(Movie) The American directed by Anton Corbijn

If you just happen to read the promotional summary of this movie which reads “An assassin hides out in Italy for one last assignment.”, and look at the poster, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is a Jason Bourne or a Neeson “Taken” type of swashbuckling movie…

If you sit down to watch this with an intent to lose your blues in an orgy of fast moving punches and adrenaline pumping chases, you would be sorely disappointed. And that is only because this is a case of bad marketing…

Because this is probably one of the best movies that I have ever seen. And it becomes one not due to any breakthrough theme or espousing some philosophy that multiple views to get the aha moment.

It does this by having a screenplay that almost makes it a visual O Henry short story - a taut storyline that leaves more questions than answers, by a character sketch that is as profound as it is multi- dimensional and yes having a background score that almost gives a dark poetic feel…It had the same feel as Uzak (Distant) does in most part…

At the centre of this extraordinary movie is perhaps one of the most (till yet) under-rated actor of our generation – George Clooney. Watch this movie, Up in the Air, Syriana, Michael Clayton, Oceans series, One fine day and the sheer extraordinary range of Clooney comes through. And this movie is given its quality by his sheer presence.

Labels: adaptation, book adaptation, Crime, drama, movies, psychological, thriller

posted by Protik Basu @ 1:16 AM 3 Comments

(Movie) Igby Goes Down directed by Burr Steers

If ever you wanted to see Holden Caufield on the screen, this movie is it…

Some purists feel horrified at the fact that someone has taken the classic and turned into a modern story. I, however, feel that art must renew itself periodically, otherwise it atrophies. Especially when the portrayal is as beautiful and sensitive as this one…

Igby (Keiran Culkin) inhabits a world where he sees hypocrisy and duplicity everywhere. He is close to his father who now lives in a mental asylum and he hates everything else…Its a world that is coming of age but is already repelled by what he sees is the result of coming of age…

The story follows Igby as he stumbles from one relation to another, all the while keeping his humour and sarcasm up while he is getting scarred…and his sarcasm really makes you go splits most of the times!!!

The movie is populated by memorable characters, from his elder  brother Ollie (Ryan Phillippe), a manipulative smooth talker, Mimi (Susan Sarandon), their mother who is a complex book all by herself, Rachel (Amanda Peet), the vulnerable mistress of his godfather D.H. Banes (Jeff Goldblum), who in turn is the classical alpha-male and Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), the hippie love interest, who in a fit of conformity betrays Igby.

The acting by Culkin, however, to me, is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is his character and his acting that holds the fibre of the story together. He is someone who is sensitive and highly vulnerable but who hides it all behind a mask of sarcasm and callousness. The times when his vulnerability comes forth makes for some of the most memorable moments in the movie. His leave-taking was one of the most poignant parts of the movie, especially the scene with his father…

A quirky, sensitive movie about people who are branded outsiders, by themselves and by others. As I said, Holden Caulfield in modern day New York…

Watch this and you would take away memorable characters, great acting and a wonderful bittersweet feeling…

Labels: america, book adaptation, comedy, movies, rebel, satire

posted by Protik Basu @ 12:09 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) The Illusionist directed by Neil Burger

Take the acting genius of Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and the beauty of Jessica Biel and a villain played by Rufus Sewell, put it in turn of the century Vienna, throw in some great cinematography and make it a story of mystery, intrigue and love and yes lots  and lots of magic and what do you have?

A sublime watching experience, that's what you get…

Eisenheim (Norton), son of a cabinetmaker leaves home to go around the world after his budding romance with Duchess Teschen (Biel) is thwarted, but not after he meets a travelling magician with whom he is fascinated.

He comes back many years later and he performs magic which seems almost paranormal in nature. He performs magic that no-one has ever seen before and rapidly becomes the talk of the town, attracting the attention of the crown prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) who is at this time engaged to Teschen (planned marriage for political reasons).

