Mar Adentro (2004)- Spanish

Mar Adentro (English: The Sea Inside) tells the real story of Ramon Sampedro, a ship mechanic, who has been paralyzed for more than 26 years. The movie picturizes his vigorous fight with the government in favour of his own euthanasia(mercy killing).
Ramon was very fond of sea. In an unfortunate diving accident in his youth, he became quadriplegic and became dependent on his brother's family. He felt such a life to be worthless and deprived of dignity. Personally, at first I was against the stand of protagonist. But the movie is so well crafted  that at last we end up with an empathy for Ramon. Although he cannot move, Ramon shows power to move others. It is shown through Julia, a lawyer who pleads in his favour and Rosa, a neighbor who tries to convince Ramon that life is worth living. Actors have done a great job and director has succeeded in conveying Ramon Sampedro very effectively.

I am Sam(2001) -English

This is a very beautiful movie starring Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning in the lead. Sam (Penn) is a mentally retarded man having only the IQ of a seven year old. All his friends are similarly having disabilities. Soon after the birth of a baby, his wife left him. He brings up that baby, Lucy (Fanning), alone. When her friends began to tease Lucy in the name of her father, she felt it embarrassing to accept that she is more mature than her father. But when the girl is seven year old, the state tries to separate the child from Sam saying he is not able to parent a child who has more IQ than him. What follows is a legal fight between the state and Sam for Lucy. The film beautifully portrays the efforts of a retarded man and his friends who know only to love.
Performance of Sean Penn as Sam is really stunning, especially during the scenes where he is unable to answer the complex questions of the lawyers.
It is heard that the Tamil movie starring Vikram named 'Daiva Thirumahan' is a remake of this movie.

Dead Poets Society(1989) - English

This is a fantastic movie starring Robbin Williams as John Keating and a group of young boys. Keating comes to an orthodox preparatory boys school as an English teacher. He has unorthodox teaching methods and he inspires each boy in his class to bring out the best in them. The students like him a lot, and they become confident to chase their dreams. But, as can be expected, the authorities and parents cannot cope with this and this leads to some touching sequences in the story. This movie is full of positive energy which can lift your spirits.
If you want to know how such a marvelous story can be destroyed, see Fazil's Malayalam movie 'Life is Beautiful'

Philadelphia(1993) -English

Phialdelphia casts two of my most favorite actors, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, in the lead. This is an inspiring movie which tells the story of Andrew Becket( Hanks), an attorney who is fired from a law firm for being careless. But Andrew knows that carelessness is just an excuse but actually they fired him because he had AIDS. He decides to fight against this discrimination and  seeks help from many lawyers. Most of them refused to help an HIV positive person. At last Joe Miller (Denzel) decides to help him and after a series of legal fights, they win.
This movie is based on an actual story which was the first reported case against HIV/AIDS related discrimination. Performance of Tom Hanks is awesome as an HIV positive man.

Invictus(2009) -English

It is one of the most inspirational true story I have seen. It tells the story of South Africa just after the election of Nelson Mandela as the president. As a newly elected president, Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) has to face problems everywhere, the major one being the colour discrimination spread into the nation. The national rugby team, called the springboks, which had all white players and were facing failure in all matches, were hated by the people. There was a strong demand to dissolve the team. But Mandela realizes that the springboks were an efficient tool to unite the nation. He inspires the team captain Faracois (played by Matt Damon) and makes a strategy for winning. The film portrays an inspiring sequence of how a game and its spirit can be used to unite a nation and bulid greatness. The victorian peom Invictus by William Earnest Henly is highlighted as it was a source of inspiration to Mandela during the 27 years he spent in jail.
After watching this movie, I became a fan of Nelson Mandela. The music needs special mention in this movie.

The Bucket List(2007) - English

 

The Bucket list is an excellent movie starring two of my most favourite actors on screen, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It tells the story of two old men Mr. Chambers(Freeman) and Mr. Cole(Nicholson) who meet in a hospital, both being terminal cancer patients. Although Cole finds Chambers a dull man at first, he becomes friends with him. Chambers is a mechanic, but he is an expert in history. Cole is a business magnate, having nothing else than money. Chambers tells about a 'bucket list', a childhood fancy, which is a list of things he wished to do before death. Cole says it is not just a childhood fantasy,but can also be materialized in their present age also and they set out a road trip to fulfill the things in the "Bucket list". The rest is an inspirational portrayal of how they find meaning in life from each other.

