Banshees of Isherine - Some more ruminations

I have stayed with the movie for a day now - reading various interviews, reviews, making of the movie etc. In my morning walk, like it always happens, some thoughts from the previous day creep in - so here is a different take from whatever I have read.

Most reviews spoke about the Padraic character played by Colin Farrel. On how he was a simpleton and believed in goodness and simple things of daily life and ritual. Which is, herding his cows to feed them and talking and walking with Jenny his baby donkey, having his food with his sister and best part of the day was having beer in the pub with Colm his buddy aimlessly. And how the movie is all about coming to terms with Colm stating he does not want to be his friend any longer. And so about friendship and dealing with the bitterness etc.

No one talks about why Colm made that decision - which it struck me as a very nice take on the current obsession of most of us and especially start-ups. Which is - to leave a legacy behind. I guess it all started with Steve Jobs and his apple. But most of us are wanting to make that dent in this world and we will go to whatever extent we want to to do that. Me included. Which is a risky proposition - if it works well you are team Apple & if it doesn’t you are fraught with stress and irreversible damage to you mental n physical health 

In many of his monologues and explanations he gives Padraic who plays fiddle (kind of violin) he says “No one will remember you, me, our family but music is everlasting that is we remember Mozart & other composers. I also want to spend my last few years creating something so give me that space. Don’t talk to me because our chit-chatting idling is a waste of time. Leave me alone”

The particular conversion is very funny as well as meaningful, where Padraic does not have any clue on Mozart and says”I don’t know him. But it’s more important to be nice than being remembered.” Something to that effect. And he says that because Colm set the term that he will cut one of his fingers if Padraic talks to him.

Again I found it quite insightful at least for me - because when you are very objective in career or even personal life you may become very clinical and hurt / ignore others around you especially your family and relatives. 

One of those lines which made me think and change my perspective was from Stephen Covey. He says:

“Don’t be efficient. Be effective.”

The banshees of Inisherin

Since I got interested in sustainability - I see everything from a sustainability lens. 

So as the movie showed the houses made in 1928 my first thought was ‘WOW, these houses are so similar to the ones I had seen in the hills Rajgarh in Himachal. During one of our downward journeys from a hill we saw houses whose terraces were made with small circular stones. See pic below. In the movie which was shot on a remote island - Aral Island and Achille Island. Using local materials to build their house was common sense in the early 20th century - but as more and more people started to migrate to the city we started having the matchbox structure or flats in which we all stay. Our intention / dream to make a house the way we want is now a distant dream as the time and effort needed to make a house is monumental and neither of us have the energy to make it.  

Back to the movie

For me the stand out was the cinematography. 

This is how cinematographer Ben Davies describes how he chose the location “I spent a lot of time [on Inishmore]. I tried to spend my time in preparation and spent a hell of a lot of time photographing it and trying to capture what the island said to me. I’m not a writer as Martin is. I can’t articulate what I felt about the place or the feelings that place evokes. But I can photograph it and show you the images. There’s something very special about it, the raging ocean and the sky is so barren. It’s very beautiful, but it’s also quite melancholic, and I adored it. I loved it there because I’m not afraid of melancholy. It's something I quite embrace. That did shape the idea. But I think Martin always knew that.”

The key word is melancholy - different shades of sky, the barren land, the rocks and ocean all of them formed the perfect backdrop of a friendship which is changing colours & also the turmoil & angst which both the lead characters are going through. I could have taken still shots and painted them if I could. 

The second was music 

Again, the background score adds melancholy and builds the various moods across the movie.

