Posts Tagged ‘asia’

Passage to India, A (1984)

Friday, December 19th, 2008
Genres: Adventure | Drama
Countries: UK | USA
Actors: Judy Davis | Victor Banerjee | Peggy Ashcroft | James Fox | Alec Guinness | Nigel Havers | Richard Wilson | Antonia Pemberton | Michael Culver | Art Malik | Saeed Jaffrey | Clive Swift | Ann Firbank | Roshan Seth | Sandra Hotz
Directors: David Lean
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Adela Quested, a young Englishwoman, travels to India in the late 1920s to visit her fianc?, a British magistrate posted in a small town; her traveling companion is his mother Mrs. Moore. They want to see something of the country and to meet everyday Indians, but are frustrated by the British community’s insistence that relations with the locals are best experienced from a distance. Finally, a friend introduces them to a Muslim doctor whom Mrs. Moore had seen briefly on her visit to a mosque. He takes them on an outing to the nearby caverns (a local attraction), but what happens there threatens to destroy any civility between the British and Indian societies.

Gandhi (1982)

Friday, December 19th, 2008
Genres: Biography | Drama | History
Countries: India | UK
Actors: Ben Kingsley | Candice Bergen | Edward Fox | John Gielgud | Trevor Howard | John Mills | Martin Sheen | Ian Charleson | Athol Fugard | G?nther Maria Halmer | Saeed Jaffrey | Geraldine James | Alyque Padamsee | Amrish Puri | Roshan Seth
Directors: Richard Attenborough
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When ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ (qv) first set foot in British India, he had already been to Britain and South Africa, and had created quite a stir for the betterment of the people. But in India, he realized that he had first to live the life of a peasant to understand what it is to be an Indian. This resolve will lead him to shed his westerners clothing, and don a simple loincloth, be subjected to racial slurs from none other than Winston Churchill (Half naked Indian Fakir); Mobilize awareness of local industry and less dependence on imported clothing and material; the historic dandee march for withdrawal of the salt tax; a fast unto death to stop the virtual slaughter of British troops by irate Indian mobs; and be imprisoned several times. His resolve was to work with stalwarts such as Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Sardar Valabhbhai Patel, Professor Gokhale, J.B. Kripalani, Maulana Azad, and Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru to ensure first of all to get the British to quit India, and then run an Indian Government under the Congress party. Gandhi will soon realize that it is not enough to be just an Indian, for India has many facets - Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, and Christian. The British relied on these many facets as an excuse for their continuance as they wanted to ensure that the minorities are not oppressed by the Hindu majority. Concerned over the inroads made by Gandhi to unite the Hindus, Muslims, and all others under a common umbrella, the British invited Jinnah for talks, and it is here that a seed was laid for a separate country called Pakistan. When Gandhi came to know about this, he pleaded with Jinnah to unite the Muslims, even take over as the first Prime Minister with his choice of Muslim candidates for Parliament, but separatist Jinnah had already made his mind. The World Wars of 1914 and 1944 having taken it’s toll on Europe and Britain in particular, the weary British finally decided to leave India in 1947 - not the India they had conquered - but an India that was ready to be divided in East Pakistan and West Pakistan. Now after the much awaited independence was the real test for Gandhi - a test that will make him or break him - as he started a fast unto death to try and stop the violence that was threatening to break out into a civil war, not realizing that he had indirectly fanned Hindu extremism, which would later be called the Shiv Sena, into taking the matter directly in their hands to ensure that Muslims are kept out of their Hindustan forever.