Eisenheim and Teschen meet on a show and embark on an affair but this time they plan to disappear properly. They weave a plan that has magic and mystery in huge dollops. The crown prince is the way though…

The acting is superb all around. Giamatti is superb in his role as the chief inspector in the pay of the crown prince and yet someone who has a conscience and a thirst for knowledge of magic. He is also the narrator of the movie and the person who finally unravels the whole mystery. Norton is simply sublime in his role as the enigmatic and the intense magician. The variety of roles he can do is simply breathtaking…

The cinematography and the music score deserve a special mention.  Since the movie is a period piece, the ambience both visual and  auditory is vital. This movie has a wonderful synthesis of both.

Its a complete immersive experience – both from the visual point of view and from the story point of view. The performances at the show are very gripping and very intense, especially the ones at the latter part, which border on necromancy.

This is a movie that can be seen again and again and which will be enjoyed everytime…

By the way, you will see some similarity with the movie “Prestige”, since both are period pieces and have elements of mystery…but both are different and both classics in their own right…

Labels: book adaptation, magical, movies, mystery, period peice, thriller

posted by Protik Basu @ 7:44 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Fateless (Sorstalanság) directed by Lajos Koltai

A Holocaust movie based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same title by the Nobel Prize-winner Imre Kertész, who wrote the screenplay…

Before I started this, I felt that I have had enough of Holocaust movies . For anyone who has been fed on Hollywood fare for a long time, a natural impulse is to compare any concentration camp movie to Schlinder’s List, which, as I have realized in time to be melodramatic and a one-sided portrayal (Hollywood would make us feel that only Jews died in the camps). The overdoing of the topic has unfortunately given license to Israelites to claim the mantle of victims – so that they can do to Palestinians what Hitler did to them.

But a few minutes into the movie, you realize that it is different. It has a quietness to it, almost an indifference to it, as if you are watching it from a distance. There are no gunshots, hectic action or any bravado. It populated by people who don't really know what's going to happen next, who feel that nothing terrible can really happen, believing in their own luck and following the herd – something that is all too human and completely real. The father is called for labour camp and is given a farewell dinner. No one can really fathom where he is going, beyond a vague notion of dread.

This is a movie that is almost a quiet reflection of how people behave during times of unimaginable horror – survival by any means for those who are caught in hell and denial by those on the outside.

For me, the most beautiful part of the movie is the last quarter, when our protagonist comes back to his homeland, a home that has changed and not only due to the bombed out buildings. The movie before this is about how different people try to survive – some by ruthlessly practical, some by having a dream (like walking on the streets he has left behind), some by turning to religion and some by compromising. Morality and ethics, construct of a peaceful society ceases to exist in the face of extermination at any moment. In the midst, flashes of humanity sometimes sparks, if only for a few moments…

The last part brings to mind the last part of “All quiet on the western front”. A person who has suffered something that is beyond understanding, realizes that outsiders can be curious, be in denial or be sympathetic, all without ever understanding. The outsider expects explanations in normal day-to-day terms, which the insider is incapable and ultimately unwilling to provide.

György realizes that he has to come to terms with it himself and has to try to find a ‘future’, as he is advised by all those who keep saying that its ‘all over now’. Everyone wants him (and by reflection themselves) to forget what has happened and look ahead. The fate of the victims and survivors…

What you take away from this movie is the feeling that there is no point in pointing fingers at those who ran the camps. We are betrayed as much by our own people (the camp overseers, the policemen who rounded up the Jews were all compatriots) as much by the invader. The greatest criminal is the art of forgetting that is perfected once the crisis is over.

The film is shot in beautiful chrome and has some stunning camera-work. There are not as much words spoken as emotions generated by the lights and shadows. You realize that sometimes words are truly insufficient to make the  mind grasp – we are left with only visuals that can penetrate.

A narrative that is a commentary on how we grapple with something we don't understand and which we are then unwilling to remember, unless we mythologize and glorify.

The drowned and the saved sometimes share similar fates…

Labels: biography, book adaptation, historical, Hungary, movies, war, World War

posted by Protik Basu @ 12:11 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Wag the Dog directed by Barry Levinson

A delightful movie about spin doctors and how they can be shaping our reality right as we breathe. And it is so funny and mind boggling that you fear that its true!!!For isn't truth stranger than movies?

