To be noted : This was written two years ago, in February 2020, as posts in my Instagram page. Iraivi is often labelled as a feminist film and it made me wonder which elements clearly […]
Category: Themes
The tree of life : Punnagai Mannan & Raavanan
When I saw Raavanan a few years ago, this image of Raagini (Aishwarya Rai), fallen on a tree, immediately reminded me of this iconic opening scene in Punnagai Mannan, where Sethu (Kamal Haasan) escapes death […]
தென்பாண்டி சீமையிலே | Pulamaipithan’s words
« Thenpandi cheemayile » is the seed from which Nayagan’s story grows. When Ilaiyaaraja’s voice breaks the silence in the film’s opening credits, we understand that it’s an introduction song about Sakthivel. A child whose […]
No time for love in “Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum”
Kathir (Vijay Sethupathy) is a semi-looser rowdy who dreams about owning a bar. Yazhini (Madonna Sebastian) is a graduated engineer searching for a job. At first glance, they have nothing in common other than being […]
The area as main character in Pa.Ranjith’s “Madras” & “Kaala”
In both “Madras” and “Kaala”, the heroes may be Kaali (Karthi) and Kaala (Rajinikanth) for the movies credits. But I tend to think that the main character is actually the area of the city that […]
Frame #8 : When stairs stare at you in “Anjali”
I love Anjali for many cinephile and personal reasons. One of them is the way Mani Ratnam depicts the life of a upper middle class neighborhood. Chitra (Revathi) and Shekar (Raghuvaran) move on in a […]
Frame(s) #7 : Aishwarya Rajesh framed within frames
In her young career, Aishwarya Rajesh has boldly played an interesting range of characters, often depicted on the screen with frames within frames. This visual technique is very meaningful as it shows little painting canvas, […]
Frame(s) #6 : Trees and humans in “Merku Thodarchi Malai”
Trees are important characters in Merku Thodarchi Malai. Firstly, they are used as benchmarks in the vast landscape to express the mountain people identities, to hang their flags. Thus, Rangu hangs his “kayli” at the […]
2018, a year of tamil cinema
Here is a panorama of tamil cinema in 2018, not exhaustive, but only made as a tribute to my favorite films, without any will of ranking them. This year of tamil cinema was marked by […]
Frame(s) #5 : Love & train
Film : Thillana Mohanambal (1968) Director : AP Nagarajan Cinematography : KS Prasad Cast : Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini Film : Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) Director : Gautham Vasudev Menon Cinematography : R Rathnavelu Cast : Surya, […]
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