I am sorry to say Tommy, but there were other ways to point out those spam threads. I am aware of which threads you were talking about, but the way you said it was clearly racist. You may deny it now, but whores from India is not a very neutral statement. Anyway, my original comment was simply a joke on the topic of this thread so I don’t want to hijack it. I am out of this.
Cameroon (Africa, I Will Fleece You) 1 – South Korea (A Buddhist Ascetic Mandara) 0
Africa I Will Fleece You : I recently watched the Indonesian film Mother Dao and was reminded of how similar it was to Africa I will Fleece You. I thought the latter was more superior in terms of the way it goes about showing the colonization of Africa although to be frank, I don’t remember too much else from the film except the fact that it had impressed me when I had watched it.
A Buddhist Ascetic Mandara : I happened to watch Bodhi Dharma a few days before I watched this. Although I liked this film better than Bodhi, I wasn’t terribly impressed. Can’t seem to pinpoint a reason but the film’s purpose remained a bit unclear to me and didn’t affect me that much due its drama that seemed to cheapen whatever it was trying to convey.
Lovely intro Meg. Many congratulations for this submission. This is right amongst the top films I have seen in this WC so far. It’s one of those films that fills you with pure joy.
To Amelia, all boys were horrid little beasts; and her brother was the most horrid of all
Bulgaria (The Peach Thief) 1 – Uruguay (The Pope’s Toilet) 0
The Pope’s Toilet had a very good concept that just didn’t touch me as much as it should have. I generally dislike the fervent jump cut style editing of this film that I usually associate with modern commercial action films and television that I usually hate. The Peach Thief’s frivolous love story and its b&w photography ended up getting my vote(rather reluctantly) in the end.
Two films with a gap of 440 min’s running time but subject matters that are almost equally massive.
Melancholia : This is my first Lav Diaz film. I came in with no special expectations other than that it would be beautifully shot and would have lengthy shots. Both were met to a greater extent and apart from that I was also impressed by the way Diaz went about exploring his subject. Escaping reality by assuming different persona’s is something that almost everyone does in today’s age of social networking. We try to inflate our egos by trying to be someone else. It gives us a momentary satisfaction. The characters in this films first part try something similar although the persona’s they assume are not easy and its effects take a toll on one of them. Then we enter their real personal lives and notice them engaged in their own personal struggles. A woman who has probably lost her husband in the ongoing civil war is also trying to raise an adopted daughter who has her own problems. Julian, the main character is involved in pursuits that are difficult to comprehend and is probably the most melancholic character in the film. But in all this melancholy, there is the shopkeeper woman who with her own share of troubles turns out to the most positive character in this film who rather than being an escapist, faces her problems head-on. This film is pretty vast in not just its length but also its scope and hence would be difficult to review in a short paragraph. Having said that, it isn’t easy to watch this, especially towards the latter parts where the only activity on screen is characters entering from one side of the frame and leaving from the other side which makes me wonder if cutting down the length a bit might have made much difference. Nevertheless, this film does grow on you and after allowing some time after watching it , my appreciation for it has increased.
There will Come Soft Rains : Can an animation convey something as powerful as this? It was difficult for me to digest that one of the finest films I have ever seen on the horrors of holocaust was an animation. I cannot comment on the aesthetics of the animation apart from saying that the combination of the joyful music playing on the gramophone and the image of the dove trying to escape into an artificially created blissful world was one of the most powerful audio-visual experience I have had.
Thanks to both submitters for bringing these films to our attention. I am abstaining from casting my vote in this match or on a more positive note, my vote goes to both of them.
Singapore (Singapore GaGa) 0 – Ukraine (The Stone Cross) 1
The Stone Cross: I was fascinated by this film although I am not sure if I totally understood it. Was there a connection between the brutal murder in the name of justice and the latter parts of the farewell party? Did our old man bury the thief under the stone cross on the mountain? Did religion have anything to do with this film? As far as I could understand, the old man seems to take his rage of having to leave his land on the thief and later regrets and gives him a burial on his land. In a way, its probably a sign of penance on his part for the sin he had committed. He realizes that his anger on the thief was futile and couldn’t prevent him from leaving his country. Apart from the plot points, I was also impressed with some of the camera work, especially The bird eye shot of the horse ploughing the land at the beginning, the point of view shot of the bird and the extremely long mise en scene at the farewell party. I thought the film could have been cut short a bit towards the end but otherwise this was a great discovery.
Singapore Gaga: I already posted my comments about this film on the intro thread by Daffy. This is a very nice documentary although it appears to be a bit shallow at times. I might have voted for it if it was competing against a lesser film.
Its better not to know a language at all than know it partly while watching a film. It is a nightmare deciding whether you want to read the subtitles or listen to the audio.
I am surprised with the claims the person makes about things being unique to Christianity.
Let me try to list these points:
1> Christianity believes in getting salvation on the earth rather than thinking that this world is an illusion and salvation comes after this life.
