KEATON × SSR
If you know me, you know I've been obsessed with the film RRR since early last year. I've seen it half a dozen times, and my obsession hasn't stopped there - I've gone back and watched most of the director S. S. Rajamouli's other films as well.
If you know me, you know I've been watching tons of old black-and-white films with my son over the past couple of years. I've gravitated towards Buster Keaton being my favorite of the silent era comedians and consider Sherlock, Jr. one of my all-time favorite films.
Earlier this year, I worked my way back to watching Rajamouli's 2010 film, Maryada Ramanna. I found the premise novel and fun. From Letterboxd: “Ramu returns to his hometown to sell a piece of land he owns and falls in love with a young woman only to find out that her parents want him dead.” The film starts by setting up a deadly rivalry between families, jumps forward in time to the protagonist taking a train to his hometown, and continues from there.
A few weeks later I put on Buster Keaton's 1923 film Our Hospitality. It starts by setting up a deadly rivalry between families. I thought, “Huh, I'll have to note this similarity in my review.” It continues by jumping forward to the protagonist taking a train to his hometown. I thought, “Hold on... What's happening?” It quickly became apparent that I was watching THE SAME MOVIE.
The serendipity of this experience surprised and delighted me. I had to do something with it, so I made this. Enjoy!