Movie magic

Some scenes which bring out the magic of movies. Strictly in the order of them coming to mind.


1. The opening sequence of Sound of Music. Sweeping aerial shots of the Alps slowly taking in the entire countryside. The music slowly builds up and reaches a crescendo as we fly to Maria singing "The Hills are alive..." We have already experienced (more than seen) how the hills are alive and the whole scene is simply amazing.

2. Mohan takes his first sip of water in India in Swades. Returning from a village where he's been subjected to abject poverty for the first time, the NRI NASA scientist, Mohan Bhargava, realises for the first time what most of India lives like. Till this point in the movie, he only drinks bottled water of Kinley (an American product, obviously) because the Indian water is likely to be too contaminated for him. As the train stops at a halt, a young boy is selling water at 50p to the travellers. Mohan takes the glass and drinks the water symbolising a lot more than just that. He has gone through a life-altering experience and the simple act of drinking the water means so much. Executed to perfection by Sharukh Khan without a single word of dialogue.


3. Tevye's dance with the Fiddler after the captain tells him to expect a pogrom on his daughter's wedding in Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye is in the best of spirits as he has just found an excellent match for Tzeitel. And having drunk away in the village inn, he is returning home. That's when the Christian police captain informs him that there has to be some symbolic Jewish persecution soon. But all this is just the setup. Now a little low, Tevye does his little complaint to God and turns to face the Fiddler. He teases Tevye a bit with a few notes on the fiddle and soon Tevye starts dancing with him on the street again. He has not just accepted his fate, he has embraced it and started finding joy again. One of my all-time favourites.



4. Anna's killing in Parinda. Kishan burns the pyrophobic Anna alive in a closed room for having murdered his brother, Karan and sister-in-law, Paro. Jackie Shroff as Kishan has probably delivered his career best scene with absolutely no dialogue. Masterpiece in editing, writing and direction.


5. Ali and his sister exchanging surreptitious notes while his father is breaking sugar and having an argument with their mother in Children of Heaven. We understand that the family is in economic dire straits from the conversation. But Ali's sister is upset as he has lost the only pair of shoes she has. Ali is desperately trying to convince her to use his shoes and all this happens through an exchange of notes. The scene ends with Ali bribing his sister with a shiny new pencil to buy her silence. Story-telling simplicity like never seen before.



6. The climax of Usual Suspects. Verbal Kint has managed to fool the interrogator right through his grueling encounter. He has continuously made up stories based on the overcrowded notice-board right in front of him. At the end of it all, he leaves the room limping. And then there are intercuts of the inspector gazing at the notice-board and piecing together the lies that he has been fed so far with Verbal walking out of the station slowly overcoming his limp and back to normalcy. One of the best revelations I've ever seen. The movie ends with Verbal saying, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled is to convince people that he doesn't exist. And like this , he's gone." On come the theater lights at the moment, and he really is gone. Fantastic, to say the least.