This movie is a cult-classic. And you soon see why…

The first lines of this movie sets the tone for what you realize is going to be quite a different movie - Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. What if the tail is smarter than the dog? It would be the tail wagging the dog!!!

The American president’s re-election campaign has run into serious trouble with a sexual misconduct allegation that is just about to burst the dam. So what would you do? You would call the spin doctors of course. And what would they do? Obviously create a world-shaking crisis that would over-shadow everything else and induce a panic-stricken population to rally behind its hero president (if you create it, you can defuse it – especially if its a fake event)

And the man behind the creation of the event – Robert De Niro. Who better to portray a man who is amoralistic and who does his spin doctoring as an everyday job. But since this is a truly magnificent event, who would he employ? Hollywood of course!!! in the shape of Dustin Hoffman. Its a world of people untroubled by the ethical  dilemma of any sorts – the only worry is of logistics. Truth and justice are words that would be met with quizzical stares by people here – people who run our world of policies and information.

So a war is manufactured and sleeper cells in news agencies are activated and modern information democracy does what it does best – create a blinkered dictatorship of news.

Problems arise and are solved and with each solution, you begin to gain more insight into how the world might really be working!!!

Its funny but not hilarious. Its funny in a very terrifying sort of way, a combination of words that can be understood only when you are through watching the movie. And the feeling only grows towards the end…

But there are these moments when you realize that the movie makers are really telling a stark truth couched in a satire. You see shades of the American administration strategies over the years (The Bush years especially are pre-empted by this movie). And then something that was the coup-de-tat for me – the two spinners (De Niro and Hoffman) talking about arranging the Nobel Peace Prize for the President. I did a literal double take. Well, Obama’s advisors sure see the movies!!!!

A movie like few other. A movie that needs to be seen to be believed.

One thing is for sure. You will not be unaffected by this one.

Labels: america, book adaptation, comedy, conspiracy, movies, satire

posted by Protik Basu @ 9:33 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) The Great Raid directed by John Dahl

If all you like is great action visuals, watch only the last 45 minutes of this movie or go watch Saving Private Ryan. If you like a complete movie which concentrates on historical accuracy and goes caringly into depth of an issue that is viewed differently by different affected parties; If you don't mind sub-plots that gives a holistic understanding of the situation and if you like to understand the build-up to a mission, you will enjoy this movie immensely…

Other than the fact that movie is well-balanced and does not hurry you to the final firefight, what I liked best about the movie was the accuracy and the highlighting of the contribution made by an often overlooked part of the war – local resistance. The war would not have been won if not for the local intelligence provided by the resistance militia. With the overt focus of Hollywood on D-day landing (it provides for great visuals), most people would think that wars are won by heavily loaded landing parties (US would have been winning in Iraq that way isn't it?). Of course, this movie is all true and painstaking detailing has been done to replicate this, right down to the last bit of strategy.

Also, this is a theatre of war (The Pacific) that has received little attention from movie makers over the years. Only recently has the Soviet theatre started to receive attention (possibly because they had done the western theatre to death and needed newer visuals). The Philippines, Indonesia etc are places where the fiercest battles were fought, yet few directors have ventured there…

This is about the ‘Raid at Cabanatuan’, a mission to save POWs captured by the Japanese. As the war was drawing to close, the Japanese gave a directive to kill the POWs. After this practise became known, this mission was conceived. The Americans were helped in planning and execution of the mission by the Filipino guerrillas.

The film rotates between the Americans, the POWs, Margaret Utinsky (a nurse who helped the resistance), the urban resistance and the guerrillas. Care is taken to ensure that that each side’s viewpoint, motivation and courage is shown. This part is what I respect immensely about the movie. No one side completely dominated the movie. More emphasis was not laid on the Americans. Everyone was taken on as an equal partner, something that an overwhelming majority of movies of this genre tend to do. Sure, this makes this a little longer than usual but who said that good things always had to come in small packages…

The final mission is executed with great care and this makes for one of the best action sequences in a long time. You understand the strategy completely and you are a part of the nerve-wracking moments when the knife-edge strategy is on the point of collapse. Its a great visual treat to watch how the coordinated action on three fronts led to one of the biggest POW rescues in history…The final actual footage is a nice add-on.

