****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
In 2007/2008, three western directors (none of them mainstream) made films based in India. Wes Anderson made The Darjeeling Limited. If you find Anderson's view of the world quirky and funny, this is a delightful movie. But like New York in The Royal Tennenbaums, his India does seem so artificial, so fictional. Danny Boyle on the other hand puts you in the stink and filth of the slums of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire. Fast cuts, non-stop action, and the grittiness of the movie never let you forget you are in a big budget movie. And then the great Bollywood dance ending!Though I enjoyed both of these movies, The Pool is the best "small" movie of the year (either 2007 when it was released or 2013 when the DVD was released). Directed by Chris Smith (American Movie, Home Movie) in Goa, India, it stars street kids along with a big name Bollywood actor (Nana Patekar). Not much happens on the surface at least for Hollywood (or Bollywood), but underneath the film is a sad and complicated story. And if you are patient, the movie delivers a satisfying end.When American Movie came out, there was some question if it really was a documentary (some people thought it was a mockumentary--the dialogue often seems too good to be real--certainly more quotable than this film). Smith just barely leaves the world of documentary for his first feature film. A lot of the scenes have Venkatesh (the 18 year old "star") cleaning bathrooms, cleaning hotel rooms, walking around the town. The dialogue is in Hindi and is reminiscent of The Bicycle Thief. That being said, the acting is very good. And the music is great.The "Making of" documentary is a must see! The story of how this was filmed is almost as interesting as the film itself.
