Awaara
1951 Directed by Raj Kapoor
Synopsis
Raju lives as a derelict as a result of being estranged from his bitter father, a district judge, who threw Raju's mother out of the house years ago. Raju shacks up with a Dacoit (pickpocket bandit) as his surrogate father only to realize that the man is actually responsible for the original misunderstanding between his parents. Raju kills him, and then tries killing his father, but fails, is arrested, and is taken to court right before his very own father, who presides there as the Judge. Raju has his childhood girlfriend as his legal representative, and the onus is now on his father, who must pass judgment without showing any personal sentiment.
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Pretty good movie despite being kinda didactic about class, not in English, and almost three hours long. However, the DVD skipped when the Judge's wife is kidnapped by the thug, so now I'll never know if she dallied with him or not. This will haunt me to my grave.
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I don't trust myself to give an articulate response that truly doesthis wonderful - beyond wonderful - film justice. Raj Kapoor is not only an exciting actor - shifting between the comic, dramatic and seductive in ways that are simply dazzling - but a genuine virtuoso. Surprising, dynamic editing in segments, double exposures that raise interesting parallels and contrasts, and images that I just drank up. His fluid crane shots are especially extraordinary, to the point where it seems that there are more emotionally devastating crane shots in this one film than in every other film combined. All of this is carried by an electrifying blend of melodrama and social comment, helping the over three hour movie move by like it was less than thirty minutes.
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Typical Bollywood mix of the absurd and the sublime, with the latter best represented by a stunningly lavish musical number spanning heaven and hell, literally. The film gets a bit too melodramatic for my tastes, often to risible degrees, and it never really finds its emotional center. It's also pretty crude on a technical level, impressive set design and occasionally striking cinematography notwithstanding.
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Pretty good movie despite being kinda didactic about class, not in English, and almost three hours long. However, the DVD skipped when the Judge's wife is kidnapped by the thug, so now I'll never know if she dallied with him or not. This will haunt me to my grave.
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I don't trust myself to give an articulate response that truly doesthis wonderful - beyond wonderful - film justice. Raj Kapoor is not only an exciting actor - shifting between the comic, dramatic and seductive in ways that are simply dazzling - but a genuine virtuoso. Surprising, dynamic editing in segments, double exposures that raise interesting parallels and contrasts, and images that I just drank up. His fluid crane shots are especially extraordinary, to the point where it seems that there are more emotionally devastating crane shots in this one film than in every other film combined. All of this is carried by an electrifying blend of melodrama and social comment, helping the over three hour movie move by like it was less than thirty minutes.