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Thursday, November 27th, 2008
Genres: Action | Adventure
Countries: UK | USA
Actors:
Directors:
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” The Man Who Would Be King” is about two ambitious ex-soldiers stationed in India who set out to become the rulers of an entire country. After finishing their tour of duty in India, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan have decided that India is “too small for the likes of them,” so they decide to bribe a local ruler and extort money from him, in order to buy twenty Martini rifles, which they will use to take over villages in Kafristan. They face many challenges and perils along the way, including difficult terrain, hostile natives, freezing temperatures, and an avalanche high in the mountains. They eventually come to a small village, Urheb, where they meet Ootah and Billy Fish, an Indian who speaks English; he then becomes their translator. They then train the natives of this village to use the rifles, and soon conquer village after village. During a battle, Daniel is struck by an arrow that seemingly sticks out of his chest. The ignorant natives believe that he must be a God for not having died, and fall down and begin worshiping him. Daniel and Peachy decide that it would be easier for a “God ” to take over the country, so they pretend that Daniel is a god, the son of Alexander the Great who has returned after 2200 years to again rule Kafristan. The entire country celebrated the return of their new ruler, the Son of Segunda (”Alexander”). As a token of their admiration, the holiest of holy men gives Daniel all of the gold and riches left by Alexander in 328 B.C. It is enough to make them the richest men in the world . . . All goes well until Daniel’s ego and greed gets the best of him. He asks Peachy to bow when he walks in front of him. He later tells Peachy that he has decided to stay, and now believes that he is the son of Alexander ( ‘in spirit, anyways”), and that to fulfill his destiny, he will marry Roxanne, like his “father” Alexander did before him. The Kafiri’s believe that a mortal cannot marry a God, but Daniel goes ahead anyway. Peachy was set to leave with his share of the treasure, but Daniel convinced him to stay ” for old time’s sake” for the wedding. At the ceremony, Roxanne, believing that she would soon die, bites Daniel, drawing blood. The entire crowd realizes that since Danny is bleeding, that he is a man, not a God, and that he has been deceiving them the entire time. Peachy grabs Daniel and they run off with their twenty soldiers, shooting at the crowd of monks who set out to kill them. They are eventually captured, and Daniel is forced to walk out on a rope bridge. The monks cut the ropes, and Daniel bravely falls to his death. Peachy is later crucified; when they come to see him the next day, he is still alive, and they say that it is a miracle that he lived and they cut him down. He eventually climbs down into the valley and retrieves Danny’s head, still wearing the crown. He brings it back to Rudyard Kipling, a writer for the Northern Star, as proof that Daniel accomplished his goal, and became the King of Kafristan. Themes developed in the story: 1. ambition 2. friendship 3. taking risks 4. perseverance (not giving up) 5. power 6. honor and dignity

The Last Samurai (2003)

Monday, November 17th, 2008
Genres: Action | Adventure | Drama | War
Countries: Japan | New Zealand | USA
Actors: Shin Koyamada | Ken Watanabe | Tom Cruise | William Atherton | Chad Lindberg | Ray Godshall Sr. | Billy Connolly | Tony Goldwyn | Masato Harada | Masashi Odate | John Koyama | Timothy Spall | Shichinosuke Nakamura | Togo Igawa | Satoshi Nikaido | Shintaro Wada
Directors: Edward Zwick
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In the 1870s, Captain Nathan Algren, a cynical veteran of the American Civil war who will work for anyone, is hired by Americans who want lucrative contracts with the Emperor of Japan to train the peasant conscripts for the first standing imperial army in modern warfare using firearms. The imperial Omura cabinet’s first priority is to repress a rebellion of traditionalist Samurai -hereditary warriors- who remain devoted to the sacred dynasty but reject the Westernizing policy and even refuse firearms. Yet when his ill-prepared superior force sets out too soon, their panic allows the sword-wielding samurai to crush them. Badly wounded Algren’s courageous stand makes the samurai leader Katsumoto spare his life; once nursed to health he learns to know and respect the old Japanese way, and participates as advisor in Katsumoto’s failed attempt to save the Bushido tradition, but Omura gets repressive laws enacted- he must now choose to honor his loyalty to one of the embittered sides when the conflict returns to the battlefield…

We Were Soldiers (2002)

Monday, November 17th, 2008
Genres: Action | Drama | History | War
Countries: Germany | USA
Actors: Mel Gibson | Madeleine Stowe | Greg Kinnear | Sam Elliott | Chris Klein | Keri Russell | Barry Pepper | Duong Don | Ryan Hurst | Robert Bagnell | Marc Blucas | Josh Daugherty | Jsu Garcia | Jon Hamm | Clark Gregg
Directors: Randall Wallace
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In a place soon to be known as The Valley of Death, in a small clearing called landing zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and 400 young fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, all troopers from an elite American combat division, were surrounded by 4,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history. We Were Soldiers Once…And Young is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another.

