Princess

Princess is a danish mixed-media movie directed by Anders Morgenthaler. Most of the movie is animated with some live action scenes.

The movies starts with August, a priest visiting his sister and seeing her in action making a pornographic movie, while heavily pregnant. Jump forward five years and the sister, Christina, has died and August takes his five year old niece, Mia into his custody. As the movie unfolds, we get a glimpse of August and Christina when they were teenagers and how they gradually moved apart. Christina found fame as a porn star nicknamed Princess working for her former lover Charlie.

As August tries to begin his life with Mia, Christina's past keeps coming back to haunt him in many different form. He requests the porn company to recall pornographic materials involving Christina and is turned down. He also finds out that Mia had been physically and sexually abused. He then sets out to destroy all pornographic materials featuring Princess and to avenge her downfall.

The movie is NOT meant for kids, not even for teenagers. It is a complex, disturbing and emotionally draining movie. The mixed media, especially the underdeveloped anime media is jarring in the beginning, but as the movie progresses and gets more and more violent, it blends in with the theme very well.

Two emotions run amuck through the entirety of this movie, innocence and guilt. August and Christina. Christina and Mia. Mia and Multe. August, Mia and Multe. The use of anime probably heightens the impact of innocence while the narrative edges the viewer to a realization of the guilt.

Why, o why, do we not have more directors who treat their audience with respect as this director does?

If and when you watch this movie, be prepared to be left feeling breathless and hollow in the stomach.

stories in six words

- Long time! How are you?
- Fine.

of tears and chemicals

The National Public Radio (NPR) that wakes me up every morning was talking about how an Israeli research team found that tears may have a chemical influence on human beings. The experiment involved a comparison of the state of sexual excitement in men who had smelled collected womens tears and salt water collected after grazing womens cheeks. And it appears tears tone down levels of testosterone in men which indicates a decrease in anger/excitement and probably an increase in compassion caused by chemical signaling by the tears.

I understand the chemical signaling part, as there does not appear to be much other use for tears. I wonder if male tears affect females the same way, and if male tears affect males and female tears affect females. Now that's equality :P

PS: guess what google brought in: a lot of hot crying men...lol!

El secreto de sus ojos

There are movies that are good, and ones that are horrible; and then there are movies that jolt you to the realization that despite such sincere efforts by hollywood and bollywood and such other 'woods', you still have not been completely desensitized or jaded. 'The truth in their eyes' did that to me, and I am still feeling the tremors. S had put the movie in queue as we had decided to try and watch more international movies than we have been, and also as I had been taking spanish classes and watching movies in spanish may help.

But I digress.

'The secret in their eyes' or El secreto de sus ojos is an argentinian movie and I suppose it can be categorized as a thriller save that the movie does not quite allow you to make that decision. The direction is brilliant, and I have rarely seen a director who's capable of having such a control over his audience (the audience being me) that the audience (still me) has no way of looking at the movie than how he wants it.

Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is a newly retired court investigator and post-retirement he has begun writing a book on his life and the one case that he could not let go of - the rape and murder of a newly wed woman. His involvement in the case was made more complicated by the presence of the alluringly beautiful Irene (Soledad Villamil in a spectacular role) who's a new judge and his superior and their feelings for one another; as well as his relationship with his brilliant but depressed assistant. They are able to capture the killer and send him to prison. However, later on, during a political turmoil, the killer is set free, and he sets out trying to take his revenge on them. The case changes his life, and the way he looks at life; and twenty-five years after the rape-murder and the apprehension of the killer, after his retirement, Benjamin decides to look back and write it down just so it may make a little bit of sense; and they slowly begin to make sense till Benjamin makes a very disturbing realization.

The actors are very good, the script is very taut and the cinematography is brilliant. But the best attribute of this movie is that the protagonists are achingly human. Oh, did I mention that the movie is very very cerebral? It is, trust me.

Documentary - 8 The Mormon Proposition

I just watched this gem of a documentary on Prop 8 and marriage equality in the US, and am stunned! I always have had a utter disdain for all organized religion, but any one who still thinks religion can solve any of the words problems - this is a must watch.

The Hate it spews out of the Church , the money, the manipulative political maneuvers, hell they even formed with a coalition with the Catholics and the Evangelicals - and they do not see eye to eye on anything , including the Bible. Hate is what brought them together - a Hate for Homosexuals! And the documentary does a beautiful expose of how the Mormons , chose to launch this covert war , including millions of dollars in funding , and a Ton of Lies form the Pulpit in the Temple to sway the masses - just to Deny Homosexuals from enjoying the right to Marriage!!

On a lighter note - The Cute Boys in White Shirts, and Red Ties , and Black Slacks , I see on the bus, in Velechary are actually missionaries of the Church of The Later Day Saints on mission work in India and boy are the close to home. Well Next Time I am Definitely saying Hello, may be its time they learnt that about the Missionary!

