The Lunchbox

— “The Lunchbox” is a pretty film with a slight storyline spread over 105 minutes. It’s a glimpse into the lives of a tired and soon-to-be-retired, widowed and friendless accountant, and a yearning and neglected wife and mother. Both characters are vaguely interesting and have emotions with which most viewers could identify, but it is writer/director Ritesh Batra’s attention to the life and customs in Mumbai that make the film—the traffic, the street scenes, the workplace, the families and extended families, and especially the food, carefully prepared by housewives and systematically delivered each day to their office-working husbands.  This isn’t a great film, but it is a sweet one that was lovingly crafted. 

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[2013. 104 min. Directed by Ritesh Batra. Starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, & Nawazuddin Siddiqui.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/movies/the-lunchbox-with-irrfan-khan-mumbai-mix-up.html?_r=0

The Great Beauty

— Sometimes you miss a great film when it was released, feel guilty about, and either never see it or let years go by before you do.  Luckily, although it took me several months to see Paolo Sorrentino’s ”The Great Beauty” ("La grande bellezza"), I didn’t miss it entirely. It’s a wonderful film that does, just as everyone said, remind you for Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita”.  It’s gorgeous and quirky, serious and funny.  Many times a scene would begin and I’d find myself wondering if I was watching a “real” occurrence or performance art.  What with a dwarf, a 103-year-old nun who’s about to become a saint, a cardinal who’s rumored to be the next pope, an ex-hooker, and more beautiful and endlessly partying people than you can shake a stick at, it’s quite a glimpse of the city and of the main character’s lavish and dizzying life. This film is definitely worth seeing. 

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[2013. 142 min. Directed by Paolo Sorrentino. Starring Toni Sevillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli , & Carlo Buccirosso.]
http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-11-13/film/the-great-beauty-movie-review/full/