NINE(2009)

Nine is cinematic treat and a romantic musical , which unfolds the story of Guido Contini, a world famous Italian film director. The movie peels the layers of his life, during his mid-life crisis, when he is unable to balance the many women of his life as well as perform professionally to deliver a hit movie, after two successive flops.

It reminded me of Guru Dutt and Sanjay Leela Bansali style of cinema with the play of lights and colours, and a song for every significant character of the plot.

To watch the trailer click here!!

Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis)

The smoking, shrugging and bravura suit wearing Maestro — is like any of us, who has reached his creative saturation and is lost..listen to what he has to sing..

"I would like to be here,
I would like To be there,
I would like to everywhere at once.
I know that's a contradiction in terms,
And it's a problem, especially when
My body's clearing forty
as my mind is nearing ten..."

His Wife (Marion Cotillard)

Soul mate personified, one who is always with him thru thick and thin, who gave up her acting career and is ready to forgive her husband of all his sins.. but then she gets to say.. "Thank you for reminding me I'm not special. You don't even see what you do to me. Even the moments I think are ours, it's just... you working to get what you want. " and sings..

"My husband makes movies.
To make them he lives a kind of dream
In which his actions aren't always
What they seem."

His Mistress (Penelope Cruz)

Lust personified after all who can say no to Penelope when she says "I would be waiting for you, with my legs wide open" and sings to him --

I was lazing around my bedroom
When an idea occured to me I thought you might be
Wondering about.
Guido...
Who's not wearing any clothes?
I'm not, my darling.

His Film Star Muse (Nicole Kidman)

Need personified, the kind to which we fall prey to , given the circumstances, which grows on you from need to a habit and then one fine day it ends as memories ... frozen yet eloquent. She sings..

In a very unusual way one time I needed you.
In a very unusual way you were my friend.
Maybe it lasted a day, maybe it lasted an hour.
But, somehow it will never end.

His Costume designer(Judi Dench)

Friendship personified, a true confidant, one who never judges him, and helps him connect the pieces of his life, she summarises his life and work when she sings:

Le cinema is in a crisis
Directors are so existentailists
The movie are not worth the entrance prices.
If no one sings a love song when he is kissed
Contini!! I want a musical!

An American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson)

Adultery personified in the form of a modern liberated woman, who is on board for any fling and one-night stands, who appreciates his cinema when she says:

I love the play of light
The way Contini puts his image through a prism
I feel my body chill
Gives me a special thrill

The whore from his youth (Stacy Ferguson)

Mischief personified in the form of adolescent whore, who he as kid would pay to explore beyond the tabooed borders of man and woman, where the mystery of a woman unfolds.. She has to say a lot when she sings, although it's yet not discovered how to make a woman happy

So you little Italian devils,
you want to know about love?
Saraghina will tell you....
If you want to make a woman happy......

And his mother (Sophia Loren).

A mother is a always a mother first and a woman later, she is the one who always make us feel we are the best, she always guides us on the right path but never forces anything ever..

Pray I´m there to guide you
and when you grow old,
how my love still will shine?

Always remember my son...
you will always be mine!
Yes! Mine!

I guess, i have talked about all the best things in the movie, so no need to catch it.

The Four Noble truths

• Life means suffering - Everyone is suffering, we indict sufferings to our self and others, and on keep on suffering to be happy.During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. It seems we tend to seek the pleasure in the pain.

ज़िन्दगी का जो सफ़र गुज़र गया,
कई कहानियाँ अपने पीछे छोड़ गया |

• The origin of suffering is attachment - Who would not agree more?? other words to describe the same would be desire, passion, ardor, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging.. Materialist attachments is relatively less deadlier than human attachments which take real guts to get over with as the space one creates in the life of the other remains vacant..sometimes forever. Let go.. Its not what we carry with us but we let go defines who we are.. very easily said.. equally difficult to follow.

जिसे भी साथ लेकर चलना चाहा,
वो चंद क़दम चल के मुह मोड़ गया |

• The cessation of suffering is attainable - This means that suffering can be overcome, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Instead what we tend to do is start living with it, calling it destiny, making the suffering part of our mundane.. ending up in misery. At times we just need to pretend to be strong. The strength provides enough wisdom to get the root of the suffering.

खवाब कुछ सजा रखे थे पलकों पर,
कोई आया और मुझे नींद से झंझोर गया |

• The path to the cessation of suffering - The path to end of suffering. This is where we need all the wisdom from religion,nature and history to show us the way.. It makes you descent into your existence... and have a look inside yourself.. and heal yourself.