With a mix of continuous and on/off lockdowns, WFH (Work From Home) one worthy thing happened is more time for family, work, books, movies, and friends (video chats), not necessarily in that order. Yes, there is frustration and gloomy feeling that hits observing the happenings near and around us, lack of state capacity, and leaders continuing with their politics and optics even in these times when millions of people are going through livelihood challenges. I have come to accept the fact that worrying about things not in our control only adds to stress. I can wish for my elected leaders to behave responsibly. I can wish them to say this is a new unforeseen situation, I don’t know what steps to take, so I am going to rely on experts and will enable them to drive and handle the situation. I can only wish. For the situation to get back to normal, either we need to get a breakthrough in vaccine or the virus has to mutate and become ineffective. Till then, we need to focus on things we can control and make the best out of it. Rather than trying to solve world problems (which I will still continue to do over coffee with friends and get the frustration out), provide help to those in and around your community, contribute to your local and trusted organizations that do relief measures. Now that I have talked about my frustration, lack of control and charity, I can get on with my OTT discussion without guilt.
With no daily commute / eating out / shopping / movie outings / vacations /, finest thing that has happened is more time for books and movies, after accounting the time for family, friends, and work. With so many OTT platforms (Netflix, Prime, Disney+Hotstar, SunNxt, Zee5, list goes on), we are spoiled for choice. OTT players have recognized, with people confined to their homes, this is a great opportunity for them to pull them in. There is something on the offer for everyone’s taste and preferences. If you have more than one OTT subscription, then you are all set to pass your time till you drop dead. Most to all of them come with subtitles. I may be a minority here, I prefer subtitles even for English movies since sometimes it is hard to comprehend the accent. Now with subtitles, one can easily get over the language barrier, requires little time to master fast reading without missing what is happening on the screen. If you do miss either the action or the dialogue, you can always replay. I keep trying out series from different regions and languages, stories are mostly similar but they give a peek in to their culture. Of course, this is not the right way to learn another culture and you can’t take them at face value. Having said that, once you get through few shows from that region you get a feel for it, FWIW. And yes, you get to see the great locations, interesting places, and monuments without leaving your couch 😁
Thanks to competition OTT guys are pulling in great writers, directors, and actors. With no big brother, read censor board, looking over their shoulders, they do offer interesting stories which will never get made for mainstream cinemas. A Roma or Pain and Glory will never get see the light of day in our cinema halls. Possibility of watching Mindhunter series in prime TV channels? So, let’s enjoy it till the big brother wakes up. From what I watched over last 4 months, calling out few stimulating and interesting series.
Mrs.America: What an amazing series, so glad I watched this. Story is based on events from 1970s US, I would say mostly based on real events since I am sure there is some liberty taken adding few fictional characters to dramatize the narration and biasing of some events. That is true of any *wood fare based on historical events or persons. Story: Conservative activist Phyllis Schalfly leads an unexpected fight (we want roses not rights) against ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) movement when it appeared to be gaining momentum. The series covers lot of historical ground in 9 episodes, you feel like you are in a time capsule. While it looks crisp, few times I felt it would have helped to take the time to give us a better context. Surely Jill episode, filled with many political back stories, would have benefited with additional time. You get drawn in with the story and the writing, and with a fantastic cast line up, like Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, Elizabeth Banks, Uzo Abuda, you can’t avoid the urge to binge watch. While the series scores highly in cinematography, costumes, and music (loved the Beethoven inspired title music), what hooks us is the lead female characters, with their phenomenal acting everyone nails it and is so mesmerizing to watch. Cate Blanchett steals the show and knocks it out of the park. With so many players, it is hard to come up with a narration that gives space to everyone. Credit to the team, they solved it by focusing on a character in each episode, while not the sole focus, exploring their personality and ideas. Episodes take their title from one or more of these women, Phyllis, Gloria, Bella, Shirley, Jill, Betty, etc. We get to see each character in its contradictions, good and harsh sides, egos, prejudices, angers, flaws, and hurts. There are no black and whites, it is all tons of grey. We may take sides on the issue at a broader level but at in individual level it makes it harder for us to completely support or hate or ignore a person. It changes from episode to episode. There is not one women character who is not belittled, dismissed, harassed, or ignored. There are quite a few heartbreaking scenes. Rather than seeking her inputs on a subject where Phyllis is an expert, she gets ignored and the guys are most interested in knowing her opinion on ERA, since it is a woman’s issue, before she is relegated to the job of taking minutes (this scene reminded me of an episode my HR colleague recalled from her 00’s days – in meetings everyone would look at her in unison to fetch coffee since she was the only woman in the room). Phyllis is an intelligent and smart person, while she has internalized patriarchy, she does see through this discrimination. Jill Ruckelshaus doesn’t get the required support from her husband for her outspoken nature. She is a conservative but supports abortion rights, it is seen as a liability for his political career. Can’t have that. Another one stands out is when Bella Abzug gets fired by Jimmy Carter’s office. Exceptional final shot with Phyllis is so distressing. For both Democrats and Republicans, these women are liability. They need them only to win the election. Did I mention about sharp dialogues? Mrs.America is a goldmine when it comes to witty and smart conversations. They stand out. “You Wanna Get Ahead Climbing On The Shoulders Of Men, Phyllis, Fine. Just Know They’re Looking Right Up Your Skirt”, “If Men Could Get Pregnant, Abortion Would Be A Sacrament”, “I Didn’t Get Anywhere In My Life Waiting On Somebody’s Permission”, “Billy Likes To Say That We Educate Men And Women Through College To Be Precisely Equal, But Then The Men Go Off To Do Interesting Things”. Even though the story is from 70s US, politics and issues it talks about is still relevant to our current times – parties taking extreme positions, twisting facts, cooking up lies and nightmare scenarios, to win the elections.