The Curry Closet goes Mobile

Bloging using my Android, maybe this will be a better way to blog, and be regular! Comming up a series of rants on being gay, single and 30,and my quest on finding a non mustachoid date in Chennai!

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wine and cheese and hors d'œuvres

oranges

Surprisingly, or not quite surprisingly to be honest, here in the US, no one calls an orange an orange. they are always valencias, or navels, or clementines, or tangerines... or something else. I don't recall which these were. but they looked pretty, and they were very juicy.

garden salad with buttermilk dressing

There's something very comfortable in the thought that one can just walk into his backyard and pick a salad. As S knows more than anyone else, I have a love-hate relationship with garden salads. I still, at times, need to convince myself that a bowl of uncooked vegetables/greens can be food. Nonetheless lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, blueberries and pickled artichokes with a few sprigs of chervil and sour grass and buttermilk dressing can be very quick (read 15 minutes to pluck, wash, chop and arrange) and surprisingly delicious. My favourite bit in this is the buttermilk. It's light on fat, and has a nice delicate taste with a light smoky finish.

We belong to the sea

One of those songs which I'd caught a long time ago by chance on some TV show and which stayed in my mind. Lene Nystrom is, as usual, stunning.

Caprese Sandwiches

My version of the Caprese Mini Sandwihes , that Elise did on my favorite food blog , Simply Recepies. I love the Idea, and since In India we make "Roti's"/Flat Bread at home evry day, his is a easy no brainer.

I used, frozen dough that I had made a few weeks ago for making Pot sticklers and what ever was available. Getting the mise en place ready is the trick as every thing is assembled over the flat girdle/Tava used for making the breads.

Frozen Dough , Thawed, Rolled into Flat Breads - 100 Gms
Grated Mozerella Cheese, I used Kodai Cheese - 2 tbs
Basil, Oregano, Crushed Chilly Flakes, Coarse Sea Salt- By Taste
Zero Oil !!

Elise suggests that we marinate the Salad, and I have done that version too, and its delish, but usually i just assemble this in under 15 mins. I just went ahead on an instinct, and just to complete the mean, I added a dollop of hung curd, which is almost the consistancy of ricotta with drizzled honey.

I have been trying to eat light and well, and in the last six months, lost 10 kgs ( Checked today morning, it still stable at 10!!), and I just don't understand why people eat cardboard tasting meal supplements, when all they need to do is learn how to create a simple easy and quick meal.

Tried doing multiple images on this post , including a Collage with the step by step

Lavash or Hogwash!

Hogwash! I cried at the posh counter at Maison De Gourmet. If you are a foodie and In Chennai you could not have escaped this store. It is one of the few that will stock Fleur De Sel, EVOO, Balsamic, so you get the drift. I don't know much of how the business works , so have no comments about the mark ups. But I do know when you are being swindled.

Rs.150/pack for less than 200 grams of day old Lavash! For those who haven't got an idea of what I am talking , Lavash is a thin middle eastern bread, more like crackers, most times with a sprinkling of spices, like Zatar or seeds, and is made of Flour, Water, Shortening , and yeast. I use this on the Mezze or with Humus I am making a lot these days. So essentially, not very different from your basic bread, save its rolled, generally made in a Tandoor, but I suppose easily done in an oven too!

A, will be squirming in his seat (Psst- He's been baking, but will not show his breads here)! I know, they will price it according to the demand ...and supply, which is non existent in Chennai. But I think its time folks just waked out ..this is hogwash!!

Also - Scary was the complete lack of labeling and information on the product, including the price.

Some recipes from the blogosphere : A, Try some and let me know if this works well. I wish I had an oven!

From Whence The Sweet Bird Sang - Lavash

Apple pies, Patis and Pate - Lavash

Tomato Salad with Aioli and Herbs

Easy does it! Just like this Salad I did a few days ago for lunch..Ripe tomatoes quartered, in an aioli, some dried basil and oregano, a dash of tang from a lime, frozen cold meats crushed, cools the salad, as you plate and serve.

Oh, the salt has to be Kal Uppu, or Coarse Sea Salt, none of the flakiness and chemicals from free flowing Iodised salt ..I can't afford Fleur De Sel , so have been using this traditional salt as a finishing salt or just salt, and you can feel the difference.

The Aioli, Salt, Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil , and a whole lot of work on the pestle and mortal as you slowly trickle down the oil. I do not like to add anything else, most folks will add eggs, but does reminds of Mayo, and I am not a big fan.

The Dash of green you see, is some left over pesto, I had done a few days ago, just completes the composition, Don't you think so ?

Enjoy!

dinner

lunch