This is an excerpt from Swami Vivekananda’s lecture on Hinduism:
Let me tell you again that you must be pure and help any one who comes to you, as much as lies in your power. And this is good Karma. By the power of this, the heart becomes pure (Chitta-shuddhi), and then Shiva who is residing in every one will become manifest. He is always in the heart of every one. If there is dirt and dust on a mirror, we cannot see our image. So ignorance and wickedness are the dirt and dust that are on the mirror of our hearts. Selfishness is the chief sin, thinking of ourselves first. He who thinks, “I will eat first, I will have more money than others, and I will possess everything”, he who thinks, “I will get to heaven before others I will get Mukti before others” is the selfish man. The unselfish man says, “I will be last, I do not care to go to heaven, I will even go to hell if by doing so I can help my brothers.” This unselfishness is the test of religion. He who has more of this unselfishness is more spiritual and nearer to Shiva. Whether he is learned or ignorant, he is nearer to Shiva than anybody else, whether he knows it or not. And if a man is selfish, even though he has visited all the temples, seen all the places of pilgrimage, and painted himself like a leopard, he is still further off from Shiva.
2>Jesus loves those who don’t love him the most.
Here is another story from the Purana’s
A rich man had a garden and two gardeners. One of these gardeners was very lazy and did not work; but when the owner came to the garden, the lazy man would get up and fold his arms and say, “How beautiful is the face of my master”, and dance before him. The other gardener would not talk much, but would work hard, and produce all sorts of fruits and vegetables which he would carry on his head to his master who lived a long way off. Of these two gardeners, which would be the more beloved of his master? Shiva is that master, and this world is His garden, and there are two sorts of gardeners here; the one who is lazy, hypocritical, and does nothing, only talking about Shiva’s beautiful eyes and nose and other features; and the other, who is taking care of Shiva’s children, all those that are poor and weak, all animals, and all His creation. Which of these would be the more beloved of Shiva? Certainly he that serves His children. He who wants to serve the father must serve the children first. He who wants to serve Shiva must serve His children — must serve all creatures in this world first. It is said in the Shâstra that those who serve the servants of God are His greatest servants. So you will bear this in mind.
3>The exclusiveness of Christianity makes it the most inclusive of all religions.
I don’t believe this simply because there was a lot of blood shed to spread or rather enforce Christianity throughout the word. The Crusades, colonization etc. I am also surprised that the person actually ridicules a secular viewpoint that every religion is true arguing that only Christianity has seen the whole truth(the elephant) compared to the other faiths. So, on one hand he says that we must not be intolerant of other religions but at the same time pointing out the uniqueness(which isn’t unique at all) he tries to justify how Christianity is the true religion.
I am quoting a lecture by the Swami about what the sermon giver is talking about. He claims Hinduism( Vedantism) is the universal religion as a rebuttal to Christianity’s claim. You can read the whole lecture here
Click on the link “Vedantism” that appears on the left hand side of the page to take you to the lecture.
I have become used to hear all sorts of wonderful claims put forward in favour of every religion under the sun. You have also heard, quite within recent times, the claims put forward by Dr. Barrows, a great friend of mine, that Christianity is the only universal religion. Let me consider this question awhile and lay before you my reasons why I think that it is Vedanta, and Vedanta alone that can become the universal religion of man, and that no other is fitted for the role. Excepting our own almost all the other great religions in the world are inevitably connected with the life or lives of one or more of their founders. All their theories, their teachings, their doctrines, and their ethics are built round the life of a personal founder, from whom they get their sanction, their authority, and their power; and strangely enough, upon the historicity of the founder’s life is built, as it were, all the fabric of such religions. If there is one blow dealt to the historicity of that life, as has been the case in modern times with the lives of almost all the so-called founders of religion — we know that half of the details of such lives is not now seriously believed in, and that the other half is seriously doubted — if this becomes the case, if that rock of historicity, as they pretend to call it, is shaken and shattered, the whole building tumbles down, broken absolutely, never to regain its lost status.
Every one of the great religions in the world excepting our own, is built upon such historical characters; but ours rests upon principles. There is no man or woman who can claim to have created the Vedas. They are the embodiment of eternal principles; sages discovered them; and now and then the names of these sages are mentioned — just their names; we do not even know who or what they were. In many cases we do not know who their fathers were, and almost in every case we do not know when and where they were born. But what cared they, these sages, for their names? They were the preachers of principles, and they themselves, so far as they went, tried to become illustrations of the principles they preached. At the same time, just as our God is an Impersonal and yet a Personal God, so is our religion a most intensely impersonal one — a religion based upon principles — and yet with an infinite scope for the play of persons; for what religion gives you more Incarnations, more prophets and seers, and still waits for infinitely more? The Bhâgavata says that Incarnations are infinite, leaving ample scope for as many as you like to come. Therefore if any one or more of these persons in India’s religious history, any one or more of these Incarnations, and any one or more of our prophets proved not to have been historical, it does not injure our religion at all; even then it remains firm as ever, because it is based upon principles, and not upon persons. It is in vain we try to gather all the peoples of the world around a single personality. It is difficult to make them gather together even round eternal and universal principles. If it ever becomes possible to bring the largest portion of humanity to one way of thinking in regard to religion, mark you, it must be always through principles and not through persons. Yet as I have said, our religion has ample scope for the authority and influence of persons. There is that most wonderful theory of Ishta which gives you the fullest and the freest choice possible among these great religious personalities. You may take up any one of the prophets or teachers as your guide and the object of your special adoration; you are even allowed to think that he whom you have chosen is the greatest of the prophets, greatest of all the Avatâras; there is no harm in that, but you must keep to a firm background of eternally true principles. The strange fact here is that the power of our Incarnations has been holding good with us only so far as they are illustrations of the principles in the Vedas. The glory of Shri Krishna is that he has been the best preacher of our eternal religion of principles and the best commentator on the Vedanta that ever lived in India.
