From our days of escaping homework to our intimate moments shared with our beloved ones in our adulthood, we watch cinemas. We laugh, we cry, we get thrilled, sometimes horrified when we give ourselves into the shadow and the substances of a cinema.
As people are celebrating qurbani with their loved ones, it’s time for some refreshing watches. Keeping aside the mainstream commercials, one can indulge in some classic thought-provoking movies this Eid. Here’s a list for the curious minds.
Life Is Beautiful or la Vita è bella (1997)
This Italian film, directed and acted by Roberto Benigni, is an absolute magic created on the screen. In the middle of the horrific World War II, a father protects his child from the claws of the Nazis with sheer comedy and laughter.
This film is a combination of the love of Woody Allen and the comic timing of Jim Carrey at the same time. It inspires us in many ways. No matter what the circumstances are, how terrible the situation is, there is always a gateway to live with love and laughter.
If anyone can live like this in the time of the Holocaust, then why can't we in the time of this pandemic? The answer is in the film.
Khuda Kay Liye (2007)
Shoiab Mansoor- the name will always be remembered as Pakistan's one of the most powerful directors. Mansoor has always been keen on making films based on social issues. Pakistan is a conservative country that carries a religious dogmatic attitude towards Sufi or secular elements of life, for example, arts, music, and dance.
We often face a dilemma whether to live a religious life at the same time listening or participating in other art forms like music. We have seen many people sharing pictures of breaking guitars or inflaming harmoniums as an entrance to religious life. This film provides us with a counterpart of that belief.
Is love enough? Sir (2018)
Rohena Gera was probably not sure what she was going to make. Quite rightly, how can a film be so beautiful, bold, powerful and at the same time give our heads a shake to think twice before we commit to a definite notion that love should happen only between people of the same economic and professional standard.
"You can love your maid," is something absolutely unthinkable in our society. In contrast to that belief, Sir gives us a present wrapped with intimacy and fragmented with romance. Through the lens of love, the film will leave you to lean on the shoulders of your beloved regardless of their cast, profession or financial status.
Amour (2012)
Amour means love if we translate it into English. The film goes beyond its literal meaning of love and reaches the highest peak of what love is meant to be.
Its story is about an elderly couple living under the same roof where there was nobody but themselves to take care of each other. Amour pinches us in many ways. Genius Michale Haneke with his slow-paced storytelling creates nuances of what we see in modern-day love stories.
The Brand New Testament (2015)
From a religious perspective, we are taught that we will be responsible for our deeds and therefore our destination, whether it is hell or heaven, will be decided.
But what if we see or judge our God's deeds towards us as a symbol of good and bad just like we are taught? What if God is monitoring our lives through a computer where God gives a command to decide our lives? What if we receive a text from God's computer about our departure from earth?
These questions are what the film is all about. It is about judging God in a different way. Although in this film, God is portrayed negatively, we don't need to think that way. Rather, we can enjoy the film as to how we make our life so complicated and start planning to know the fact that anytime we are going to die. This film is all about living the moments.
The writer is an MSS student of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Dhaka
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