Review of Asoka movie

When I wrote about bringing Mohandas Gandhi back, I was told to also watch a Bollywood movie Asoka, that documents the story of Emperon Asoka (spelled in some places as Ashoka or Ashok or Ashoke) that ruled parts of the Indian sucontinent in the 3rd century BC. Like Gandhi, he too helped spread the message of non-violence after he embraced Buddhism. Prior to that, though, it would not be a stretch to compare him to Saddam Hussein or Hitler. He was so hungry for power and land that all his life he fought battles and never paid attention to the horrors of war (Read more about the horrors of war in my review of the movie Grave of the Fireflies).

The movie, as I understand happens in all Bollywood films, delves way too much time early on about the romantic relationship of Prince Asoka (played by Shah Rukh Khan) and Princes Kaurwaki (played by Kareena Kapoor) of neighboring kingdom Kalinga. Asoka was asked by his mother to leave the capital so that he would not be killed by his brothers who were all engaged in a tough fight for the throne of the Kingdom of Magadha. Kaurwaki also was in hiding due to similar drama at her court, where her parents were killed by the chief of staff. Like typical Bollywood musicals, there is singing and dancing behind trees and the couple marry in a simple tribal ceremony. To me this was a meaningless diversion and I would suggest that you simply skip this part.

The movie becomes more engaging when after a bloody battle in which Asoka kills his brothers and is crowned the emperor of Magadha. At that point, he becomes a monster and is commonly referred to as the "demon" for his merciless killing. In the meantime, he has been misinformed that his wife Kaurwaki is dead. He marries a Buddhist woman, who abandons him after watching the horrors of war perpetrated by her husband.

The mother of all battles happens with Kalinga and only towards the end he realizes that the Queen of Kalinga, who was leading the battle, was Kaurwaki.

We now know that at that point he not only stopped all wars but also was responsible for bringing the Buddhist message of love and non-violence to other countries in Asia.

The movie is well done with remarkably good sets depicting the grandeur of 3rd century India. If you can rush through the foolishness of the love story embedded in what is really a story of an emperor, it is a good introduction to the life of a king who learned from his mistakes and rectified them.

Grave of the Fireflies movie review

Many, many years ago I was dating a woman and in one of those "get-to-know-you-better" moments, I asked her What was the worst thing in the world. Her answer surprised me. "War," she said. While it made perfect sense, it was not an answer I expected but as I learned more about her, I found out that her family's life (and her's as a little girl) had been torn apart by a war.

I have never experienced the trauma of war directly but this movie made me think of her words. Hotaru no Haka ("Grave of the Fireflies") is based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka and tells the story of two orphaned children in Kobe, Japan during World War II. No war movie is entertaining - think "Black Hawk Down" - but when told through the eyes of children, it is even more painful. The two kids experience hunger and illness, resulting in the death of four-year old Setsuko. Eventually, her brother Seita dies too due to starvation.

While the movie was marketed to children and is recommended for anyone 3 and up, I feel that it should be rated R. It is just a terribly sad and depressing movie and I do not think children need to be exposed to the horrors of war so early on in their lives (I recommend movies like Spirited Away or Kiki's Delivery Service or Shrek or Harry Potter). The movie was not successful at the box office and I can understand why. It literally makes you cry.

The movie also presents the Japanese version of the context of World War II and at some instances it almost seems like propaganda, but if we watch it merely as a movie that tells us how war affects children, this is a very emotional film.