Overall, a movie that gives you complete satisfaction – on the characterization front, on the action front, on the story and accuracy part.

Great watch!!!

Labels: action, book adaptation, movies, World War

posted by Protik Basu @ 10:49 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Romulus, My Father directed by Richard Roxburgh

This is one of the movies, in the middle of which, you realize, the book on which this is based has to be great. But the movie itself seems to be a little disjointed and lacks the punch to make a big impact.

Everything about this movie just seems to be on the cusp of being great, except they invariably seem to miss the mark somehow. You wait for the punch. It never comes. The acting is good but not great. The story told has its powerful moments but you somehow feel that something has been missed, some thread not connected…

This movie is an adaptation of the book “Romulus, My Father” written by Australian philosopher Raimond Gaita, about his father and his attempts to raise his son (Raimond) agaisnt all adversity – including a increasingly unstable wife, betrayals, economic ruin and mental illness. In the midst of all this, Raimond is exposed to varied experiences and grows up much beyond his years, experiences including caring for a half-sister who is eventually abandoned, watching his mother become a stranger, caring for himself when he becomes all alone.

It is a touching story of survival and of the human spirit conquering all obstacles. Except, as I said, before, you feel that something vital has been lost in translation. Even the great acting by Kodi Smit-McPhee (who plays the child Raimond) and good performances by Eric Bana and Marton Csokas are not enough to lift the movie.  You just don't seem to connect emotionally, though at many times, you get close to it…that's the whole problem with the movie. You want to like it, but it you just about cant…

One thing for sure, it has whet my appetite to read the book. Should be a good read…

Labels: Australia, book adaptation, drama, movies

posted by Protik Basu @ 10:39 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Strangers on a train directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Well, even if you didnt know that this film was directed by the master storyteller (I didnt), you would realize very soon that a genius is behind the camera. Even after so many years, after so much technical sophistications and so many scriptwriters trying their hand at the mystery-thriller genre, there is something so appealing about these stories that hooks you and keeps you literally at the edge of your seat.

The plot gets you into the rollercoaster right away. A plan for murder with an ingenious scheme, spoken in passing, becomes a horrifying reality soon and the other man is now expected to fulfil the ‘bargain’. A cat and mouse game ensues with some truly adrenalin pumping moments and twists and turns – especially near the end. Speaking more about the movie will only serve to spoil it for the viewer. Seeing this movie is the only way to enjoy it…

I can only say if you want to be thrilled and entertained and given a treat of truly great storytelling, this movie cannot be given a miss…

Labels: book adaptation, classics, movies, mystery, thriller

posted by Protik Basu @ 12:50 AM 0 Comments

(Movie) Zodiac directed by David Fincher

After seeing the movie, I realized how few good detective movies I have come across lately. By that genre I don't mean the movies which seem to have some world-conspiracy behind them or the ones which seem to have some shadow of Watergate type of scam going on. I mean the real clue-searching, detective work type of movie. I realized how much I missed these kind of stories after watching this one…

There was no swashbuckling unnecessary action, no constant on the edge tension (It compensated with being a well paced thriller). That's what made it great. It made the movie real. What it did have was a grittiness, a story that was all too real and a justice system that was that as well – too real. Its quiet, grim and dark.And because the movie was based on a true story, that made it all the more absorbing. The one man’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) fanatical quest for justice, even though the murderer had not affected him personally, out of a small initial curiosity that becomes a full fledged obsession that threatened to consume his family and himself is something that would captivate you throughout the movie.

