CHAITANYA TAMHANE’S WORK is gaining momentum. His directorial debut, Court (2015), a meditation on the banal evil of India’s judicial system, was praised for challenging the ideological conventions of the legal drama through static shots and long takes. No fast cut, close-up-heavy procedural is staged inside the courtroom; no dramatic monologues are delivered; justice is not served. Tamhane’s second feature, The Disciple (2020), while more kinetic in its camerawork (by Michal Sobociniski), proceeds at a similarly measured pace. Its narrative about the existential journey of Sharad (Aditya Modak),
Loading. By Peter Rainer Special correspondent
Does a movie about a devoted modern-day practitioner of Hindustani classical music sound overly esoteric? âThe Disciple,â written and directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, is anything but. What itâs really about is the spiritual balm that great art can provide.
Sharad (Aditya Modak) is a 24-year-old vocalist in the ancient tradition who studies and performs with his longtime musical guru, or Guruji (Arun Dravid). Like his father before him in this rarefied realm, he craves renown for his artistry. But Sharadâs father (Kiran Yadnyopavit) died without achieving recognition and, although his ambitions are high, Sharad seems bound for the same path. Hearing him perform in the musical competitions he never wins, itâs clear he has talent, not greatness.
What’s new to VOD and streaming this weekend: May 7-9
Including Almodovar s English-language debut, Eat Wheaties! and season 3 of The Girlfriend Experience By Norman Wilner and Kevin Ritchie
May 7, 2021
The Human Voice
(Pedro Almodóvar)
Spanish director Almodóvar’s English-language debut is a short film that strips the hallmarks of his oeuvre down to a few core elements: a high-strung woman engages in high drama while clad in high fashion. Based on Jean Cocteau’s monodrama of the same name, The Human Voice is essentially a 30-minute showpiece for Tilda Swinton, who stars as a jilted woman confronting her ex in a lengthy phone call as her oblivious dog unhelpfully reflects back her anxiety. Cocteau’s play served as the inspiration for Almodóvar’s 1988 international hit Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown so not unlike 2019’s Pain And Glory, this project finds the director self-consciously revisiting the late 80s/early 90s period that defined his suc
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Early in “The Disciple,” a brilliantly composed, rigorously intelligent new movie from the Indian writer-director Chaitanya Tamhane, a young man named Sharad (Aditya Modak) sits at a table offering rare musical treasures for sale. No one takes much interest or notice. Sifting idly through the CDs on display, a potential customer says he’s never heard of any of these artists, to which Sharad replies with a true believer’s conviction: “Yes, sir, but they are as good as the famous names.” You can sense him holding back: What he’d probably like to say is that they’re possibly