Aaranya Kaandam
Thiagarajan Kumararaja
This movie by debutant director Thiagarajan Kumararaja is a highly stylised film with nihilistic characters. It was shot in low light making it one of a kind among Indian movies. The story is set during the course of a day where two rival mafia fight over possession of drugs, but the package is stolen instead by two innocent people. The ensuing events set the stage for the astounding climax.
Iruvar
Mani Ratnam
This finely crafted film is a gem. The story is about the friendship between Anandan ,a budding actor and Tamil Selvan, a promising writer. Both seek to make it big in films but when they join politics, they drift apart. Rahman’s music, Santhosh Sivan’s cinematography and Mani Ratnam’s direction make the film immensely watchable.
The Motorcycle Diaries
Walter Salles
This biopic is about one of the icons of the century — Ernesto Che Guevara. The film an adaptation of the book by Guevara was awarded an Oscar for best original song. It chronicles the life of Che Guevera, a 23-year-old medico who sets out on a journey with his friend Alberto Granado across South America. All along the journey Che witnesses the plight of the proletariat that gradually leads him to discover his inner self.
The Thin Red Line
Terrence Malick
Malick is one of those rare directors who makes films for the sake of the art. This visually-stunning film is about strife in the Guadalcanal islands during WWII. The film carries the strong message that there might be a winner at the end of the war but in the larger picture humanity is the loser.
The Seventh Seal
Ingmar Bergman
A knight goes on a quest to find answers to life, death and the existence of god and he plays chess against the Grim Reaper to find the answers he seeks. The Seventh Seal is a deep, mesmerising, and darkly beautiful work of art. More importantly, the film is one of those rare movies that has the power to change the way one thinks.
Those that almost made it
Clockwork Orange: Stanley Kubrick
Mouna Ragam: Mani Ratnam
Reservoir Dogs: Quentin Tarantino
Varumayin Neram Sigappu: K. Balachander
There Will Be Blood: Paul Thomas Anderson
Sathish Kumar Mohan is a software engineer based in Kanchipuram.