If you enjoy a good detective story – how a structure can be built from hypothesis and how it can fall like a house of cards on a simple missed logic; the frustration of trying to unearth something that everyone has given up on (the case dragged on for decades); the quiet doggedness  that a determined man has to have in order to unearth a mystery; how pieces of a jigsaw fit together,  you would enjoy every minute of this. The movie lets you get into the mind of an investigator, in all its starkness – minus the glorification. That's a rare movie that lets you do that…

Labels: book adaptation, movies, mystery, thriller, true story

posted by Protik Basu @ 12:28 AM 0 Comments

Do androids dream of electric sheep? written by Philip K Dick

What is that makes us human? This iconic novel by Philip K Dick (on which the movie “Blade Runner” is based) attempts to answer this by putting us in the future; a future where androids (or ‘andys’) have become a household ‘slave’; a future where earth has become a largely inhospitable terrain due to a radioactive war.

Andys, like any other slaves, rise up frequently against their masters (i.e. humans) and attempt to mesh in with the human populace. And since science progresses to improve everything, the andys have become almost indistinguishable from humans. The only way to hunt them down is through what is basically a empathy-meter. Since andys are not supposed to have this very crucial human feature, they can only simulate it and thus can be caught.

But this basic assumption is questioned at various points in the book, from both angles. Do all humans possess empathy and are all androids devoid of it? the moral high ground that humans take in hunting down androids is itself brought into question.

Rick Deckard, an ageing bounty hunter (who track down renegade androids), decides to take up on last case of tracking down five runaway androids, before retiring for good. As he progresses in this task, he comes face to face with the assumptions under which the murders are made palatable. His increasing doubts about the work that he is doing become apparent as the book progresses.

Finally as the book ends, the reader ask themselves the question – is there anything that makes us uniquely human?

One of the finest books of the golden age of science fiction writing…

Labels: book adaptation, Books, movie adaptation, science-fiction

posted by Protik Basu @ 11:55 AM 0 Comments

(Movie) The Counterfeiters directed by Stefan Ruzowitsky

A film in german, this is based on the true story of Operation Bernhard, a secret plan by the Nazis to destabilize the economies of United Kingdom (and later United States) by flooding them with counterfeit money. For this, they put together a team of forgers from the various prisoners in the concentration camps. The leading forger is Salomon ‘Sally’ Sorowitsch, around whom the film revolves.

I think the best part of the movie is the way Sally tries to keep together his men and tries to keep them alive in conditions where the prison guards dont think twice before putting a bullet through your head. A team that consists of a TB patient, a person who decides to rebel on an individual basis to deny the Nazis victory and other characters who compromise for various reasons…among all these, Sally tries to keep himself and his men alive.

What I liked about the character that is Sally is his deadpan expressions which hide a solid though quirky ideology. His main aim is stay alive, at all costs. He does not have an ideology as such nor does he indulge in analysis of the situation on any other basis except whether it keeps him and his men alive…

And as a background runs one of the biggest attempted frauds in history, a scam that could have turned the tide of the war. At the end, it is only Sally and his men who, risking their lives, did not allow this to happen.

It is a fast moving movie whose pace never slackens. The brutality of the camps are shown indirectly and perhaps because of that, the setting seems more terrifying because you realize that for all the ‘better’ treatment that the forgers are getting till the time they are useful, one failure can lead them straight to the gas chambers.

I think what I liked best about the movie was that it did not moralize or shed tears about the victims and the brutality (there have been too many movies about that – has almost become a template of sorts) but used it as an implicit background and showcased a thriller where the most unlikely men became heroes mostly simply by the defiant act of staying alive and denying their oppressors the final victory…

Labels: book adaptation, Foreign Movies, movies, thriller, World War

posted by Protik Basu @ 10:17 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Spartacus directed by Stanley Kubrick

For me, the best Roman era epic to come out of Hollywood. For me, Spartacus beats hollow Ten Commandments and its ilk. For me, this is mainly because firstly this has a historical element to it (and I am fascinated by the history of slave rebellions – and the most famous name in that history always goes to Spartacus), which makes it real and believable. Secondly there is no preaching a la Moses et al which can make you cringe…

