Osman Ali's Choice

Osman Ali has directed Langit Cinta and it is currently playing in the cinemas. theSun got Osman Ali to pick his favourite 10 movies that depicts love.  The full article below ....  

Headline:  For Love & Glory

By Bissme S

A scene from Langit Cinta 

WE ALL need love in their life. Osman Ali’s Langit Cinta, currently playing in cinemas, certainly depicts this emotion. The film centres on the star-crossed romance between Khadejah, who is from a small fishing village, and Aliff, the son of a rich businessman. They marry despite his parents’ objections, but one day Aliff seemingly walks away, leaving behind Khadejah, who is now pregnant and wondering why she has been abandoned.

We asked Osman (far right) to pick 10 favourite movies that depict “this strange thing called love”. Here are his choices:

*Alaipayuthey (2000)

This Indian film, directed by Mani Ratnam and starring R Madhavan and Shalini, is about a couple who fall in love and marry without their parents’ consent. The couple soon learn that falling in love is easy but keeping a marriage afloat is hard.
“Very few movies discuss how you keep love alive in a marriage, and Mani Ratnam has done that brilliantly here,” says Osman.

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*Dil Se (1998)

Another Mani Ratnam film, this time starring Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. Osman likes the fact that Mani has shown that even a terrorist wants to love and be loved, and how a radio producer is willing to leave behind his stable life just to love a terrorist. “Falling in love is about taking risk,” Osman says.

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*Dr Zhivago (1965)

This British-American effort directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin, is an epic love story that takes place during World War I in Russia, where a doctor is torn between his mistress and wife.

“The director has beautifully captured the scenery and the tormented emotions that the characters face,” Osman adds.

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*Suara Kekasih (1986)

This love story, directed by Ida Farida, stars Fauziah Ahmad Daud and Azmil Mustafa as a nightclub singer and rich boy, whose relationship encounters parental opposition

“I love one scene where Fauziah cries in the arms of her mother when she learns the man she loves will be marrying another woman,” says Osman.

“I have a similar scene in Langit Cinta [between Fazura and her mother] when she learns that her husband has abandoned her.”

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 *Plae Kao (1977, 2002 and 2014)

This Thai movie was remade twice after the first film under different directors and stars. The story is about two people in a small farming village falling in love despite their families hating each other. The story ends with the lovers drowning in a river in each other’s arms.

Osman, who enjoys all three versions, says: “The story will bring tears to your eyes.”

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*Romeo and Juliet (1996)

Osman loves how director Baz Luhrmann has set Shakespeare’s tragic love story in a modern setting. He also applauds the actors in the lead roles, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, for giving a brilliant performance.

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*Titanic (1997)

James Cameron’s mega-hit about a rich aristocrat and a poor artist falling in love onboard a ship that eventually strikes an iceberg and sinks, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the lead.

Osman says: “The antagonist in this love story is nature. You can see a lot of nature in Langit Cinta. “

The director also manages to prick our emotion where we pine for the lovers to be together in the end.”

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*The Notebook (2004)

This touching tale stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams under the direction of Nick Cassavetes. It’s about an elderly man at a nursing home reading a romantic story from his notebook to a fellow patient. His story centres on a poor country boy who falls in love with a rich heiress.

“What do you do when you remember every detail of your love story, but your lover keeps forgetting everything?” Osman asks.

“This is one love story that will touch your heart.”

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*Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

This Chinese film, by renowned director Zhang Yimou, stars Gong Li in the lead as a young woman named Songlian who hopes to find love and romance. Instead, she is forced to be the fourth wife of a wealthy lord played by Ma Jingwu. She must then learn to live under the strict rules of his household and compete for the attention of the master from his other concubines. “Your heart really sympathises with Songlian, and Gong Li really performed her role well,” Osman says.

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*Nang Nak (1999)

Nonzee Nimibutr directs this Thai horror-romance starring Intira Jaroenpura and Winai Kraibutr. The story is about a man who goes to war, leaving behind his pregnant wife behind. When he returns, he begins to notice something different about his wife and young child, something which has gotten all the other villagers terrified.

“Even death cannot kill love,” Osman says.

“I really admire the way the director incorporated romance and horror in the film.”