SCENES to Learn..

Recently, I watched two movies. One directed by the Academy award winner Sam Mendes, the latest installment of Bond franchise “SPECTRE”

The next was Kamal Hassan starrer “THOONGAVANAM” which is an adaptation of French movie.

Anyone learning the art of direction, needs to learn the opening scene of the movie SPECTRE. This was a LONG TAKE. The beauty of this scene is that the camera takes you on a ride along the Mexican Day of the Dead parade, slowly pursues the main character till he reaches his hotel and then to the terrace of the hotel.  Long Takes are a visual treat, provided the screenplay needs to be intact to support the shot and at the same time the director enjoys the credit for the scene, for he makes you travel along with him from one street to other, to a hotel, then later the revealing of the character and then on to the terrace. Never before, bond has made his entry in all the previous installments in such a simple manner(he unveils the mask during this long take) as this one directed by Mendes.

Same, like the previous installment SKYFALL, director Mendes has utilized music, his aesthetic sense of a scene (particularly the desert station scene), emotional paradigms to tell the story.

Over to the indian Movie Thoongavanam. I will like to put in inverted coma a scene , the entry of Madhu Shalini, where in Kamalhassan intervenes to prevent a rape attempt on her by a stranger, by pushing him into the toilet. Kamal hassan then stamp him again and again, pulls the coat from him and later pushing him into the latrine. Let’s get into the beauty of that scene. The scene has been completely taken as an Extension Screenplay OFF screen style, where the guy who is getting the punch from Kamal hassan is not in the screen and Voice over of him is shown as him being beaten up. Here is the point where we have to identify kamal hassan’s acting because it is the responsibility of the actor to make us feel the effect of the scene , and Kamal hassan makes that scene a wonderful experience for movie goers.