Late log

Must confess that I finally succumbed and devoted a Sunday afternoon to this, swimming in the tepid waters of mellow drama. In some strange way, (if you like a tinge of cringe) it works- as a twisted rom-com of today and partly as movie-therapy. Plus, I think Blake Lively maneuvering red-flags and discovering herself (and the green flag) at the end is a sub-genre in itself. Who knows! I hope it ends with this.

Francis Ford Coppola wants you to see this movie on new year's eve; and I did. Like its protagonist Ceasar, Coppola has the vision of a utopia as an unlikely refuge for our self-destructive times. It is flawed but never not audacious or original. It is sci-fi Godfather on psychedelics, Apocalypse Now of another kind. And a heart full of good intentions beating at the centre. Is it the end of a year or the beginning of a new one?

The movie jolted me back to what actually mattered in my life. Paul Schrader's lifelike script and dialogues and the no-nonsense, visceral approach to filmmaking make it a truly remarkable debut. I can't think of too many American movies that observe the workers' everyday lives and conditions with such humour and frankness. Add to that, a keen understanding of group politics and a surprise resolution that felt decidedly closer to life, untainted by despair or romantic ideas of revolution.