International Movie Guide: New Year Edition
BY RAMYA CHANDRASEKARAN
Happy New Year! Let us hope 2021 is a better year filled with joy, good health, and prosperity for all. Enjoy these feel-good inspirational films to celebrate the New Year with a bang!
Micheal Madan Kamarajan
1990, Directed by Sangeetam Srinivasa Rao
Starring Kamal Haasan, Urvashi, Khushboo, Manorama, Nagesh
Language: Tamil
Quadruplets, Micheal, Madanagopal, Kameswaran and Raju are separated at birth. They meet after many years as adults, through a series of accidental encounters and find that they have had very different lives and upbringings.
This Indian film is a comedy masterpiece and was a blockbuster that completed 175-day run at the box office. Kamal Haasan plays the quadruplets as four distinct characters, with different body language, behaviors and dialects. The dialogues are laced with quips, puns and misunderstanding of words across languages resulting in some of the most memorable comic one-liners.
If you are looking forward to a fun, feel-good entertainer, don’t give this one a miss!
Available on Youtube, Amazon Prime
Children of Heaven
1998, Directed by Majid Majidi
Starring Mir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi
Language: Persian
When young Ali accidentally loses the only pair of shoes his little sister owns, the siblings attempt to hide the bad news from their poverty-stricken father and ill mother. They devise a scheme to share Ali’s shoes until they can find a new pair of shoes for Zahra.
This Iranian film received critical acclaim for its innocence, sweetness and good-hearted purity. It is shot in documentary style in some of the poorest parts of Tehran. Children of Heaven was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1998.
Available on Youtube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Vudu
Amelie
2001, Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring Audrey Toutou
Language: French
Amelie is a French-German romantic comedy. The film is about a shy young woman, Amelie, who discretely orchestrates lives of the people around her for the better. She creates a world exclusively of her own making, while struggling with her own isolation.
The film is charming, magical, whimsical, and filled with kindness. Amelie was selected among the best films ever made by Empire Magazine, New York Times and BBC Magazine.
Available on Vudu, iTunes
Lakshya
2004, Directed by Farhan Akhtar
Starring Hrithik Roshan, Priety Zinta, Boman Irani
Language: Hindi
This is a coming-of-age story against a fictionalized account of the 1999 Kargil war. The story is about an aimless young man, Karan, who leeches off his father’s business and lives a lazy lifestyle. Upon watching an action movie and talking to a friend, he decides to enlist in the army, only to decide halfway through the course that it is too much for him. This decision costs him the respect of his family and his girlfriend. He resolves to return to the army and prove his mettle.
The film is really about self-discovery and finding your true calling! This is one of Hrithik Roshan’s best performances till date. Priety Zinta is effective as the ambitious and clear-headed Romi. Boman Irani plays the frustrated and worried father. The film is also known for its innovative choreography by Prabudeva.
Available on Youtube, Netflix, Google Play
Wake Up Sid
2009, Directed by Ayan Mukherji
Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher
Language: Hindi
This coming-of-age comedy drama is set in Mumbai. It is about a rich cool kid Siddharth, who is aimless and clueless about life, until he meets a woman who is everything he is not. Aisha is independent, focused and gritty and the two connect. When Sid gets into a big fight with his dad over his career, he moves into Aisha’s apartment to figure things out. It is a beginning of his education in life and in realities of the world.
Director Ayan Mukherji looks at the young and the restless with empathy and tenderness. The performances by Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma were widely liked and appreciated.
Available on Netflix, iTunes