The second claim of the Vedanta upon the attention of the world is that, of all the scriptures in the world, it is the one scripture the teaching of which is in entire harmony with the results that have been attained by the modern scientific investigations of external nature. Two minds in the dim past of history, cognate to each other in form and kinship and sympathy, started, being placed in different routes. The one was the ancient Hindu mind, and the other the ancient Greek mind. The former started by analysing the internal world. The latter started in search of that goal beyond by analysing the external world. And even through the various vicissitudes of their history, it is easy to make out these two vibrations of thought as tending to produce similar echoes of the goal beyond. It seems clear that the conclusions of modern materialistic science can be acceptable, harmoniously with their religion, only to the Vedantins or Hindus as they are called. It seems clear that modern materialism can hold its own and at the same time approach spirituality by taking up the conclusions of the Vedanta. It seems to us, and to all who care to know, that the conclusions of modern science are the very conclusions the Vedanta reached ages ago; only, in modern science they are written in the language of matter. This then is another claim of the Vedanta upon modern Western minds, its rationality, the wonderful rationalism of the Vedanta. I have myself been told by some of the best Western scientific minds of the day, how wonderfully rational the conclusions of the Vedanta are. I know one of them personally who scarcely has time to eat his meal or go out of his laboratory, but who yet would stand by the hour to attend my lectures on the Vedanta; for, as he expresses it, they are so scientific, they so exactly harmonise with the aspirations of the age and with the conclusions to which modern science is coming at the present time……..
………It seems to me, that such an attempt at tribal self-assertion in religious matters might have taken place on the frontiers and India also. Here, too, all the various tribes of the Aryans might have come into conflict with one another for declaring the supremacy of their several tribal gods; but India’s history was to be otherwise, was to be different from that of the Jews. India alone was to be, of all lands, the land of toleration and of spirituality; and therefore the fight between tribes and their gods did not long take place here. For one of the greatest sages that was ever born found out here in India even at that distant time, which history cannot reach, and into whose gloom even tradition itself dares not peep — in that distant time the sage arose and declared, — “He who exists is one; the sages call Him variously.” This is one of the most memorable sentences that was ever uttered, one of the grandest truths that was ever discovered. And for us Hindus this truth has been the very backbone of our national existence. For throughout the vistas of the centuries of our national life, this one idea — — comes down, gaining in volume and in fullness till it has permeated the whole of our national existence, till it has mingled in our blood, and has become one with us. We live that grand truth in every vein, and our country has become the glorious land of religious toleration. It is here and here alone that they build temples and churches for the religions which have come with the object of condemning our own religion. This is one very great principle that the world is waiting to learn from us.
My purpose of posting this was not to show my religion to be superior or anything. I am just trying to point out how a secular view (the one that is preached in Vedantism or Hinduism) is actually a more rational and tolerant view than claiming exclusiveness.
To impress upon you the greatness of inclusiveness, this is another excerpt from his speech:
…..This our sages knew, and, therefore, left it open to all Indian people to worship such great Personages, such Incarnations. Nay, the greatest of these Incarnations goes further: “Wherever an extraordinary spiritual power is manifested by external man, know that I am there, it is from Me that that manifestation comes.” That leaves the door open for the Hindu to worship the Incarnations of all the countries in the world. The Hindu can worship any sage and any saint from any country whatsoever, and as a fact we know that we go and worship many times in the churches of the Christians, and many, many times in the Mohammedan mosques, and that is good. Why not? Ours, as I have said, is the universal religion. It is inclusive enough, it is broad enough to include all the ideals. All the ideals of religion that already exist in the world can be immediately included, and we can patiently wait for all the ideals that are to come in the future to be taken in the same fashion, embraced in the infinite arms of the religion of the Vedanta.
Oh and just to clear any misconceptions, the Swami was not at all self righteous. He also had praise for the Western world and other religions and criticism for the Indian people including himself. I encourage people to go through his lectures to get a better insight into the working of this great mind who indirectly influenced the Indian freedom struggle through his philosophies.
Mexico (Illusion Travels by Streetcar) 0 – Papua New Guinea (Tinpis Run) 1
Illusion Travels by Streetcar : This was a nice early Bunuel. An eventful day in the life of two streetcar personnel that starts with a satire on the management ethic: “Too much efficiency is not good”. Then we have a night of revelry with dance and theatre. The drunk personnel decide to take their “soon to be scrapped” streetcar for one final ride which turns out to be much too eventful than they would have imagined. In the end fortunately everything falls into place and the quintessential much too zealous ex- employee is sadly and yet comically resigned to curse himself.
Tinpis Run : This was a nice road movie from a country that rarely features on the film circuit. It was kind of cute as Ruby described on its page. The characters are endearing and there is also the moral lesson of ending the tribal fights for the greater good of the country. There were some very humorous moments and apart from the tribal fighting sequence(which was a let down) I enjoyed this film quite a lot.
I think I could vote either way in this match but in keeping with the spirit of this cup, I would like to encourage the film from Papua New Guinea and its less known director by casting a vote in its favor.
France (Z) 1 – Mauritania (Safrana or Freedom of Speech) 0
Z : This has to be one of the better political thrillers I have seen. I am not a huge fan of these type of films in general but still I appreciate this films excellent pace and sly humor.
