Thursday 17 April 2008

Across The Universe

Across The Universe is a brilliant movie. There are plenty of people out there who don't like it, I have looked at reviews by Beatles fans who say it's an insult to the band, and I have heard that the movie isn't worth watching. However, ami konodin porer mukhe jhal khayi ni, (other Bengalis will know what I mean.) and I decided to give it a shot anyway.

The movie is fantastic. I've not been disappointed at all. The acting is subtle, the use of colours is so psychedellic, so 60s, somehow. The cinematography is great. There isn't much of a script, there isn't much of a story either. But that's inconsequential. Even though the story is very basic, I found myself warming upto the characters and their lives. And the music- aah! The music! It's fabulous. A very very interesting take on The Beatles' music. That's what I thought, atleast. There are loads of die-hard Beatles fans out there who know much more on the subject than me, and would probably say that the versions of their songs are terrible. I've just recently been hooked onto The Beatles, but I am proud to say I loved the music! I am passionate about their songs as well, true- I am relatively new to their music, but I loved the songs in Across The Universe very much, in fact, I liked a couple of songs better than the originals, if truth be told.The movie gets so trippy in parts too- it's almost surreal. Certain parts like the bus-ride (I am the Eggman), the strawberry scene, and of course, the underwater kisses- they're so vivid, so unreal, somehow.

I recommend this movie very highly to everyone. It doesn't matter whether you're a Beatles fan or not. Just watch it. You might feel it's good, you might think it's great, you might think the movie is a stain on the history of the Beatles. But just watch it. It's worth the watch.

As I said, the storyline is basic, the acting subtle- you may think, "What the heck is the big deal? This movie doesn't make sense!" But, "Music's the only thing that makes sense anymore..." What a memorable quote. Didn't get it? Watch Across The Universe. You'll know what I'm talking about.

7 comments:

Elendil said...

Music is the only thing that *ever* makes sense.

SPIRITed! said...

Across The Universe is in theaters in Calcutta?*gulps and stares at the computer screen disbelievingly* I MUST watch it!

Magically Bored said...

@ Elendil: Very true.

@ Spirited: Not in theatres, no. Someone downloaded it for me, that's how I watched it.

little boxes said...

its THE most beautiful movie i have seen in quite sometime!!

Magically Bored said...

@ Little Boxes: I know, isn't it just?!

AbhijanB said...

the film is definitely not THE most brilliant in any way. the only thing likeable about it was the way the songs were used to protray different emotions, but film-wise it was quite terrible .
it felt like segments of stories put together which didn't make much sense. the only thing that agreed was the music. its a 50-50 between excellence in cinematography and an absolute duck movie wise. its still an interesting thing though how it managed both contrastign qualities together.

Magically Bored said...

@ Joe BR: Yeah, I said in my post that the story is pretty cracked, quite forced, even. One shouldn't watch the movie for the story. The music and how it's been used, and the cinematography make it worthwhile.