THE AGE OF FILMS
He was not too wrong. The film had a lame run in less
than 60 theaters; in many houses, it didn’t last even a
week. The trade publications had only one word to
describe its run: Disaster.
“But he is a world phenomenon,” said one admirer. “How
many producers and directors well in their 80s make films
year after year?”
How about quality, I asked. What good is persistence
and passion if the films were lousy? I got a dirty look and
something the man uttered below his breath sounded like
a curse.
About eight years ago, a colleague interviewed Dev
Anand in New York He asked the filmmaker and actor if
he was worried about so many of his films flopping. Dev
said something like he was making the films for the future
and they would be discovered by a new generation. So
stunned was my colleague he could not ask the question
that flashed immediately.
“He was very serious; he thought his films would be wel-
comed as classics some two decades from now. I wanted to
ask him if he is not interested in making films like Jewel
Thief or Hum Dono which were appreciated soon after
their release,” my colleague said.
But he asked Dev Anand if he could not let younger
directors make films for him. They could write and direct
films which might resonate with a small but influential
segment of today’s moviegoers. “What will I do then?” Dev
asked, adding something like he felt he was just about 25.
As I mull over Dev Anand’s answers, I cannot but won-
der how lucky and smart people like P D James, Max von
Sydow and Christopher Plummer are. They review their
plans, ask themselves critical questions, read or watch
other peoples work, and we are richer because of their atti-
tudes and resolutions. We are also lucky that some of the
finest filmmakers of our time are making engaging and
often provocative films even though they are in their 70s
or approaching 80. Woody Allen, whose films typically
earn around $35 million around the world and recoup the
investment because each of his films cost about $15 mil-
lion, has made one of the most successful films of his
career. Midnight In Paris has not only grossed $150 mil-
lion worldwide, it has also received strong reviews. Martin
Scorsese has made an eye-popping fantasy, Hugo. Clint
Eastwood has taken a critical look at one of the most influ-
ential men in American history, J Edgar Hoover, the head
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for decades. J
Edgar, with Leonardo Di Caprio in the title role, is a taut-
Rolling bones and moss
Manoel De Oliveira
ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS
ly made film that might fetch Leo one more Oscar nomi-
nation.
In Portugal, filmmaker Manoel De Oliveira turned 100
last December. He has made 60 feature films and shorts
and now is at work on AIgreja, three connected stories set
in Brazil following a visit of the devil to earth, a case of
adultery and the delusions of an ornithologist. For over
two decades, De Oliveira is mostly wheelchair bound. You
seldom hear him brag about his work. His films may not
be big box-office hits but they recover their modest invest-
ment and they (like The Strange Caseof Angelica) travel to
venues like the Toronto International Film Festival He
continues to be a tough critic of the Church and globaliza-
tion.
Arthur J Pais is Editor, Features, India Abroad
Christopher Plummer
Woody Allen ADRIEN VECZAN/REU TERS
ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/REUTERS
