I just finished watching A Few Good Men again and shed a few tears of agonised joy again. However, while in the throes of my maudlin celebration I was reminded of Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch and suddenly the levity choked. Be annoyed with Tom Cruise at all times. Check.

A Few Good Men ends with a long shot of the military courtroom and triumph of the American legal system. The courtroom is bathed in a warm glow and the benches gleam as if touched by the effulgence of truth. In that moment, it seems as if we the audience is not only meant to celebrate Tom Cruise’s victory but also the victory of the American legal system. Despite being painted as bad, we cannot ignore the might of the American military either.

Despite the sophistication of America’s superior legal or military system, it is the gleam of the courtroom that makes me envious. Why can’t we portray such a suave victory on celluloid? By suave I don’t mean the cinematography but the narrative which did a damn good job of telling a story and eliciting a strong emotional response from its audience. It is to be noted though that A Few Good Men is a good movie it is not best of the lot. Yet, the best we can do it seems is a film like Shaurya which was “inspired” by the very movie being discussed.

These thoughts are really offshoots from Girish Sahane’s article Here is everything that is wrong with Hindi cinema and why in The Caravan. To understand what ails our cinema do read it.