The story is about Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas – the better of the two Douglas according to me!!!) and his doomed slave rebellion (the Third Servile war). It was the most successful slave rebellion in the history of the Roman empire, a rebellion which threatened Rome itself. It was a rebellion which had in its army some gladiators (Spartacus and his generals were all gladiators) while the majority were hastily trained slaves who seemed magically to destroy almost any legions that the Romans threw at them and which reached a point when Rome did not have legions to defend itself and had to recall legions fighting abroad to come to their rescue. It was a rebellion that took three whole veteran armies to destroy though by this point Spartacus’ army was very much weakened.

Spartacus has been an inspiration to centuries of rebels fighting oppression, most notably Toussaint L’Ouverture (he was called the black Spartacus by the French). Indeed his legend has lived on through the centuries as a symbol of uncompromising and heroic defiance of tyranny (and Imperialism).

Of course since the movie is only three hours long, Hollywood simplified the whole rebellion, shortening it and making a linear structure to the whole process (when in fact there were many twists and turns in the actual rebellion). In the process, it also manufactured a somewhat fictionalized account of the life of Spartacus (Very little is known of Spartacus himself historically – his body was never found). But its a beautiful job done since the only the peripheral elements are changed to bring cohesiveness to the story. And Kirk Douglas is sublime as the leader of the rebels where he is projected as a freedom fighter who aims to free all the slaves in the empire and allow them to go back to their homes. Historians agree that his actions did aim for the freeing of the slaves (though not from all the empire – just whatever he could do).

The movie starts with Spartacus as a slave when he is bought by a Gladiator trainer for his Gladiator school. He falls in love with a slave girl, Varinia, there but there is little he can do about except steal glances and long for her silently. However a small rebellion starts when a show is put up for Crassus and his entourage where the four gladiators are forced to fight to death. Spartacus is defeated but his opponent Draba refuses to kill him, instead charging up the podium towards Crassus, being killed in the attempt. The mood turns ugly in the camp and the spark is lit when Spartacus sees Varinia being taken away to Rome where Crassus had bought her and kills the guard who jeers at him. The other gladiators join in and the rebellion starts…

The story of how the rebellion progresses and how from being dismissed off a gang on a small time rampage, the rebellion is slowly seen as a major threat by the Roman Senate whose armies are decimated systematically by the poorly equipped and semi-trained slave army…Along the way, the story develops Spartacus’ personality, his love for Varinia, his loyalty towards his men (refusing to save himself at the end) and more importantly his growth as a defender of the weak and the oppressed, giving them the strength to fight back, thus creating history.

The best scene in the whole movie is surely the “I am Spartacus” part (and a whole lot of fans of this movie would agree), when his men refused to give him up for a chance at liberty. This is of course not historical but I am sure the kind of man he supposedly was, it would have probably happened if the situation had actually occurred. This part is really the climax for me – the rebels defeated but unbowed. That really makes the movie perfect.

Another good part of the movie is the development of the personality of the main characters in the movie – other than Spartacus and his generals (especially Crixus), Crassus, Gracchus, Julius Caesar, the Gladiator school owner Lentulus Batiatus, Varinia and Antoninus. You understand what each man is fighting for and the movie also makes clear that there are no specific villains in the whole story, only heroes and victors. This, for me, is what makes the movie so compelling and moving.

Spartacus is a movie that should be watched by all…not only is it an epical tale well told but a tale that is told beautifully. It a movie whose scenes and dialogues stay with you for a very very long time…and you begin to understand the legend that is Spartacus…

Labels: book adaptation, historical, movies, revolution, true story

posted by Protik Basu @ 10:45 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Basketball Diaries directed by Scott Kalvert

A true story which is what makes this movie moving. The story is about drug abuse, about how simple teenage bravado and dare takes a person down the abyss of addiction and its horrific consequences. It ends with redemption of sorts for the author of ‘Basketball Diaries’.

