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The Red Sparrow In love with Stories and the World of Cinema!

For as long as we humans have walled ourselves up in cities and kept warm by the light of the fire, the forest has been ...
27/03/2024

For as long as we humans have walled ourselves up in cities and kept warm by the light of the fire, the forest has been associated with the vast sea of unknown and mysteriously alluring forces. This by and large has been a kind of force that not only predates our own understanding of them, but stands strong to our lives experiences.

The subgenre of folk horror draws upon fairy tales and folklore from this widely untethered mystery that sheaths our planet. Through inventive storytelling and powerful visuals, these films expose the dark and violent origins of such abstract concepts. Given the genre’s continued popularity — particularly in the work of contemporary indie cinema — it’s worth looking at some of the best examples from the genre.

With this post, we delve into the world of folk horror, a movie genre that explores the terror of the lush, green landscape, the mountainside, the wild and primal places unmarred by the creep of civilization. What's your favorite folk horror film of all time? Do let us know down in the comments!



The 2024 Oscars may have officially closed the books on yet another year in cinema history, as Christopher Nolan’s titan...
21/03/2024

The 2024 Oscars may have officially closed the books on yet another year in cinema history, as Christopher Nolan’s titanic blockbuster Oppenheimer took home the top awards. But this past month's Oscars were memorable for more than one reason. Afterall, 2024 was not just a special year for big movies, as the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon loomed large over the evening’s awards.

But as global cinema brought us incredible stories from across the world, the international movement in the Academy’s voting body too acknowledged this trend while giving major recognition to mid budget films and the growing importance of it. Whether it be the best screenplay win for "American Fiction", or the way in which Yorgos Lanthimos' film swept away key categories at the ceremony, the award season marked a key shift in the paradigm across various parameters that pertain to the film industry.

What does it say about the way in which we would consume cinema in a highly controversial and pressing election year? What do the growing advancements in AI say about the writers' future who bring us exceptional stories from across the globe? Let's take a look at four key things we as an audience would want to see more from the industry going forward. Do let us know your thoughts down in the comments!

"Murder Mubarak works for the most part primarily because, for whodunnits with a mostly irreverent tonality, there needs...
15/03/2024

"Murder Mubarak works for the most part primarily because, for whodunnits with a mostly irreverent tonality, there needs to be a faster pace within the narrative. The final revelation of the killer, albeit with a lot of voiceover from both the killer and the investigator, feels very much like a product of a reshoot. It is almost as if writers Suprotim Sengupta and Gazal Dhaliwal had one ending in their minds until the last days of production."

Writes

Read the full review for at www.theredsparrow.in (link in bio)

Johnson

"Nevertheless, this film, which does not adopt the common Bollywood tricks of horror films like lights switching on and ...
09/03/2024

"Nevertheless, this film, which does not adopt the common Bollywood tricks of horror films like lights switching on and off, moving upside down and exorcisms, can be watched once for the good acting of Madhavan and Janaki. If you go expecting a lot, you may be disappointed."

Writes .anawrites

Read the full review for at www.theredsparrow.in (link in bio)

van

"In Villeneuve’s and cinematographer Greg Fraisier’s capable hands, the scale of the visuals becomes his weapon, but the...
03/03/2024

"In Villeneuve’s and cinematographer Greg Fraisier’s capable hands, the scale of the visuals becomes his weapon, but the scope of the story becomes clearer. It’s comparable to Villeneuve being an arms dealer and showing off his wares, but they would have been filled with blanks before."

Writes:

Read the complete review of at www.theredsparrow.in (Link in Bio)

•What is steampunk cinema?•The term dates back earlier than steampunk literature, with Karel Zeman’s Invention for Destr...
01/03/2024

•What is steampunk cinema?•

The term dates back earlier than steampunk literature, with Karel Zeman’s Invention for Destruction (1958). The film offered a point of departure for exploring the relation between cinema and steampunk, for it not only extrapolates nineteenth-century technologies to invent alternative kinds of machines, but it also framed them within the early film context of 'trick cinema' or a 'cinema of attractions.' Various filmmakers and animators have drawn on the strange temporality of Zemen’s cinematic innovations, among them Miyazaki Hayao, Terry Gilliam, and Tim Burton to name a few. The connection continues in more recent steampunk efforts by Ōtomo Katsuhiro, Project Itō, and Ken Liu, and Yorgos Lanthimos.

To put it simply, steampunk is a form of science-fiction based on the imagined possibilities of Victorian technologies and Steampunk Films deals with cinematic examples. Steampunk is dominated by images of deliberately antiquarian machines based around steam technology. The design schemes borrow from Victorian industrialism – bolted boilerplates, clockwork parts, pistons and spinning flywheels, brass fittings, wood interiors and (sometimes) early developments of electricity.

Crucial to Steampunk is the common locus of Victorian England and Europe and a celebration of the new technological upheaval that had begun in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution (although there have been several entries that place Steampunk technology in a Western setting). Stories are usually peopled by elegant English aristocracy, stalwart explorers and Dickensian street urchins. (19th Century divisions between upper and lower classes seem an unquestioningly assumed fixture in all of these stories). In this piece, we take a look at 9 of the most aesthetically rich steampunk movies of all time.

