Rashomon, the harbinger

Ever since I watched the spanish movie Midaq Alley, I was fond of the variety story telling. Couple of movies in Tamil also came in (perhaps the Tamil geniuses Kamala Hassan and Mani Ratnam thought of exploring this technique too). Virumaandi and Aayuda Ezhuthu were sincere attempts but I heard Rashomon as the forerunner for all these. But in my opinion, I preferred in this order:

1. Virumaandi
   
2. Midaq Alley
3. Rashomon
4. Aayudha Ezhuthu

Rashomon is excellent for its variety story telling - breaking from the conventional story telling. Hats off to Akira Kurusawa for his attempt. Its amazing that he stayed as an inspiration to Hollywood directors and the movie won an Oscar for best foreign film. Till end, the camera or audience act as judge and the judge never shown. The movie also amused me for its creative camera. Greatwork!

I liked the movie Midaq Alley for its bold story apart from the above style. The story talks about reality and different folks in the same street viewed different. Salma Hayek is a great plus and has acted wonderfully. The author of the story is a Nobel Prize Winner and the movie is a masterpiece. No wonder it won 49 awards internationally. A must-see.

Aayutha Ezhuthu was a loser among these movies. May be the weak story line that was a big minus for the failure but the big stardom or great music did not help either. It felt very ordinary compared to the mega Virumaandi.

Virumaandi was my favorite. For the excellent narration, deft direction, great acting, Kamal deserves more than an Oscar. Few experiments like live sound and new actors are extra bonus for us and add new dimension to the movie. There were some concerns about the violence in the movie but as Kamal justifies, if the story warrants, we need it to portray that way. People should realize that not all movies are for families. With the lack of a rating system, audience should be prudent enough to choose and wach.