Safrana or Freedom of Speech : This film reminded me of Soleil O which I happened to watch during kuxa’s Africa Poll. The problem with this particular film is that it tries to be a bit too comprehensive rather than focussing on its main subject which I believe was learning farming techniques from French farmers to implement back in their country so that they can become self sufficient. That part starts much too late and I am also not sure how the African’s would be able to afford the expensive equipment back in their countries. Eventually one feels that the film neither addresses racial discrimination nor farming satisfactorily.
Thanks for the explanation Kuxa. I could definitely feel the importance of this film. It’s just that I couldn’t help feel that the film tried to be a bit too comprehensive and lacked focus. The farming issue and its financial implications could have been explored a bit more in depth since all this had to be implemented in Africa and not France. The few glimpses that we are shown of Africa are not very encouraging which leaves us a bit cynical of the outcome of this move of the immigrants to learn techniques from the French. But I guess its still a beginning for better things to come in the future.
I wish you had put an intro thread for this film. It might have helped me vote for it since I wasn’t too keen about voting for its competitor either. Lesson to learn: We need more intro threads!
Bosnia and Herzegovina (No Man’s Land) 0 – Georgia (Small Town of Anara) 1
No Man’s Land : This is not a bad film on the face of it but for some reason, it smells of mediocrity. It has the features of a big budget Hollywood film that are toned down to make them more critically attractive.
Small Town of Anara : This is a very funny film that lost some of its humor due to the mismatching subtitles but still I could sense how much fun it could have been on a better print quality. I enjoyed watching this.
Thanks for that magpies. It does give some context to this film. I think in this film through the archaic tradition of drinking wine from the horn and its eventual destruction, the film does point towards the futility of it all. There is no honor left in it as people are found cheating to acquire the horn. Even the missile launching sequence seems to be a satire on the Georgian’s trying vehemently to keep-out outside influence as well as to protect their traditions that have actually lost their original significance.
Looks like I need to watch more Georgian films! It’s been some time since I watched Lived Once a Song-Thrush which was a fascinating discovery.
Our female posters (those brave enough to acknowledge such) often bring a note of sanity and reason to these crazy, male-dominated boards where male egos often scream for attention.
^Ahem…I am not so sure about this.
And how can you guys forget Laali? I don’t think she was ever active on the forums but her lists informed me more about Indian cinema than I could have ever known.
Brazil (Limite) 1 – South Africa (Felix in Exile) 0
Limite : This is supposed to be Peixoto’s only film and he seems to have made sure that it was a masterpiece. If I had to describe this film I would be tempted to post screenshots of its visuals which I am sure some of us will post later in this thread. I haven’t seen such odd camera angles, dolly’s and tracking shots in a film and in almost every shot he makes the objects in the frame appear to be alive. I must specially mention the trees that look fascinating in this film. The visuals have an almost hypnotic power in them that keep you glued through the flimsy storyline. The fact that this film has remained largely unseen over the years makes it special for us to get a chance to watch it in this world cup. Thanks a lot herbie for submitting it as well to those who made the film available to us.
Felix in Exile : This was a very good film as well but as it often happens with animations and short films, they finish too quickly and usually you need to have enough background knowledge for doing justice as a reviewer. I liked what I saw and it was pretty effective in its short running time. The explanations on the film’s page gave me some idea about what I saw but it just wasn’t enough for me to get passionate about it in a single viewing. I feel its pointless submitting such esoteric stuff for the cup if the submitters aren’t going to put some effort to write an intro thread for the film.
Stop Calling Them Remakes! (A Stop the Lists!-based thread) about 1 year ago
I am sorry to say Tommy, but there were other ways to point out those spam threads. I am aware of which threads you were talking about, but the way you said it was clearly racist. You may deny it now, but whores from India is not a very neutral statement. Anyway, my original comment was simply a joke on the topic of this thread so I don’t want to hijack it. I am out of this.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #17: Cameroon (Africa, I Will Fleece You) vs. South Korea (A Buddhist Ascetic Mandara) about 1 year ago
Cameroon (Africa, I Will Fleece You) 1 – South Korea (A Buddhist Ascetic Mandara) 0
Africa I Will Fleece You : I recently watched the Indonesian film Mother Dao and was reminded of how similar it was to Africa I will Fleece You. I thought the latter was more superior in terms of the way it goes about showing the colonization of Africa although to be frank, I don’t remember too much else from the film except the fact that it had impressed me when I had watched it.
A Buddhist Ascetic Mandara : I happened to watch Bodhi Dharma a few days before I watched this. Although I liked this film better than Bodhi, I wasn’t terribly impressed. Can’t seem to pinpoint a reason but the film’s purpose remained a bit unclear to me and didn’t affect me that much due its drama that seemed to cheapen whatever it was trying to convey.
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WORLD CUP INTRO: AMELIA AND THE ANGEL (1958) KEN RUSSELL about 1 year ago
Lovely intro Meg. Many congratulations for this submission. This is right amongst the top films I have seen in this WC so far. It’s one of those films that fills you with pure joy.
To Amelia, all boys were horrid little beasts; and her brother was the most horrid of all
:)
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WORLD CUP INTRO: AMELIA AND THE ANGEL (1958) KEN RUSSELL about 1 year ago
Haha…the way he goes about destroying the wing is hilarious.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #18: Bulgaria (The Peach Thief) vs. Uruguay (The Pope’s Toilet) about 1 year ago
Bulgaria (The Peach Thief) 1 – Uruguay (The Pope’s Toilet) 0
The Pope’s Toilet had a very good concept that just didn’t touch me as much as it should have. I generally dislike the fervent jump cut style editing of this film that I usually associate with modern commercial action films and television that I usually hate. The Peach Thief’s frivolous love story and its b&w photography ended up getting my vote(rather reluctantly) in the end.
