The Remains Of The Day

Considering that she's not a regular movie goer, and does not exactly follow shows and showtimes, my wife Mangala does rather well when it comes to picking up a DVD from the local video library or the British Library (which seems to have a better collection of movies than books these days).

Her latest selection from Brit Lib was 'The Remains of the Day'. It is a Merchant - Ivory film based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has written the screenplay. The film stars Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Besides Christopher Reeve, there is a young Hugh Grant in a supporting role. Both Sir Anthony and Emma Thompson are superb. There is a subdued tautness all through the movie, maintained perhaps by an excellent background score as much as by the performances of the actors.

The home entertainment DVD comes with a couple of very interesting documentaries about the making of the movie.

The film received 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture (which it lost to 'Schindler's List'), Best Actor (Tom Hanks won it for 'Philadelphia'), Best Actress (Holly Hunter got it for 'The Piano'). It didn't win any. 1993 at the Oscars belonged to 'Schindler's List' which grabbed 7 Oscars though none for acting.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I saw this movie last weekend without a clue of its recent release or the wide acclaim it has received so far. 

Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, it is the story of a man who is born old and 'youngs' as the years go by, aging in reverse to die a baby. It is a kind of Forrest Gump as time-traveller. Though the story may appear outlandish, especially in the last half-hour of the movie, it is definitely worth seeing. 

Benjamin Button received nominations for Best Picture (Drama) and a few other categories in the recent Golden Globe Awards. It lost the Best Picture award to Slumdog Millionaire. Nor did any of the other nominations yield an award. You can visit http://www.benjaminbutton.com/ to learn more about the movie. 

The movie is said to be based loosely on a Scott Fitzgerald story of the same name. You can read the story for free at http://feedbooks.com/book/3431. If you prefer reading it piecemeal, one chapter at a time (of eleven chapters), you can do that at http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/Fitzgerald/jazz/benjamin/benjamin1.htm.