Curated by:

"Dissonance is the name of the game in Jonathan Glazer's latest, and the aural and visual dissonance (calm visuals of th...
26/02/2024

"Dissonance is the name of the game in Jonathan Glazer's latest, and the aural and visual dissonance (calm visuals of the family happily living while gunshots and screams could be heard in the background) is the marker guiding the film throughout. As a result, there is a distance between the characters and a lack of sentimentality, or rather, any connection. If looked at through a historical lens, capturing the mundanity occurring opposite to genocide is quite an intense feat."

Writes

Read the full feature on at www.theredsparrow.in (link in bio)

Credit bloopers had been a staple for action and romantic comedies for decades. From tentpole blockbusters to animated P...
22/02/2024

Credit bloopers had been a staple for action and romantic comedies for decades. From tentpole blockbusters to animated Pixar films often enveloped themselves in the blooper tradition. Whether it be Woody and the gang 'messing up' their lines in the end credits for Toy Story 2, or the bloopers of Liar Liar that reveal just how much fun it was for everyone else on set to be a witness to Jim Carrey's ineffable brilliance, the trope not only acted like a manipulatively silly way to end a film, but delightful closing moments that allowed the audience to savour upon the lighthearted tones of the story.

In a way, such end credit montages underscore how indelible these sequences became, and shows how eager we are to peek behind the filmmaking lens. Bollywood has had a long history of using such inventive end-credits in its films, especially through the 2000s where postmodernist cinema dominated the diaspora. At a time when audiences were kept at distance from the celebrities personal lives, such gleeful endings provided them a vicarious way of living through the ordinariness of life, however silly the snippets may seem. Bloopers provided an additional few minutes to soak up the laughs and witty banter of our favorite characters, and I am pretty sure they had actual restorative powers. Well, that has to be the case considering how we've been seeing a reemergence of them in cinema lately.

Even in the age of social media, such gag-reels are not necessarily the act of spontaneity they purport to be, but offer insight into the kind of fallibility a star is willing to reveal. But what exactly is behind the reemergence of a trope that long seemed forgotten? Are they cheap tactics to juice out emotions in audiences? Or is there something more to what they provide? Let's take a quick look into where this trend started from, and whether we'd see more of it from contemporary romcoms.

Writes

Perfect Days begins and throughout its runtime follows the apparent content life of Hirayama, a toilet cleaner whose str...
16/02/2024

Perfect Days begins and throughout its runtime follows the apparent content life of Hirayama, a toilet cleaner whose structured life allows him to dabble in his passion for books and music, as well as taking photos of trees and capturing them for posterity.

The cynic in me might think that the construction of the movie only ensures that the emotional conflicts come towards the backend of the film. But again this could also be read as Hirayama’s life becoming unstructured, while the invisible narrative follows a structure.

Is it good or bad? Wenders thinks it is something profound. I am just glad that at the tail end of his career, the octogenarian director through the lens of his experience, could surmise a simple statement – life is still beautiful even beyond the cynicism and hardships. And honestly, that is enough to forgive the romanticism of the minimum wage job.

Writes about the Oscar nominated "Perfect Days". Have you watched the acclaimed Wim Wenders film yet? Head to www.theredsparrow.in (link in bio) to read the full feature.

"Madame Web, at its core, is a chase movie with laughably low stakes. The only saving grace of the film is its 100-minut...
16/02/2024

"Madame Web, at its core, is a chase movie with laughably low stakes. The only saving grace of the film is its 100-minute runtime and the fact that it has no post-credits."

Writes:

Read the complete review of at www.theredsparrow.in (Link in Bio)

Directed by Supriya Prasad Rauniar and produced by Aditya Kripalani, "Portrait Of A Willow Woman" is a documentary that ...
12/02/2024

Directed by Supriya Prasad Rauniar and produced by Aditya Kripalani, "Portrait Of A Willow Woman" is a documentary that revolves around Deeptimoni Hajong, an elderly indigenous (Koch community) farmer residing in a remote village in Meghalaya.

The thirty minute film serves this purpose of immortalizing the story of an ordinary woman with extraordinary qualities who is truly an inspiration. Her existence is rooted in the traditional beliefs of her ancestors, her unwavering faith in Lord Krishna, her everyday struggles and mostly in her persistence and resilience towards life.

By doing this, the documentary in a way makes us ponder on how fragile and frantic we become when at times things don't work out the way we want, whereas there are people like Deeptimoni who are invincible sweeping away every challenge that comes on their way. We have indeed forgotten to smile often, even though we are fortunate enough to have the basic amenities of life, while people like Deeptimoni who are astonishingly steeped in intense penury, smile at their misery, and many uncertainties life throws at them.

Writes

"As the audience, you feel bad for Shahid Kapoor - why do we end up with such films to his credit? Yet another situation...
10/02/2024

"As the audience, you feel bad for Shahid Kapoor - why do we end up with such films to his credit? Yet another situation, where neither his acting or dance skills, are enough to save the day and the film."

Writes: .anawrites

Read the complete review of at www.theredsparrow.in (Link in Bio)

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The Sparrow Story!

The Red Sparrow is in love! With stories. And storytellers. And the craft of storytelling. After all, life is but a story. There are ups. There are downs. There are twists and there are turns. There is suspense, there is romance and there is drama and there is oodles of cliches.

We are a community that appreciates art, not just the end product but also the hard-work and rigour that goes into it, beyond the spotlight.

After all, a film is probably the only form of expression that takes us away from the ordinary and makes us a part of the journey of emotions that the characters are on, while onscreen!

We do this by looking at films with a critical eye, by talking to people who make these films happen and by creating a community of people who, as the cliche goes - eat, breathe and sleep films!