Ratheesh KrishnaVadhyar (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ratheesh) wrote,@ 2008-03-02 21:22:00 |
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I watched two films during the weekend.
March of the Penguins is a documentary film showing an year's life of the emperor penguins of Antarctica. Each year, hundreds of penguins travel hundreds of miles to reach remote frozen areas of the continent, to meet their mates. Once the female bird lays an egg, she passes the egg on to the father, and then takes up the long journey back to the ocean, to feed. The father penguin takes great pain to keep the egg safely stored between his legs when the mother is away, not eating any food all this time. By the time the mothers come back, the eggs are hatched. The famished male penguins pass the baby bird to the mother, and then run to the ocean for feeding. It is now the mother's turn to starve, and see the babies grow. They have some food stored in their throats with which the babies are fed, until the males return back after filling their stomach. After this cycle, it's time for the family to break up, as the parents go their own way, and the children, now independent, start exploring their own life.
Painstakingly picturized, this marvelous film is a pleasure to watch. The amazing behavior of the birds many a time makes us feel as if we are watching the life of humans, and the scenes showing the mother bird crying over the dead body of its offspring would make us feel a lump in our throats. This is one of those rare films that have this special quality to make the viewers get a feeling that they have become better human beings after viewing.
Luchino Visconti's The Leopard shows the turbulent period of 1860s in Italy, when the aging Prince of Salina (an outstanding performance by Burt Lancaster) observes, a bit philosophically, the centuries-old domination of his family over the country being taken over and replaced by a new political system and order, and in parallel, his own personal entertainment activities also slowly coming to an end due to his age. The long dialogue-oriented scenes in the film sometimes tested my patience, but the visuals of the film are a treat to watch, each frame looking like a Victorian painting - I especially liked the long scene showing the prince's nephew and his girlfriend moving around in the palace, with the beautiful girl's dark costumes creating a sharp contrast with the varying colors and designs on the walls of the rooms.
March of the Penguins is a documentary film showing an year's life of the emperor penguins of Antarctica. Each year, hundreds of penguins travel hundreds of miles to reach remote frozen areas of the continent, to meet their mates. Once the female bird lays an egg, she passes the egg on to the father, and then takes up the long journey back to the ocean, to feed. The father penguin takes great pain to keep the egg safely stored between his legs when the mother is away, not eating any food all this time. By the time the mothers come back, the eggs are hatched. The famished male penguins pass the baby bird to the mother, and then run to the ocean for feeding. It is now the mother's turn to starve, and see the babies grow. They have some food stored in their throats with which the babies are fed, until the males return back after filling their stomach. After this cycle, it's time for the family to break up, as the parents go their own way, and the children, now independent, start exploring their own life.
Painstakingly picturized, this marvelous film is a pleasure to watch. The amazing behavior of the birds many a time makes us feel as if we are watching the life of humans, and the scenes showing the mother bird crying over the dead body of its offspring would make us feel a lump in our throats. This is one of those rare films that have this special quality to make the viewers get a feeling that they have become better human beings after viewing.
Luchino Visconti's The Leopard shows the turbulent period of 1860s in Italy, when the aging Prince of Salina (an outstanding performance by Burt Lancaster) observes, a bit philosophically, the centuries-old domination of his family over the country being taken over and replaced by a new political system and order, and in parallel, his own personal entertainment activities also slowly coming to an end due to his age. The long dialogue-oriented scenes in the film sometimes tested my patience, but the visuals of the film are a treat to watch, each frame looking like a Victorian painting - I especially liked the long scene showing the prince's nephew and his girlfriend moving around in the palace, with the beautiful girl's dark costumes creating a sharp contrast with the varying colors and designs on the walls of the rooms.
