Good cinema

                                                         

There are so many movies that I want to see but can't because they aren't available where I live. Yesterday and day before I saw two I had been meaning to watch for a long time- Ned Kelly and The Constant Gardener. Both were thought provoking. The Constant Gardener was beautifully directed with some great performances. I know most of you must have seen the movie but this who haven't it comes highly recommended. I have heard the song 'Kothbiro' by Ayub Ogada before but to see it juxtaposed on the imagery of Africa especially Lake Turkana was moving to say the least. It really is a strange world where the lives of the people who are marginalised seems to mean less than their counterparts in developed countries. Clinical trials of test drugs had been a hot topic of debate in Indian media some time ago but then it  fizzed out. The overpricing of drugs and unjust patent laws that make life saving drugs like those for fighting diseases like AIDS beyond the reach of the people who need it the most is just insane. But I don't want to sound like a preacher. I will end the post with a quotation by John Le Carre (the author of the novel on which the movie is based) which forms a part of the end credits of the movie

"Nobody in this story, and no outfit or corporations, thank God, is based upon an actual person or outfit in the real world. But I can tell you this as my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, I came to realise that, by comparison with the reality, my story was as tame as a holiday postcard."