: John Wells
Shame and scandals within the family have always been excellent ingredients for a robust film, and there is plenty of it here in August Osage County. Based on a play by Tracy Letts, this is a character-driven film where the plot revolves around the dysfunctional family of the Westons who live in August Osage County.
With his three daughters Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) and Karen (Juliette Lewis) out on their own, author and poet Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) finds himself seeking comfort in the bottle while trying to escape from his cantankerous “cancer-stricken, pill-popping” wife, Violet (Meryl Streep). They co-exist while leading their own lives, till one fine day Beverly, without any warning or announcement moves out.
After Violet half-heartedly and grudgingly informs her daughters and her family, which includes her boisterous and rowdy sister Mattie (Margo Martindale) and her husband Charlie (Chris Cooper) of her husband’s disappearance, they congregate. Each one comes with their own baggage of heartaches, pain and anguish. Barbara, the oldest comes with her soon-to-be-divorced husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and teen daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). Karen the other daughter comes with her scummy fiance Steve (Dermot Mulroney). Also there is the cousin, “Little Charlie” and the live-in maid.
Once cooped together, their anguish explodes exposing the angst and resentment that each member of the family harbours within them and against each other. The dining table is the battlefield where issues, problems and secrets are discussed and trashed. Each character, from the oldest to the youngest, is well defined with each one having a meaningful and crucial moment to display their histrionics. While it is fascinating to observe the layers of this family unfold with brilliant performances from the lead pair, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, it is the climax that seems unnatural, rigid and borderline over-the-top, a bit disappointing considering that the two ladies are such natural actors.
But overall, the film is a satisfying rich brew of drama.
Packed with stunts
FILM: Police Story 2013
CAST: Jackie Chan, Huang Bo, Yin Tao
DIRECTION: Ding Sheng
Action superstar Jackie Chan is back with Police Story 2013, the sixth installment in the blockbuster film franchise Police Story. In this film, customers in a pub become hostages of a vicious gang. One of the hostages is Miao Miao (Jing Tian) who is the daughter of a hot-headed Chinese detective named Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan). Zhong Wen has to use his great skills in planning and fighting to save his daughter and the other hostages. As with most Jackie Chan movies, Police Story 2013 is packed with stunts and action scenes.
DVDs courtesy: Kings Electronics, Doha