Movies in Brief

BORN INTO BROTHELSunrated, 83 mins.Strange to say, but “Born into Brothels” is the best update of “Cheaper by the Dozen” yet.Zana Briski’s documentary tells the story of the group of prostitutes’ children who Ms. Briski brought together in the heart of Calcutta’s red-light district for photography lessons. But anyone who thinks a film focusing on children of prostitutes must be grim should think again.The children are capable of heights of elation the likes of which are unseen in today’s mainstream children’s films. On a trip to the beach, they steal the show: running wildly along the waves in their brightly colored dresses, snapping pictures, playing tag, and singing songs. On the bus ride back, they turn up the radio and dance and sing along in the aisles – the delicious Bollywood soundtrack assembled by John McDowell would have the audience doing the same. “Born into Brothels” is worth seeing on the big screen, with a good sound system.That the childrens’ photographs, featured throughout, are level-headed looks at misery at one point and happy shots of each other at another make their overwhelming pleasure in photography all the more inspiring.In the end, the photographer and director, Ms. Briski, finds space for each of them in a charity boarding school. And she, who narrates throughout, also tells what happens to each child. Many dropped out of school and went into prostitution like their mothers. It is interesting to note that it is the naturally bookish children who remain in school, not those who spoke about their great ambition.Ms. Briski runs a nonprofit organization, Kids With Cameras (www.kidswith-cameras.org). On the Web site, prints of childrens’ photographs can be purchased to support photography classes and school tuition for children in Haiti, Calcutta, Jerusalem, and Cairo. The children of “Born into Brothels” should inspire many a donation this holiday season.– Johanna ConterioSHWAASunrated, 107 mins.In a season of marketing juggernauts like “The Polar Express,” when critics dust off their superlatives, the last thing you expect to find is humility. But that’s exactly what’s on offer in “Shwaas,” India’s submission for a Best Foreign Film Oscar.Made in the Marathi film industry (one of India’s five film industries, of which Bollywood is merely the largest), “Shwaas” tells its deceptively simple story with no musical numbers, no swelling climaxes, and no villains.Grandfather Vichare brings his grandson, Parashuram, from their rural village to the big city for a consultation with a specialist, Dr. Sane, about the boy’s eye trouble. Dr. Sane diagnoses Parashuram with a rare form of cancer and tells the startled Vichare that his grandson needs immediate enucleation – that is, the removal of both his eyes.The movie finds its drama in watching Vichare wrestle with his decision and figure out how to explain to a 10-year-old that he’s never going to see again. Arun Nalavade plays Vichare brilliantly, all awkwardness and unease, like a turtle pried out of his shell. A lot of subtle comedy is wrung out of a multitude of small details, but there’s no big message here about humanity.“Shwaas” is a movie about people who face an uncertain future with as much dignity as they can muster, not because they’re heroes, but because they have no choice.– Grady HendrixDOLLSunrated, 113 mins.Before he made his life-affirming crowd-pleaser “Zatoichi,” Takeshi Kitano made “Dolls,” which is only now getting a release. Exploring the darker side of love and devotion, it will be an interesting footnote for Kitano completists, but pretty slow going for everyone else.Mr. Kitano enjoys hijacking traditional Japanese culture to expose its darker corners. In “Dolls” he uses the stories of playwright Monzaemon Chikamatsu to expose the morbid aspects of love. Kitano believes that what motivates Mr. Chikamatsu’s doomed lovers isn’t romantic attraction but destructive single-mindedness.As evidence for the prosecution, “Dolls” presents three stories. The first is about two homeless beggars, tied together with a rope, and the “love vs. duty” deadlock that got them to this point. The second is about an aging gangster and the woman he left behind, and the third is about a pop star and one of her adoring fans.A collaboration between Mr. Kitano and fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, “Dolls” is absolutely gorgeous to look at. But it’s dominated by Mr. Kitano’s brutal, unforgiving intellect and demented deadpan. It winds up feeling like a sadistic Punch-and-Judy show.– Grady Hendrix

Movies in Brief

Movies in Brief

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