If....

I was going through my hard disk searching for a good movie because I have been watching too much of crappy stuff on tv. Most of the movies I found were Japanese and I was not in a subs reading mood. So i settled for this old English movie If by Lindsay Anderson(don't know anything about the director but the hero was Malcolm McDowell (the clockwork orange guy)). I was not keen on watching this flick because i don't like him, I mean he is a real good actor and all but there is something psychotic about him. He was too perfect for "A Clockwork Orange", so I was expecting something similar from this movie it damn well was better than what i thought.
The movie takes place somewhere in some boarding school in the English countryside, and it studies the place and people with sarcasm and anger that explodes in an ending of violence. Its not about school, really: It's all about the British society and the class system, and is supposed to be a metaphor for revolution.
"if…." unfolds in a series of vignettes, capturing the drab rhythm of the school, and building it to boiling point. And as the movie goes ahead they throw around phrases like: "One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place;" "Violence and revolution are the only pure acts." What matters, though, is that we share their frustration at the system they're up against.
When we start describing, it sounds like a hardcore art movie, full of references about politics and history. But when you start watching the movie you get so involved that you are stunned by how it moves to that amazing war( its more like a war than a revolution) in the end. Thirty-five years after its release, it does not look irrelevant or dated; it's not a movie of the rebellious sixties. It still has something to say about the unfairness and the hatred. This was the movie that started Malcolm McDowell's career. Here he stars, as Mick Travis, one of the long-haired rebels of College House, we can see the same impossible grin, dead-staring eyes and psychotic charm. His crew includes Johnny and Wally forming a cult of their own. The movie at some point becomes surreal wherein blatant sarcasm of the customs of the English is shown.
It is shot in both color and monochrome which makes you notice the subtle nuances inside the cold walls of a few old-fashioned buildings. The nonchalant attitude of the teachers is very well depicted in the movie by a series of humorous scenes.
This movie kinda reminded me of the ragging days in Roorkee, not that I such a bad time. The way we memorized all the senior names and all the late night ragging sessions(fortunately not many in my case). Though compared to College House Roorkee is a piece of cake. But this is one movie that shouts revolution on top of its voice. Travis talks about war and death throughout the movie.
I would suggest this movie if you are in a mood for something different but don't expect anything normal. Its one of those kind where there is a thin line between reality and the surreal expressions of the director.