parryverysweet

Sensational! Difficult to explain in words, this film truly shows what childhood innocence is all about. It then goes on to show how it can be shattered in a matter of minutes and how fickle is the affections of children. Brilliant performance from the young boy who plays the pivotal character whose father wants to do nothing to him while he yearns for him to return. Samantha, portrayed pitch-perfect by Cecile, is a picture of picture of patience and motherly love. The bond between them weak yet full of hope and promise. Samantha didn't want to give up on him while the little boy accepted that he needs to get serious and accept the only person who cares for him whole-heartedly.

Whoa! Meryl streep turns in such a fine performance it is literally impossible to miss this one out. Kevin Kline too packs a punch but is completely overshadowed by Streep's powerful act. Nevertheless, a great second act. The movie about the travails of a young Christian pole who survives the holocaust and the effect of the choices she made to do so. Brilliantly directed and acted, this is a must watch for any of the history buffs who enjoy this genre. One of the finest for sure. A delightful little chemistry between the narrator and Streep holds the movie together whenever it gets a tad stretched and doesn't let you get bored as it gets weary at times. Meryt Streep is grief-stricken and Kevin is mad as they both bring celluloid magic and something that must be watched by one and all.

It turns out all well and fantastic in the end. Started off slowly, and I often wondered how the auteur is going to justify the bonding between the boys and the fugitive but he pulls it off impressively in the end. Over the length of the movie, you do get the subtle message that the boys are in awe of Mud and are themselves growing in confidence as they help him out more. I think this was difficult to show on screen and the Nichols pulls it of with aplomb. Mud on the other hand realizes the futility of it all and leaves for a safer abode not without a few hiccups though.

One does start caring for each of the central characters in the end although i do wonder why was the other kid in the movie. There was barely room for him to grow and his character seemed to be overshadowed throughout the length of the movie.

All in all, a fantastic, heart warming film that makes you smile right at the very end.

A super lame first half followed up with a rocking second half. One could sum this up in the following ways:

1. There are just certain literature which looks super entertaining while watching but make for very predictable and boring reading.

2. While Indians dish out romantic stories by the dozen the treatment is so shabby that you often wonder how the hell did the chemistry build up. On the other hand, you ask them to show conflicting relative and family issues and they dish out a sucker punch. Here it seemed that the director knew that the first half is just meh and the real strength lies in the second half of the movie. So quick was he to dismiss the chemistry that you could blink and miss it.

3. If there was a direct to movie concept in book writing , Chetan Bhagat should officially consider that instead of going the traditional publisher's way.

And last but not the least!

4. Seldom are movies so mainstream and yet celebrate its side actors and character artists so wonderfully. For every effervescent reaction by Alia, Amrita Singh showed why she is such a treat to watch. Ronit Roy turned up and put on all the right moves in reprising his role as the father fighting with his own demons. Revathy and Shivkumar were brilliant as Ananya's parents representing the other side of the spectrum. The struggles of coping with pushy relatives and their own demons at the altars of their sons and daughters done so tastefully and with such restraint. You could almost root for them and hope that they get more and more screen time and that, folks is a rare sight in mainstream Bollywood!