It is a must-watch movie.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest(1975) - English

 

The movie centred on a Mental Hospital tells the story of Randal McMurphy(Jack Nicholson) who is brought there for evaluation after he has been arrested for crime many times. McMurphy is very peculiar and kind of a rebel. He becomes favourite of the other patients there and his different attitudes help in the progress of them also. He outsmarts the oppressive nurse Miss Ratched who was a dictator there. He could inspire others also and help them acquire a self-esteem. One such man is Chief Bromden, who is ending the story in very touching manner. Performance of Nicholson as McMurphy is stunning and no wonder he bagged Oscar for it.

Priyadarshan's താളവട്ടം seems to be a remake of this classic movie, with added comedy and Keralite sentiments.

Field of Dreams(1989) - English

 

This is a drama-sports-fantasy movie telling the story of a farmer Ray. While walking through his corn field, Ray once hears a voice telling "If you build it, he will come" and he visualizes a base ball field. He decides to obey the voice and so he ploughs his corn field and builds a baseball court. Neighbors laugh at him for this, but he goes on with his field. One day, to his surprise, he finds a player in the field whom he identifies to be Shoeless Jackson, an old dead player. Later number of players in the field increases, all of them being passed away classic players in their youth. Ray continues to hear voices and he sets out in search of their meanings. After meeting so many people, going through so many situations, at last Ray finds his father among the players. He remembers how he used to resent his father for his craze for base ball and feels so happy and emotional to see his father.

The movie is so beautifully cinematographed and the storytelling is very impressive. It is a movie worth watching.

My Sister's Keeper(2009) - English

 

Well, this is purely a realistic drama in which emotions and sentiments dominate. It is centered on two sisters Anna and Kate. Anna is a girl conceived in vitro as a genetic match for her sister Kate who is suffering from leukemia. She was regularly used as a source of blood, bone marrow etc for Kate from birth onwards. When she is 15, Anna finds it bad to be brought up like a medical instrument and she seeks the help of an attorney to claim medical emancipation from her parents. Then follows a series of arguments and counter arguments between the attorney and Anna's parents. The way Kate approaches her death, how her illness affects the people around, her relations to them etc are picturized in an attractive manner. If you don't hate sentiments, try this movie. It is worth your time.

Forrest Gump(2004) - English

 

Yet another of my most favorite Tom Hanks movie. This tells the story of Forrest, an 'almost-retarded' man who knows only to love. He is portrayed as a person who has been part of many historical events without his being aware of the importance of those events. The movie extends from the beginning of Forrest's school days to that of his son. Movie depicts the events of how a retarded boy managed to study with ordinary children, how he becomes an excellent sportsman, then a soldier, a famous citizen, then a fisherman, a good husband, a good father etc. in a very funny and entertaining way. Watching the movie you will surely love the innocent Forrest Gump. The special effects used is very excellent, especially the scenes where Hanks appears with late Great men like John F Kennedy. The film won six Oscars including the Best Actor for Tom Hanks. No wonder!

A Beautiful Mind(2001) - English

 

'A Beautiful Mind' is a Beautiful movie which is inspired by the life of John Nash, a Nobel laureate in Economics.

Movie begins when John Nash is student of Princeton. He is an introvert and indifferent man having no friends except his room mate. He is constantly in search of an idea which is completely genuine. He succeeds in it and he finds his way into many top level issues in the country. After a series of mysterious incidents, Nash is diagnosed to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. His disease causes a lot of trouble to his wife and family. The rest is the inspiring sequence of how Nash fights with this illness and finally bags a Nobel prize.

Its truly an inspiring movie. Performance of Russel Crowe as John Nash is marvelous.

Finding Forrester(2000) - English

 

This tells the story of a Black boy Jamal Wallace and his meeting with William Forrester, a well known author. Jamal had good talent in writing, but he never let anyone see his writings. Forrester was a man who published only one book, became so famous and later never came into light. Jamal accidentally meets him and they become friends. Forrester reveals his personal secrets and pains to Jamal and also helps him to bring out the real talent in him. But he insisted on not to reveal Jamal's friendship with him to anyone. An envious teacher of Jamal accuses him of plagiarism and at last Forrester himself comes to day light to save Jamal's prestige.

Forrester is made memorable by the ever remembered Bond, Sean Connery. It is a movie worth watching due to the catching story telling and performance of actors.