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2012 MUBI World Cup - Voting Secrets about 1 year ago
Choose films by merit and not by sex, unless you want to start a reservation policy.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #19: England (Amelia and the Angel) vs. Serbia (Pretty Village, Pretty Flame) about 1 year ago
England (Amelia and the Angel) 1 – Serbia (Pretty Village, Pretty Flame) 0
Pretty Village Pretty Flame was pretty good but not as much as Amelia.Go to Comment
2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #19: England (Amelia and the Angel) vs. Serbia (Pretty Village, Pretty Flame) about 1 year ago
^Why did Amelia disappoint you? not enough sex or violence?; in other words did it feel like kiddy stuff?
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #20: Philippines (Melancholia) vs. Uzbekistan (There Will Come Soft Rains) about 1 year ago
Two films with a gap of 440 min’s running time but subject matters that are almost equally massive.
Melancholia : This is my first Lav Diaz film. I came in with no special expectations other than that it would be beautifully shot and would have lengthy shots. Both were met to a greater extent and apart from that I was also impressed by the way Diaz went about exploring his subject. Escaping reality by assuming different persona’s is something that almost everyone does in today’s age of social networking. We try to inflate our egos by trying to be someone else. It gives us a momentary satisfaction. The characters in this films first part try something similar although the persona’s they assume are not easy and its effects take a toll on one of them. Then we enter their real personal lives and notice them engaged in their own personal struggles. A woman who has probably lost her husband in the ongoing civil war is also trying to raise an adopted daughter who has her own problems. Julian, the main character is involved in pursuits that are difficult to comprehend and is probably the most melancholic character in the film. But in all this melancholy, there is the shopkeeper woman who with her own share of troubles turns out to the most positive character in this film who rather than being an escapist, faces her problems head-on. This film is pretty vast in not just its length but also its scope and hence would be difficult to review in a short paragraph. Having said that, it isn’t easy to watch this, especially towards the latter parts where the only activity on screen is characters entering from one side of the frame and leaving from the other side which makes me wonder if cutting down the length a bit might have made much difference. Nevertheless, this film does grow on you and after allowing some time after watching it , my appreciation for it has increased.
There will Come Soft Rains : Can an animation convey something as powerful as this? It was difficult for me to digest that one of the finest films I have ever seen on the horrors of holocaust was an animation. I cannot comment on the aesthetics of the animation apart from saying that the combination of the joyful music playing on the gramophone and the image of the dove trying to escape into an artificially created blissful world was one of the most powerful audio-visual experience I have had.
Thanks to both submitters for bringing these films to our attention. I am abstaining from casting my vote in this match or on a more positive note, my vote goes to both of them.
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Mubi User Singer (or Musician) Obsessions about 1 year ago
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An Open Spirituality / Religion / Theology Forum about 1 year ago
I am not sure how many of you are familiar with Swami Vivekananda, but I read a book on his lectures recently and I was thoroughly impressed by his rational views on religion. He makes me proud of what my religion stands for. You can find his complete works here http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/complete_works.htm
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #21: Singapore (Singapore GaGa) vs. Ukraine (The Stone Cross) about 1 year ago
Singapore (Singapore GaGa) 0 – Ukraine (The Stone Cross) 1
The Stone Cross: I was fascinated by this film although I am not sure if I totally understood it. Was there a connection between the brutal murder in the name of justice and the latter parts of the farewell party? Did our old man bury the thief under the stone cross on the mountain? Did religion have anything to do with this film? As far as I could understand, the old man seems to take his rage of having to leave his land on the thief and later regrets and gives him a burial on his land. In a way, its probably a sign of penance on his part for the sin he had committed. He realizes that his anger on the thief was futile and couldn’t prevent him from leaving his country. Apart from the plot points, I was also impressed with some of the camera work, especially The bird eye shot of the horse ploughing the land at the beginning, the point of view shot of the bird and the extremely long mise en scene at the farewell party. I thought the film could have been cut short a bit towards the end but otherwise this was a great discovery.
Singapore Gaga: I already posted my comments about this film on the intro thread by Daffy. This is a very nice documentary although it appears to be a bit shallow at times. I might have voted for it if it was competing against a lesser film.
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Watching films in a second language without subtitles about 1 year ago
Its better not to know a language at all than know it partly while watching a film. It is a nightmare deciding whether you want to read the subtitles or listen to the audio.
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COLORED FILMS THAT IMPROVE IN BLACK-AND-WHITE? about 1 year ago
The filmmaker would kill you if he found out what you were doing.
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An Open Spirituality / Religion / Theology Forum about 1 year ago
I am surprised with the claims the person makes about things being unique to Christianity.
Let me try to list these points:
1> Christianity believes in getting salvation on the earth rather than thinking that this world is an illusion and salvation comes after this life.