This is how the music director Carter Bartwell describes how he created the music “I began largely with Colin Farrell’s character. We see most of the film from his point of view, and he’s this naive man-child. When we first see him, he’s got a big smile on his face because it’s another sunny day in Ireland, and you get the impression everything’s going great for him until exactly two minutes into the movie, when that stops being true. I started by playing with his childlike qualities. The way the melodies are structured, the harmonies are not totally straightforward, and it does suggest that there’s something that’s off or is going to go off in the story. I did keep basically the same set of sounds throughout the film, and it’s very simple: the celesta, harp, flutes and marimba, and then some low percussion-like tuned gamelan gongs. What happens is, because of the nature of the story, that same playing of innocence at the beginning of the film [becomes lost innocence] at the end of the film.”

I went back and heard the music and it automatically brought back the images from the film, that is how beautifully they are tied to the movie. Of course the credit goes to the director for providing stewardship and vision to all of them. It’s actually a very simple film - more like a play actually but the island plays an important role to give it a cinematic panorama.   

The movie has got 9 nominations and won several awards, so there is lot of reviews & article which one can read online. 

Below is the best one which I found in India.

https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/the-banshees-of-inisherin-an-ode-to-broken-friendships-and-a-takedown-of-nice-guy-syndrome-11988512.html

The Elephant Whisperers

The message from Shruti (my colleague n friend)was brief 'Tomorrow is World Wildlife Day). Obviously the idea was a trigger to think of a campaign.

Which set me thinking - if I were to do something what would that be.

I am sure we will see many dramatic press / TV / social media advertising talking about how wildlife is getting affected by rise in pollution, felling of trees & hence disappearing of many species from the planet. 

But what would create ‘wonderment’ in my children, friends, family so that we can take home a  castaway cat / dog or give food to a deprived dog in our bylane rather than chasing them.

As I sat thinking I recollected the documentary which I have been promoting to all my friends, children & family.

The Elephant Whisperers on Netflix

The documentary was filmed in the Theppakadu elephant camp in the forests of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. It follows Bomman and Bellie, middle-aged baby elephant caretakers who belong to the Kattunayakan tribe and their unique relationship with Raghu and Ammu, baby elephants separated from their herds. 

It was one of the most immersive experiences of last year. Unlike other wildlife documentaries which are great to look at because of their unique & never before seen exposure of the animals, this was about a relationship & trust built by a parent and child belonging to 2 different species & their unconditional love.

The film runtime is only 39 minutes, but in this 39 minutes you would have seen:

#unconditional love from a human being on a baby elephant - the other way round is of course given and stated many times over

#team spirit between 2 people thrown together 

#growing up tantrums 

#harsh reality of life when love is also followed by separation

&

# elephants playing football & doing all the tricks you would have seen in many Hindi movies.

If this does not move you to be kind, I wonder what will.

Back to Writing n Re-Building Writing Muscle

I was talking to Naman last week and he mentioned - we have to keep writing to build our writing muscle.Well he should know, he had made a commitment to write 100 newsletter & like  clockwork every Friday he will write about a new startup / interesting individual who is working in the space of sustainability. Well, he is on his 106th. Check him out at https://www.notmyproblem.earth/ , you can also subscribe to him on substack.

Why am I writing about him?

Because today is 1st March 23 & it’s been 2 months since I wrote my last post. 

That was on 31st Dec

&

I am also making a commitment to write every day for the next 30 days.

So here’s to the first post. 

A lot of ideas are buzzing in my head - many of them will germinate into a blog post and many of them will die a natural death between sleep and wakefulness and the vagaries of daily life. 

I have been on a MUBI diet since I got the Rs 99 plan for 3 months. 15 movies in a month is a first in my lifetime - I will write about most of them but one of the most lyrical / dream-like movies was “What do we see when we look at the sky?”. It’s shot in a riverside town Kutaisi, Georgia. 

Yes, there is a story but most of it is like the postcards from this beautiful city - children playing, lush green grasses & the river continuously flowing, people are elegant, well dressed, well spoken and have a natural innocence which is difficult to find / portray. 

In one of those (stupid) questions the interviewer asks - meaning / purpose of the film -  the director says, simple life is just beautiful the way it is. We don't really need a story ….my blog posts are postcards from my life. 

C’ est la vie