Getting Home (2007) -Chinese

 

This is a Chinese comedy-drama movie which tells the story of Zhao, a chinese worker, who takes pain to fulfill the wish of his friend Liu. Liu used to say that if a person is not buried after death near his house, his ghost would wander like a destitute. Unfortunately he dies during construction from drinking. Zhao embark on a difficult mission to take his dead friend to his home which is thousands of mile away. That is where the movie begins. The adventurous trip of Zhao with the dead body of his dear friend is full of comedy accompanied by the portrayal of his loyalty. He meets people from different cross sections of society and different situations in everyday life.

Cinematography covers the brilliant beauty of Chinese greenery and culture. Its a worth-watching movie, of course.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2008)-English

 

 Another must-watch movie in my list.

This tells the story of Benjamin Button who was born old and died young! The curious idea of aging backwards is skillfully and beautifully interwoven with the human relations and adventures. Benjamin Button was born with the death of his mother. His father abandons him thinking him to be a monster born with wrinkled skin. Later Benjamin reaches the hands of an old-age home keeper and there they realize that that 'new-born old man' is aging backwards! The story is a long one, but at no point of it would we feel bored. Many scenes in the movie are memorable. Director has done very well in the drafting of this picture. In many of the scenes we seem to forget we are watching Brad Pitt on screen.
A first class example for the excellence of human imagination.

Le Scephandre et le Papillon(2007) -French

 

 Le scaphandre et le Papillon, also called 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' is a beautifully picturized french movie based on the true story of Jean Dominique Bauby. 

The movie tells the story from the view point of a paralyzed person, Mr. Bauby. Mr. Bauby was a very charming journalist who at the age of 43 happens to undergo an unexpected stroke by which he is completely paralyzed. The only part he can move is his left eye-lid. In that stage, he realizes that his body only is paralyzed, but his imagination can still fly like a butterfly. With the help of a patient young lady,Claude Mendibil, he writes a book using his left eye-lid, thats the main turning point of the movie. A few days after the publication of the book, Bauby died of pneumonia.

The Director's signature in the movie is well-felt during the course of the movie. Portrayal of incidents through the eyes of a locked-in man, his memories and imagination, and the people around him is very attractive. Really an inspiring movie. All movie buffs must watch this.

Taare Zameen Par(2007) - Hindi

 

The directorial debut of actor Aamir Khan which made me a real fan of his. It tells the story of a boy suffering from dyslexia. He was labeled as being unbearable naughty and careless and so used to be a head ache for his parents and teachers. So he is being sent to another school which is known to be very strict. There Aamir comes as his art teacher and he finds out that the boy is not naughty, but sick. He tries to convince the parents and his co-teachers that he will give the boy a break. At last he transforms the boy into a smart and bright student. The performance of Darsheel as the sick boy Ishan is really stunning. A must-watch movie.

Seven Pounds (2008)-English

 

Will Smith shows extra ordinary acting in this drama movie. This movie tells the story of a man who is trying to save the lives of seven people using his own life. Before selecting the people to save, he tries to confirm that they are really deserving a help. The reason why he sets out on such an unorthodox mission is revealed in the movie as a suspense. Movie starts from his phone call to emergency line saying he is committing suicide and so need an ambulance. Then the story begin to unroll. The movie is an inspirational one and also very touching.

Amores Perros(2000)- Spanish

 

Amores Perros is a Spanish movie telling three different stories connected by a car accident happening in Mexico city. The car accident is shown three times in the movie, but from three perspectives. There are three different lives whose flow changes drastically after that mishap. Surely, the Director is successful in presenting the movie in a realistic and attractive manner. A peculiarity of the movie may be the role of dogs in all the three lives portrayed( As the name suggests. 'Perros' stands for Dogs). A middles class family in Mexico, a fashion model and a Hit-man; all have deep relation with dogs. The technical perfection in picturizing incidents in the most realistic way is absolutely excellent. Being a Spanish movie, it helped me understanding the Latin American life style and culture. Surely a movie worth watching.

Shawshank Redemption(1994)

One of my most favourite Morgan Freeman movies.
The movie tells the story of an innocent banker Andy( Tim Robbins) who accidentally gets imprisoned in the Shawshank state prison. There he gets a good and prudent friend Red (Freeman). Andy, with his economic talents become a pet of the jail warden and then helps other jailbirds in their education too. Gradually Andy becomes a hero in the prison. The end of the movie is simply superb.
It picturizes many facets of human life and the warmth of good friendships without losing spontaneity.
Many of the dialogues are memorable.