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'Girl in Yellow Boots' and 'Confidence Game'

I saw a film by the former title and read a book by the latter.  They were both random choices to fill the so called empty time and a much needed respite after trying to figure out what the governments at the federal and state level wanted of me and my spouse by way of tax liabilities.

 Tax season for Americans is approaching and we like to get the moronic adventure of filing tax returns out of the way the earliest we can but it turns out to be a taxing exercise for some reason.

 Anyway to further expand on the intersect between these two enjoyable events - the film and book - both engage and enthrall and are a study of con men/women in society.  But it's about so much more: trust, belief, and deception at their most basic and human levels.

 The film directed by Anurag Kashyap, stars a woman (of French heritage who I will call KK - initials of her name in real life) that plays the part of a determined but anguished twenty year old who has left the UK to come to India looking for a long lost father.  She supports herself by working as a masseuse in a shady parlor in back streets of Mumbai and offering hand jobs for some extra cash.

 As an actor she fits the role well as somewhat anemic and desperate yet able to figure out the corrupt and lewd practices of the citizenry in India while maintaining the quest to locate her dad.  Subtle and not so moments in the film showcase the emotion and character of a large city like Mumbai and its people.  There are many facades and masks but the true character of people hides within.  Sometimes it surprises pleasantly (the obnoxious massage parlor madam that hires KK and has a potty mouth is at her core a caring human) and at times its harsh (the climax where one of her hand job customers is in fact KK's lost father who has been stalking her as she tries to find him).  Oddly Naseeruddin Shah (another customer who only needs the massage and is repulsed at what KK does to earn some extra bucks)  was the eye candy in the film with no real role except perhaps to garner some audience dollars.  KK's character is able to in a couple of instances manipulate her hunters into being scared away as she learns about their psyche and uses that knowledge to her advantage.

 The book is written by Maria Konnikova (an author of Russian descent) who studied human psychology to pen her ideas describing how the best confidence artists (hence the phrase CON artist) can often manipulate you as they are able to earn your confidence and masterfully manipulate you into doing something for their gain.
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  1. RajendraMarch 6, 2016 at 4:34 PM

    Does reading about Con artists make you more Confident?

    ReplyDelete

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