My Thoughts On Taxi Driver.

Finally watched the Martin Scorcese classic Taxi Driver from start to finish. Had always seen bits and pieces of the flick in the past and was keen to watch it in one sitting. We'll I got my chance during  my recent trip to Mumbai.

Despite being set in the 70s there are certain themes of the movie that ring true even today and in that sense the story of this movie is a timeless one.

Sure some May wonder what's the whole story about considering there is no obvious plot line in the conventional sense. But then again I believe that was  the intention of the film maker. To not have a defined story with the traditional first second and third acts of standard story telling. Although one could argue that the movie can in fact be broken down into said conventional three act story.

The story is undoubtedly about Robert DeNiro's taxi driving character Travis Bickle and how his occupation as a taxi driver in the metropolis of New York is affecting him psychologically. The movie is a journey into the very mind of Travis and his interpretation of what is right and wrong. His disdain for society and humanity in General is what we highlights the first act of this movie. 

The one anchor that could have possibly brought some stability in his life, Betsy the presidential campaign volunteer, shuns him due to his awkward social demeanor, viz. his choice of date venue (an adult movie). 

Things begin to take a different direction when he realizes that vigilante justice isn't a bad thing after all and so he acquires an arsenal of weapons and begins training himself to dispense Sid vigilante justice.

The third act encompasses his efforts to free an underage prostitute Iris (an unrecohnizable Jodie Foster). And this is where we see his psychological behavior taking shape and finally culminating in his version of justice s eh guns down not one, but three men (of which one is a mafioso type dude) on order to liberate Iris from her forced prostitution.

The climax is in fact one of the most ambiguous ones in cinema history as there is speculation that everything tht follows the shoutout is in fact inside Travis head and that he is possibly in coma. This theory I feel is further cemented when we see that after his Tiamat the hospital his fare is none other than Betsy, the stable anchor who had shunned him earlier in the movie.

Taxi Driver isn't a movie that you would enjoy watching for entertainment alone. It's a movie with layers that need to be appreciated for their simplicity. If you enjoy movies that deal with the human psyche and offer more than what's shown on screen, Taxi Driver is a definite must watch.

Gandhi's 52 in 2014 Challenge - March Update

It's been a while since the last update and since weekly updates became a tad difficult to post I switched to a monthly one. I know I know this was one of the tasks in the challenge.

It's been a stagnant two months in terms of the health tasks. Haven't gone for the planned walks three times a week! And not much movement on the weight loss either. So obviously these need to get pushed into overdrive to catch up on the lost time.

Have also been a tad behind schedule with the learning new things routine. Have cooked only 2 out of the required 3 new recipes for the year. And only one cocktail of the 3 new cocktails. This will probably be not too difficult to catch up to, hopefully.

On the books reading challenge am behind by two books. But at least due to the challenge I have read more books in the first quarter of this year than I did in the entire previous year.

About the only task that I have been able to execute consistently are the weekly photo challenges and the selfie project. Well at least something is going as per plan.

Did begin spring cleaning of electronics in the house and the first items to be sold were the old iPad 2 and the Galaxy Note 8 tablets. Although I did use the money from that sale to buy myself a shiny new iPad Air. Well at least there's one less tablet in the house, so that's progress.

Have taken a keen interest in my forgotten hobby of sketching. Even started sketching on the new iPad (bought recently, thank you very much)

So far it's been a slow start. But there's still time to catch up and get back on track. The next three quarters may offer some respite and hopefully I am able to recover lost time and of course get back on track.

Another Book Read - The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'll admit the only reason I picked up this book to read was after watching the ostentatious movie adaptation by Baz Luhrmann. The story set in a continent in an era which isn't very familiar to me did put me off initially. However I'm glad I decided to read this classic after all.

The first person narrative is without a doubt the highlight of this book with Nick Carraway's observation forming the entirety of the story telling. The book is as much as about Carraway as it is about Gatsby.

Through Nick we traverse the diverse landscape of America from the mundane and boring Mid-West to the Ultra Jazzy and exciting East. His daily routine describes how Americans lived during the age of excess - long commutes from lavish country homes to the boisterous metropolis of New York working in high paying Wall Street jobs. His extended family, viz his cousin's lifestyle provides a glimpse of how old money lived and how new money - Gatsby, was looked down upon by them.

The book isn't just about the humans but also about their environment. It's a great insight into the heart of a country that was just coming out of a world war and reaping the rewards of victory. The contrast of the Long Island landscape against that of Manhattan as well as the purgatory-like region in between is brilliant.

This book was written at a time when language and prose meant something. When the use of fancy words was not a fad but the norm. Reading this book is a delight for those who enjoy such rich prose albeit it can get a tad confusing and a re-read is called for. It's no wonder this classic is a staple for most middle and high school reading courses.

If you enjoy good writing, simple stories but rich complex interpretations of text, this is your book. At 180 pages it's an absolute quick read.








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