nurul

Ajai and Nurul
$9.99

Dinner Rush [VHS]
$39.99
Dinner Rush is a jazzy and upbeat movie that covers the bustle and drama of a trendy Tribeca Italian restaurant from all sides, with the clientele, the wait staff, the kitchen, and the management all under the same roof but in separate worlds. Anyone who has worked in an upscale restaurant will probably find this an accurate representation of that experience, aside from the mafia theme, maybe. Most of the enjoyment comes from the interactions among the wide variety of characters, but the movie has a solid plot, is tightly edited, and the twist at the end is a good one.

The owner of Gigino's, Louis Cropa, is coping with the recent murder of his partner Enrico at the hands of two low-level mobsters from Queens. When the mobsters arrive at Gigino's one busy evening to forcibly offer their `partnership' to Louis, a revenge story unfolds together with sub-plots, including the rivalry of the head chef, Louis's son Udo, and the sous chef, the impulsive Duncan, in cuisine and in women, an artist waitress waiting on the table of a snobby gallery owner feting artists who are successful, a picky food critic unhappy with her table, and a bland gentleman hanging out at the bar, who turns out to be more than he seems. Each part of the restaurant has its own atmosphere, and the film shows well the contrast between the feverish work on the part of the chefs and the relaxation of the guests, how a true chef can never serve bad food, no matter how much he dislikes who will eat it, and the random difficulties that arise on a busy night (power outage, etc.).

The editing is great, as the film is engaging to the last minute, and never slackens. The film mostly takes place in the restaurant (or `eatery' as it is called) uninterruptedly over one evening, and the action consists mainly of guests talking to servers, servers talking to chefs, chefs talking to guests (as in one funny scene when a heavy customer marches into the kitchen to threaten a chef) but the characters are established so well and so quickly by the actors, that they seems like real people, and they have chemistry in every scene.

Another reviewer described the film as insubstantial but very, very tasty, like linguini in cream sauce, and that's a good assessment. Dinner Rush could be the pilot episode of a good television series. Still, it's entertaining and funny. What more do you want from a movie?

Murga Bole
$0.89

The Clay Bird
$29.95
From 1947 till 1971 Pakistan was split into two wings on either side of India, the Western wing being what is currently Pakistan and the Eastern one being what is now Bangladesh. Both wings were predominantly Muslim but the political power rested in the Western wing despite Bangladesh being the more populous of the two areas. The tension between the two regions culminated in riots and ultimately a civil war that led to the countries being the separate nations they are today. "The Clay Bird" is set in the late sixties in the Eastern wing when this tension was growing and the struggle against military rule was building. The film presents the political upheaval within the country by showing it in microcosm through the struggles of one family: the patriarch, a kind of born-again-Muslim, standing in for the oppressive forces of the military, the rest of the family, led by the mother's brother representing the growing impulse to break free. The plot is constructed around the family's young son as he is sent to a madrasah (in this case a strict Muslim school) where, unable to connect with most of the other boys, he befriends the outcast of the class - a young boy who escapes the tormenting of his classmates by living in an imaginary world.

The film exoticizes the world it portrays by showing many of the folk traditions of the culture from a tourist's point of view, probably to maximize its appeal to a western audience. It is also fairly heavy-handed in presenting its message through dialogue rather than action and occasionally lapses into melodrama. The characters often come across more as types than real human beings. Yet, despite these flaws, it somehow pulls you into its world through the sheer beauty of its imagery. It's a tourist's point of view but the view is of a tourist with a good eye. The film can also be lauded for attempting to present a more balanced and complex view of Islam than the simplistic one typically promoted in the west.

Not a great film but worth checking out if you're interested in learning more about this region of the world.