This is an excerpt from Swami Vivekananda’s lecture on Hinduism:
Let me tell you again that you must be pure and help any one who comes to you, as much as lies in your power. And this is good Karma. By the power of this, the heart becomes pure (Chitta-shuddhi), and then Shiva who is residing in every one will become manifest. He is always in the heart of every one. If there is dirt and dust on a mirror, we cannot see our image. So ignorance and wickedness are the dirt and dust that are on the mirror of our hearts. Selfishness is the chief sin, thinking of ourselves first. He who thinks, “I will eat first, I will have more money than others, and I will possess everything”, he who thinks, “I will get to heaven before others I will get Mukti before others” is the selfish man. The unselfish man says, “I will be last, I do not care to go to heaven, I will even go to hell if by doing so I can help my brothers.” This unselfishness is the test of religion. He who has more of this unselfishness is more spiritual and nearer to Shiva. Whether he is learned or ignorant, he is nearer to Shiva than anybody else, whether he knows it or not. And if a man is selfish, even though he has visited all the temples, seen all the places of pilgrimage, and painted himself like a leopard, he is still further off from Shiva.
2>Jesus loves those who don’t love him the most.
Here is another story from the Purana’s
A rich man had a garden and two gardeners. One of these gardeners was very lazy and did not work; but when the owner came to the garden, the lazy man would get up and fold his arms and say, “How beautiful is the face of my master”, and dance before him. The other gardener would not talk much, but would work hard, and produce all sorts of fruits and vegetables which he would carry on his head to his master who lived a long way off. Of these two gardeners, which would be the more beloved of his master? Shiva is that master, and this world is His garden, and there are two sorts of gardeners here; the one who is lazy, hypocritical, and does nothing, only talking about Shiva’s beautiful eyes and nose and other features; and the other, who is taking care of Shiva’s children, all those that are poor and weak, all animals, and all His creation. Which of these would be the more beloved of Shiva? Certainly he that serves His children. He who wants to serve the father must serve the children first. He who wants to serve Shiva must serve His children — must serve all creatures in this world first. It is said in the Shâstra that those who serve the servants of God are His greatest servants. So you will bear this in mind.
3>The exclusiveness of Christianity makes it the most inclusive of all religions.
I don’t believe this simply because there was a lot of blood shed to spread or rather enforce Christianity throughout the word. The Crusades, colonization etc. I am also surprised that the person actually ridicules a secular viewpoint that every religion is true arguing that only Christianity has seen the whole truth(the elephant) compared to the other faiths. So, on one hand he says that we must not be intolerant of other religions but at the same time pointing out the uniqueness(which isn’t unique at all) he tries to justify how Christianity is the true religion.
I am quoting a lecture by the Swami about what the sermon giver is talking about. He claims Hinduism( Vedantism) is the universal religion as a rebuttal to Christianity’s claim. You can read the whole lecture here
Click on the link “Vedantism” that appears on the left hand side of the page to take you to the lecture.
I have become used to hear all sorts of wonderful claims put forward in favour of every religion under the sun. You have also heard, quite within recent times, the claims put forward by Dr. Barrows, a great friend of mine, that Christianity is the only universal religion. Let me consider this question awhile and lay before you my reasons why I think that it is Vedanta, and Vedanta alone that can become the universal religion of man, and that no other is fitted for the role. Excepting our own almost all the other great religions in the world are inevitably connected with the life or lives of one or more of their founders. All their theories, their teachings, their doctrines, and their ethics are built round the life of a personal founder, from whom they get their sanction, their authority, and their power; and strangely enough, upon the historicity of the founder’s life is built, as it were, all the fabric of such religions. If there is one blow dealt to the historicity of that life, as has been the case in modern times with the lives of almost all the so-called founders of religion — we know that half of the details of such lives is not now seriously believed in, and that the other half is seriously doubted — if this becomes the case, if that rock of historicity, as they pretend to call it, is shaken and shattered, the whole building tumbles down, broken absolutely, never to regain its lost status.
Every one of the great religions in the world excepting our own, is built upon such historical characters; but ours rests upon principles. There is no man or woman who can claim to have created the Vedas. They are the embodiment of eternal principles; sages discovered them; and now and then the names of these sages are mentioned — just their names; we do not even know who or what they were. In many cases we do not know who their fathers were, and almost in every case we do not know when and where they were born. But what cared they, these sages, for their names? They were the preachers of principles, and they themselves, so far as they went, tried to become illustrations of the principles they preached. At the same time, just as our God is an Impersonal and yet a Personal God, so is our religion a most intensely impersonal one — a religion based upon principles — and yet with an infinite scope for the play of persons; for what religion gives you more Incarnations, more prophets and seers, and still waits for infinitely more? The Bhâgavata says that Incarnations are infinite, leaving ample scope for as many as you like to come. Therefore if any one or more of these persons in India’s religious history, any one or more of these Incarnations, and any one or more of our prophets proved not to have been historical, it does not injure our religion at all; even then it remains firm as ever, because it is based upon principles, and not upon persons. It is in vain we try to gather all the peoples of the world around a single personality. It is difficult to make them gather together even round eternal and universal principles. If it ever becomes possible to bring the largest portion of humanity to one way of thinking in regard to religion, mark you, it must be always through principles and not through persons. Yet as I have said, our religion has ample scope for the authority and influence of persons. There is that most wonderful theory of Ishta which gives you the fullest and the freest choice possible among these great religious personalities. You may take up any one of the prophets or teachers as your guide and the object of your special adoration; you are even allowed to think that he whom you have chosen is the greatest of the prophets, greatest of all the Avatâras; there is no harm in that, but you must keep to a firm background of eternally true principles. The strange fact here is that the power of our Incarnations has been holding good with us only so far as they are illustrations of the principles in the Vedas. The glory of Shri Krishna is that he has been the best preacher of our eternal religion of principles and the best commentator on the Vedanta that ever lived in India.