Trapped: Scandinavian series (Iceland). Police investigate thriller series set in a small town. I am sucker for small town stories, remember Mystic River by Clint Eastwood? Unconventional hero (stoic, tragic), and wonderful setup glued me in. Relationships, people know each other, everyone has secrets, everyone is hurting, work place politics, humane approach of the police, and yes, police don’t carry guns. Great location, first season happens over winter and second when the summer starts. Town with its mountains, snow, and port looks so cool you would like to go on a vacation there for few months. Extremely heartening to see an equal mix of men and women roles and women with agency in the story (Google says, Iceland is arguably one of the world’s most feminist countries, as of 2018, 88% of working-age women are employed, 65% of students attending university are female, and 41% of members of parliament are women). Leisurely paced, well written, giving time for character development and back stories (you get to know the three police officers well enough to connect and invest in them).
Bordertown: Scandinavian series (Finland). Police detective crime drama series. Kari Sorjonen, the detective, cracks multiple murders, each taking 2 to 3 episodes. Kari Sorjonen has a special gift, which is hard to explain. Let’s just say he can read people, has a unique way to read a crime scene and organize it in his mind which he can retrieve later for clues and links. Ville Virtanen who portrays Kari Sorjonen has done an excellent job of bringing the character to life, with his body movements, and face expressions. Credit goes to writers in how they have structured the series. Independent crime drama stories, with every subsequent episode character development of main characters with their backstories happen in the background. As the story progresses, events start happening closer to home and to people they know. Due to non-familiarity with names I have to refresh an old episode to make the connection. You may face that too, unless you are gifted like Kari. Similar to Trapped, heartening to see equal mix of roles for both gender, amazing locations, and awesome shots.
Valhalla Murders: Scandinavian series (Iceland). Calling this out here just because of two specific things I liked from this series. Cops don’t carry guns in a holster, similar to Trapped, in one crucial scene, this women cop has to call the control room to request permission, get the PIN for the locker (in the car trunk) to pick up the gun. Here I am watching and trying to contrast it with US cops armed to the teeth like they are in a warfare and our cops bumping people in encounters. Secondly, last episode is an adrenalin rush, gripping, and perfectly staged. Other than these two and Arnar’s and Kata’s back stories and character development, predictable twists and plotline makes it harder to retain the interest level.
Money Heist: If you have ~45 hours and need a time pass with nice masala and great mass moments, this is the series to go for. Season 1 & 2 are good and engaging. High popularity of first two seasons inspired the producers to invest in two more. If you are short of time, you can stop after 2 seasons. First 2 seasons revolves around a band of robbers led by The Professor who take hold of Royal Mint of Spain and escape with 2.4 billion euros. A heist executed to near perfection. Robbers, code named after famous cities, take 60+ people hostages inside the Mint, remain inside for 11 days to print the money as they negotiate with the police force. The Professor, the mastermind, guides the robbers from outside, does the misdirection, and is always one step ahead of the police. The story is told from the perspective of woman robber, Tokyo. Each episode ends with a twist which forces us to continue watching, full credit to the writers. Thanks to series format, everyone, both robbers and cops, gets a backstory and a character arc which keeps us invested in them. I loved the mass and masala moments from first 2 seasons. Check out the Bella Ciao scene. It is hard to pick but Berlin, Nairobi, and Tokyo stand out with their complexities. Production quality, sets, costume, action sequences feels magnificent. Seasons 3 & 4 are a letdown with its repetitiveness.
Bella Ciao Song:
Geniuses of Modern World: I was happy I hit upon these documentary series about 3 larger than life thinkers from 19th century. You get a balanced view about Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud, intellectuals who influenced the world with their mind-boggling ideas. Historian Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of these three thinkers interspersed with visuals of the actual places of interest from their lives and interviews with scholars from the respective fields who reflect on their work. One may or may not agree with their insights, but takeaway for me is they dared to think and set in motion multiple emerging schools of thought which influenced 20th century and continue to shape our generation.