Hero (2002)

Monday, November 17th, 2008
Genres: Action | Adventure | Drama
Countries: China | Hong Kong
Actors: Jet Li | Tony Leung Chiu Wai | Maggie Cheung | Ziyi Zhang | Daoming Chen | Donnie Yen | Liu Zhong Yuan | Zheng Tia Yong | Yan Qin | Chang Xiao Yang | Zhang Ya Kun | Ma Wen Hua | Jin Ming | Xu Kuang Hua | Wang Shou Xin
Directors: Yimou Zhang
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In ancient China, before the reign of the first emperor, warring factions throughout the Six Kingdoms plot to assassinate the most powerful ruler, Qin. When a minor official defeats Qin’s three principal enemies, he is summoned to the palace to tell Qin the story of his surprising victory.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Monday, November 17th, 2008
Genres: Action | Adventure | Drama | War
Countries: USA
Actors: Robert Duvall | Marlon Brando | Martin Sheen | Frederic Forrest | Laurence Fishburne | Sam Bottoms | Dennis Hopper | Albert Hall | Harrison Ford | G.D. Spradlin | Jerry Ziesmer | Scott Glenn | Bo Byers | James Keane | Kerry Rossall
Directors: Francis Ford Coppola
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Based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, this is a controversial addition to the multitude of Vietnam war movies in existence. Set in 1969 Vietnam, we follow U.S. Special Forces Captain Willard on his mission up a river into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a God among a local tribe.

Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Genres: Adventure | Biography | Drama
Countries: USA
Actors: Brad Pitt | David Thewlis | B. D. Wong | Mako | Danny Denzongpa | Victor Wong | Ingeborga Dapkunaite | Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk | Lhakpa Tsamchoe | Jetsun Pema | Ama Ashe Dongtse
Directors: Jean-Jacques Annaud
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Heinrich Harrer runs from trouble at home in WWII Austria to climb Mt. Nanga Parbat. After meeting unforseen obstacles, he comes into contact with the forbidden city of Lhasa.

The King and I (1956)

Monday, April 21st, 2008
Genres: Adventure | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance
Countries: USA
Actors: Deborah Kerr | Yul Brynner | Rita Moreno | Martin Benson | Terry Saunders | Rex Thompson | Carlos Rivas | Patrick Adiarte | Alan Mowbray | Geoffrey Toone | Robert Banas | Dennis Bonilla | Thomas Bonilla | Reuben Fuentes | Charles Irwin
Directors: Walter Lang
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After the death of her husband, Anna Owens moves from England to Siam with her son Louis to become a teacher for the children of the king of Siam. She finds Siamese customs to be quite different from English ones, which brings her often in conflict with the king. However, after some time they find themselves getting along much better.

Akira (1988)

Thursday, February 14th, 2008
Genres: Action | Adventure | Animation | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Countries: Japan
Actors: Mitsuo Iwata | Nozomu Sasaki | Mami Koyama | Tessh? Genda | Hiroshi ?take | K?ichi Kitamura | Michihiro Ikemizu | Yuriko Fuchizaki | Masaaki ?kura | Tar? Arakawa | Takeshi Kusao | Kazumi Tanaka | Masayuki Kat? | Y?suke Akimoto | Masato Hirano
Directors: Katsuhiro ?tomo
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Kaneda is a bike gang leader whose close friend Tetsuo gets involved in a government secret project known as Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader. The confrontation sparks off Tetsuo’s supernatural power leading to bloody death, a coup attempt and the final battle in Tokyo Olympiad where Akira’s secrets were buried 30 years ago.