The second claim of the Vedanta upon the attention of the world is that, of all the scriptures in the world, it is the one scripture the teaching of which is in entire harmony with the results that have been attained by the modern scientific investigations of external nature. Two minds in the dim past of history, cognate to each other in form and kinship and sympathy, started, being placed in different routes. The one was the ancient Hindu mind, and the other the ancient Greek mind. The former started by analysing the internal world. The latter started in search of that goal beyond by analysing the external world. And even through the various vicissitudes of their history, it is easy to make out these two vibrations of thought as tending to produce similar echoes of the goal beyond. It seems clear that the conclusions of modern materialistic science can be acceptable, harmoniously with their religion, only to the Vedantins or Hindus as they are called. It seems clear that modern materialism can hold its own and at the same time approach spirituality by taking up the conclusions of the Vedanta. It seems to us, and to all who care to know, that the conclusions of modern science are the very conclusions the Vedanta reached ages ago; only, in modern science they are written in the language of matter. This then is another claim of the Vedanta upon modern Western minds, its rationality, the wonderful rationalism of the Vedanta. I have myself been told by some of the best Western scientific minds of the day, how wonderfully rational the conclusions of the Vedanta are. I know one of them personally who scarcely has time to eat his meal or go out of his laboratory, but who yet would stand by the hour to attend my lectures on the Vedanta; for, as he expresses it, they are so scientific, they so exactly harmonise with the aspirations of the age and with the conclusions to which modern science is coming at the present time……..
………It seems to me, that such an attempt at tribal self-assertion in religious matters might have taken place on the frontiers and India also. Here, too, all the various tribes of the Aryans might have come into conflict with one another for declaring the supremacy of their several tribal gods; but India’s history was to be otherwise, was to be different from that of the Jews. India alone was to be, of all lands, the land of toleration and of spirituality; and therefore the fight between tribes and their gods did not long take place here. For one of the greatest sages that was ever born found out here in India even at that distant time, which history cannot reach, and into whose gloom even tradition itself dares not peep — in that distant time the sage arose and declared, — “He who exists is one; the sages call Him variously.” This is one of the most memorable sentences that was ever uttered, one of the grandest truths that was ever discovered. And for us Hindus this truth has been the very backbone of our national existence. For throughout the vistas of the centuries of our national life, this one idea — — comes down, gaining in volume and in fullness till it has permeated the whole of our national existence, till it has mingled in our blood, and has become one with us. We live that grand truth in every vein, and our country has become the glorious land of religious toleration. It is here and here alone that they build temples and churches for the religions which have come with the object of condemning our own religion. This is one very great principle that the world is waiting to learn from us.
My purpose of posting this was not to show my religion to be superior or anything. I am just trying to point out how a secular view (the one that is preached in Vedantism or Hinduism) is actually a more rational and tolerant view than claiming exclusiveness.
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An Open Spirituality / Religion / Theology Forum about 1 year ago
To impress upon you the greatness of inclusiveness, this is another excerpt from his speech:
…..This our sages knew, and, therefore, left it open to all Indian people to worship such great Personages, such Incarnations. Nay, the greatest of these Incarnations goes further: “Wherever an extraordinary spiritual power is manifested by external man, know that I am there, it is from Me that that manifestation comes.” That leaves the door open for the Hindu to worship the Incarnations of all the countries in the world. The Hindu can worship any sage and any saint from any country whatsoever, and as a fact we know that we go and worship many times in the churches of the Christians, and many, many times in the Mohammedan mosques, and that is good. Why not? Ours, as I have said, is the universal religion. It is inclusive enough, it is broad enough to include all the ideals. All the ideals of religion that already exist in the world can be immediately included, and we can patiently wait for all the ideals that are to come in the future to be taken in the same fashion, embraced in the infinite arms of the religion of the Vedanta.
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An Open Spirituality / Religion / Theology Forum about 1 year ago
Oh and just to clear any misconceptions, the Swami was not at all self righteous. He also had praise for the Western world and other religions and criticism for the Indian people including himself. I encourage people to go through his lectures to get a better insight into the working of this great mind who indirectly influenced the Indian freedom struggle through his philosophies.
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STOP THE LISTS! about 1 year ago
I think it will block a user from following you. This has nothing to do with Dim coming back.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #22: Illusion Travels by Streetcar vs. Tinpis Run about 1 year ago
Mexico (Illusion Travels by Streetcar) 0 – Papua New Guinea (Tinpis Run) 1
Illusion Travels by Streetcar : This was a nice early Bunuel. An eventful day in the life of two streetcar personnel that starts with a satire on the management ethic: “Too much efficiency is not good”. Then we have a night of revelry with dance and theatre. The drunk personnel decide to take their “soon to be scrapped” streetcar for one final ride which turns out to be much too eventful than they would have imagined. In the end fortunately everything falls into place and the quintessential much too zealous ex- employee is sadly and yet comically resigned to curse himself.
Tinpis Run : This was a nice road movie from a country that rarely features on the film circuit. It was kind of cute as Ruby described on its page. The characters are endearing and there is also the moral lesson of ending the tribal fights for the greater good of the country. There were some very humorous moments and apart from the tribal fighting sequence(which was a let down) I enjoyed this film quite a lot.
