I only recently became acquainted with the iconic, beautiful, and compelling Indian actress Sridevi--who was in nearly 300 films. She has now suddenly passed away at the only 54. This is a terrible loss, so I'm taking this moment to recommend both Mom and English Vinglish, two of her more recent films. Mom is a rape-revenge thriller, released in 2017. After her step-daughter is brutally assaulted by a gang of men, step-mom Devki takes matters into her own hands. Mom is pretty great, while not for those easily triggered by brutal violence. This is a tight thriller. 4/5 English Vinglish is a little older, released in 2012. In English Vinglish, Sridevi plays the matriarch to a family who underestimates and takes her for granted. Being the only one in her family to not speak any English, Shashi decides to secretly take English classes. This film is so lovely and wonderful. If you don't feel great after watching English Vinglish, I don't know what's wrong with you! 5/5 |
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Unlocking the Cage is a new documentary that follows the group NonHuman Rights Project that has set about to save incarcerated Chimpanzees by filing a Writ under Habeas Corpus. The argument being that Chimps (and Elephants and Dolpins...) can indeed communicate, are self-determining and autonomous beings, and are capable of empathy therefore they should not be incarcerated for medical testing or in improper enclosures in which they are isolated and treated poorly. Obviously the problem is in legally assigning personhood to a nonhuman. The argument is that the personhood would be equivalent to that of a small child--no legal rights that go with adult personhood and none of the responsibilities that go along with that personhood. This doc is a bit hard to watch if you're sensitive to witnessing the poor treatment of animals. 4/5 |
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