Desicritics Author: Vijayendra Mohanty

Graphic Novel Review: Osamu Tezuka's Buddha: Impressions

Vijayendra Mohanty — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:16:45 EDT

Do you know the meaning of the word Buddha? Of course you do. It means 'the enlightened one'. But do you remember when you learned this? Where exactly did you first hear it from? Who was it that explained to you the word's actual meaning?

You probably don't remember. And it doesn't matter either. What matters is the meaning, and you remember it.

History, all said and done, is little more than meaning. A lot happens all the time, but all we can (and probably should) take away from it, is the message. The characters and dates, like so many details in the background, don't matter in the long run.

Osamu Tezuka's epic 8-part graphic novel series Buddha is testimony to this truth.

Tezuka tells the story of the enlightened one's life and times in dazzling detail and with careless charm. He is not out to propose a faith. He doesn't seem to care a great deal for historical accuracy either. He just wants to tell a good story. And what a story he tells!

Buddha is no mere biography. It is a chronicle of entire generations. It is a map of life itself. Fates of actual and imagined characters intermingle in evermore imaginative ways as the story progresses from its beginnings years before the birth of Buddha to its conclusion in his last moments.

Tezuka's characters range from the richest to the poorest, from the noblest to the most vile, from the ordinary to the supernatural and yet, in many ways, they all seem to be one. They suffer, are happy and sad in turns, love and hate each other. After a while, they even start to look at each other.

There is a vengeful expression, a mournful and desolate one, a couple of determined and gritty ones, and some downright condescending ones. The characters share these between them as each of them goes through the same ups and downs in their lives.

They live, fear death and pain, worry about the future and fight their fates. All under the impression that they have it bad. The reader of Tezuka's epic however can't escape the all-too-obvious big picture. They are all connected and part of a greater whole.

Tezuka's version of Buddha's life story is a rendering of the artists own world view. One that he has served ers through his other works like Astroboy. Kindness is not a luxury for those who can afford it. It is an absolute necessity for the survival of the great big organism we all are part of.

The lesson is as valid today as it was in the days the story of Buddha is set in.

Movie Review: Iron Man

Vijayendra Mohanty — Sat, 3 May 2008 13:43:41 EDT

More than one superhero's soul has been sacrificed at Hollywood's altar. So I was unsure about how "Iron Man" would turn out. One thing I was sure of was that I would watch it. I did, and I'm glad.

Redemption is a frequently revisited motif as far as Marvel heroes go. Be it Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, several of the X-Men, or even Iron Man. Marvel Comics have shown, time and again, that the true hero's path leads through the murky waters of pain and remorse. Marvel heroes have always learned from their mistakes and that is what makes them what they are.

Iron Man, played in the movie by Robert Downey, Jr. is the latest Marvel avatar to have walked down that road.

Moral motivations apart, the movie is a pretty much solid block of glee for anyone acquainted with The Invincible Iron Man. And remarkably gripping entertainment for first timers too.

Industrialist Tony Stark lives the unaware life of a millionaire. Until one day, after a weapon system presentation to the US military, he is kidnapped by terrorists and forced to build a missile for them. This is where he meets Yinsen, a fellow prisoner, who becomes Tony's saviour in more ways than one. Yinsen pushes Tony to take another look at his life and make some tough decisions.

What follows is the story that has entertained Marvel fans for decades now - the story of Stark donning the red and gold armour and becoming Iron Man.

Downey is fantastic (as was expected) as Stark/Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow fits in as the responsible and reliable Miss Potts. Terence Howard is perfect as Stark's future wingman Jim Rhodes. There is a scene in which Howard looks at an Iron Man suit and goes, "Later, baby..." (or something like that). Hopefully a sign of things to come!

Jeff Bridges works well as the formidable Iron Monger. Although, I preferred the desert terrorist-bashing and the jet plane-racing to the one on one hero-villain fist fight towards the end.

Iron Man is good because it doesn't overdo things, stays true to Stark, and keeps things where they belong.

Movie Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Vijayendra Mohanty — Fri, 2 May 2008 07:16:20 EDT

Family moves into a spooky house, adventure follows. We have had these before. Spiderwick Chronicles doesn't depart from the formula and yet packs in over 100 minutes of solid watchable fantasy.

Let us quickly go over the setting. The movie features the twins - Jared and Simon Grace (they only look like each other), their elder sister Mallory (she carries swords on her), their constantly frazzled mom Helen, the ogre Mulgarath (with world domination on his mind), and more goblins than you can count. There are also sylphs, a troll, and a griffin in the picture.

Then there is someone called HOGSQUEAL!

Based on the book of the same name by Holly Black, The Spiderwick Chronicles tells the story of a young boy Jared Grace's struggles to keep Mulgarath from taking over the secrets of the fairykind. Secrets that Jared's great uncle Arthur Spiderwick recorded in his journal before sealing it shut and hiding it.

Director Mark Waters delivers a well done book-to-movie presentation. Freddie Highmore is brilliant as the Jared/Simon duo.

Clever, captivating, and well-paced; you will miss a lot if you miss The Spiderwick Chronicles (if you do miss it that is).

On Narnia - The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

Vijayendra Mohanty — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:05:52 EST

Let this be clear: I have not read the book. There, got that off my conscience. This is not a review. Call it the first impressions of a fantasy fan.

In the LOTR movies, they rode for days on horseback to get from Gondor to Quandor and from Quandor to Mordor. But I beg your pardon, Narnia is a world?

The far away palace/castle of the white witch seems next door to the good guys' camp. They frequently stroll over into each other's areas at night to rescue, fight, sacrifice themselves, and generally have some midnight fun.

Apart from this space issue I liked the movie. The initial discovery of the wardrobe part was long enough to effect the audience's surprise when the fantastical eventually starts. Chronicles of Narnia is a reasonably well made film that doesn't make any pretensions to lofty scope.

Things happen quickly and reasons are shown readily. Talking animals don't look ridiculous like the Grimm-tired might expect. Walt Disney's frenzied attempt at making their presence felt in the epic fantasy movie market doesn't disappoint.