But having watched movies like “Requiem for a Dream” and “Spun”, which I feel draws you much more into them, this movie seemed to make somewhat less impact…Midway through the movie, you realize that you have seen it all. This is all a bit unjust, I know, since it was one of pioneers in this genre. Its just my luck that I saw movies which I liked better before I saw this one…

But watch it for the acting of Leonardo Di Caprio. It is breathtaking. And he was a strapping teenager when he acted in the movie. We all got to know his acting prowess with the films he did after he became famous in Titanic (though not in Titanic itself). This is pre-Titanic of course and you just see the mature actor he would become in the tormented character he plays in this movie…

Labels: book adaptation, drugs, movies, true story

posted by Protik Basu @ 3:18 PM 0 Comments

(Book) Seabiscuit written by Laura Hillenbrand

Once you have read through this book, you would realize why the movie felt so flat. It is a book that is difficult to translate into reel mainly because to make the audience relate to the atmosphere and the world in which the characters lived, a lot of background needs to be shown. Difficult to accomplish in that in a few hours, unless you want to be a Cecil De Mills!!!

It is a vanished world for sure. Its incredible to read that a nation can go bonkers over a horse (Seabiscuit made more news space in US than Hitler and Roosevelt in 1938!!!) and that the sport of horse-racing can captivate a whole nation. It would be difficult to recreate that world in print as well, especially to readers who have no notion at all of horse-racing and its history and indeed the passion of it all. I mean, write a book on football or cricket and everyone can relate to it…you would recognize names and remember events. How many can do that with horse-racing especially events in horse-racing nearly 80 years back?!!

The beauty and the biggest accomplishment of this book is that it is able to transport the reader into the world of Charles Howard, Red Pollard, George Woolf, Tom Smith and Seabiscuit so completely that you find yourself literally cheering on Seabiscuit as he runs his greatest race of all at the Santa Anita Handicap race in 1938 with Red Pollard on its back.

Laura Hillenbrand weaves the tapestry of the racing world as it existed at that time – pre Depression and later. She makes the unknowledgeable reader grasp the basic understandings of horse racing – its allure and its dangers in a few chapters. She then talks about the people with whom the book is concerned. We are introduced to the characters of Charles Howard and his innate business sense and his humanity, Tom Smith – the lone plainsman and his thousands of eccentricities, Red Pollard and George Woolf – jockeys who will ride into history with Seabiscuit. And then we are also introduced to the star of the book – Seabiscuit himself. By the time the story picks up, we are already comfortably ensconced in the world of United States in the 1930’s and can feel the living voices of the characters. 

All these people’s lives revolve around Seabiscuit and we see their hopes, their anger, their frustration and their triumphs through the book’s pages. What emerges is a real-life fairy tale of the ugly duckling. The horse who was considered unfit for racing and whom only two men understood, the jockey who is blind in an eye (but which he tells no-one about) and suffers horrendous accidents but believes in the magic of him and Seabiscuit, the trainer who has almost a karmic connection with horses, especially with Seabiscuit. Unlikely characters who normally would be considered eccentrics in society, come together and create history.

The author is hugely successful in recreating races which might seem remote to readers who have never cared to see horse-racing of any kind. She makes you a part of it. Passages which describe the heat of the races makes you feel almost as if you are on the back of the horses. Since for readers like me, who are completely ignorant of race history, she keeps the mystery of the outcome of the race until at the very end which makes reading the pages breathtaking.

By the end of it, you feel a part of every sorrow and every triumph that the horse and the people who loved him went through. You feel drained out after a race as people actually might have (differing in degrees of course!!!). You feel angry at the injustice that is inflicted on the horse and the people around it and for that reason, you clap the harder when horse answers with the only way it can – by winning  against tremendous odds.

This is an immensely readable book and as I said, not knowing the subject is not a barrier at all. A small part of a vanished history is recreated in all its glory and you feel a twinge of nostalgia for it. And we are made richer in knowing the same…and you do fall in love with Seabiscuit – head 0ver heels!!!

Labels: book adaptation, Books, horse, sports

posted by Protik Basu @ 6:03 PM 0 Comments