I think I could vote either way in this match but in keeping with the spirit of this cup, I would like to encourage the film from Papua New Guinea and its less known director by casting a vote in its favor.
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Best Movie about Teachers ever? about 1 year ago
Madadayo
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #23: France (Z) vs. Mauritania (Safrana or Freedom of Speech) about 1 year ago
France (Z) 1 – Mauritania (Safrana or Freedom of Speech) 0
Z : This has to be one of the better political thrillers I have seen. I am not a huge fan of these type of films in general but still I appreciate this films excellent pace and sly humor.
Safrana or Freedom of Speech : This film reminded me of Soleil O which I happened to watch during kuxa’s Africa Poll. The problem with this particular film is that it tries to be a bit too comprehensive rather than focussing on its main subject which I believe was learning farming techniques from French farmers to implement back in their country so that they can become self sufficient. That part starts much too late and I am also not sure how the African’s would be able to afford the expensive equipment back in their countries. Eventually one feels that the film neither addresses racial discrimination nor farming satisfactorily.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #23: France (Z) vs. Mauritania (Safrana or Freedom of Speech) about 1 year ago
Thanks for the explanation Kuxa. I could definitely feel the importance of this film. It’s just that I couldn’t help feel that the film tried to be a bit too comprehensive and lacked focus. The farming issue and its financial implications could have been explored a bit more in depth since all this had to be implemented in Africa and not France. The few glimpses that we are shown of Africa are not very encouraging which leaves us a bit cynical of the outcome of this move of the immigrants to learn techniques from the French. But I guess its still a beginning for better things to come in the future.
I wish you had put an intro thread for this film. It might have helped me vote for it since I wasn’t too keen about voting for its competitor either. Lesson to learn: We need more intro threads!
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30 Coolest Films Ever about 1 year ago
No list is cool enough without Yojimbo/Sanjuro and a Jean-Pierre Melville film. I also find The Long Goodbye cool.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #24: Bosnia and Herzegovina (No Man's Land) vs. Georgia (Small Town of Anara) about 1 year ago
Bosnia and Herzegovina (No Man’s Land) 0 – Georgia (Small Town of Anara) 1
No Man’s Land : This is not a bad film on the face of it but for some reason, it smells of mediocrity. It has the features of a big budget Hollywood film that are toned down to make them more critically attractive.
Small Town of Anara : This is a very funny film that lost some of its humor due to the mismatching subtitles but still I could sense how much fun it could have been on a better print quality. I enjoyed watching this.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #24: Bosnia and Herzegovina (No Man's Land) vs. Georgia (Small Town of Anara) about 1 year ago
Sorry for the pure subs, but Riss and me done our best to translate lines from Georgian, over Serbian, to English.
We appreciate your efforts. Is there anything more you can tell us about this film considering that it did not have an intro page?
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #24: Bosnia and Herzegovina (No Man's Land) vs. Georgia (Small Town of Anara) about 1 year ago
Thanks for that magpies. It does give some context to this film. I think in this film through the archaic tradition of drinking wine from the horn and its eventual destruction, the film does point towards the futility of it all. There is no honor left in it as people are found cheating to acquire the horn. Even the missile launching sequence seems to be a satire on the Georgian’s trying vehemently to keep-out outside influence as well as to protect their traditions that have actually lost their original significance.
Looks like I need to watch more Georgian films! It’s been some time since I watched Lived Once a Song-Thrush which was a fascinating discovery.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #24: Bosnia and Herzegovina (No Man's Land) vs. Georgia (Small Town of Anara) about 1 year ago
hahaha! pointless phallic antics! :)
^That sums it up.
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Celebrating the Female Presence on Mubi about 1 year ago
Our female posters (those brave enough to acknowledge such) often bring a note of sanity and reason to these crazy, male-dominated boards where male egos often scream for attention.
^Ahem…I am not so sure about this.
And how can you guys forget Laali? I don’t think she was ever active on the forums but her lists informed me more about Indian cinema than I could have ever known.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #25: Brazil (Limite) vs. South Africa (Felix in Exile) about 1 year ago
Brazil (Limite) 1 – South Africa (Felix in Exile) 0
Limite : This is supposed to be Peixoto’s only film and he seems to have made sure that it was a masterpiece. If I had to describe this film I would be tempted to post screenshots of its visuals which I am sure some of us will post later in this thread. I haven’t seen such odd camera angles, dolly’s and tracking shots in a film and in almost every shot he makes the objects in the frame appear to be alive. I must specially mention the trees that look fascinating in this film. The visuals have an almost hypnotic power in them that keep you glued through the flimsy storyline. The fact that this film has remained largely unseen over the years makes it special for us to get a chance to watch it in this world cup. Thanks a lot herbie for submitting it as well to those who made the film available to us.
Felix in Exile : This was a very good film as well but as it often happens with animations and short films, they finish too quickly and usually you need to have enough background knowledge for doing justice as a reviewer. I liked what I saw and it was pretty effective in its short running time. The explanations on the film’s page gave me some idea about what I saw but it just wasn’t enough for me to get passionate about it in a single viewing. I feel its pointless submitting such esoteric stuff for the cup if the submitters aren’t going to put some effort to write an intro thread for the film.
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #25: Brazil (Limite) vs. South Africa (Felix in Exile) about 1 year ago
^Thanks a lot for those links.
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