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Coronavirus seems to have brought everything to a standstill. Ever seen the Colosseum so empty? Not deserted, eerily empty? Well, at this point, COVID-19 has spread across countries and the only measure as of now being to contain its spread further is by asking people to stay indoors. Words such as 'Self Quarantine' and 'Social-Distancing' have now entered out everyday conversations as we are adapting to them for the time being. Like several other countries, India too has been tackling the coronavirus cautiously and with that in mind, on March 22, a 'Janata (public) Curfew' is being observed. With the streets, all empty and no hustle and bustle around that most of us are synonymous with across all major cities in the world, be it Mumbai or New York, suddenly our lives are no different than the movies we see. Quarantine Binge: Star Wars, The Godfather, Indiana Jones - 7 Franchise Movie Marathons You Can Stream While You Sit Indoors Amid Coronavirus Outbreak.
This seems like that one time when fiction seems to have blended with reality so well that films like Contagion no more seem like coming from futuristic, sci-fi genres. The threat is real and so are the efforts everyone has been putting in to contain it. As many of us are stuck at home, we realize that isolation is hard but lucky for us the social media remains to be a great source of entertainment to entertain ourselves with. Given the current situation, we are reminded of all the times when movies tried to capture the feeling of being 'quarantined' or 'isolated', across genres. Here's a look at films that showed their protagonists trapped to their homes/rooms for reasons nowhere close to our reality today though.
1. Trapped
Rajkummar Rao's 2016 drama Trapped showed us his character Shaurya getting quite literally 'trapped' in his new apartment. It's scary because the desolate Mumbai high-rise has nothing to get him out nor survive. With the supply of basic necessities for survival such as water, food and electricity being ruled out, there are also no neighbours in the building to rush for his rescue. The survival drama truly shows us how mental health can be affected on account of isolation. So a tip for survival in the corona times - stay connected, we're all in this together!
2. House Arrest
Who said films with protagonists confined to their homes have to be all scary? In Ali Fazal's Netflix film House Arrest, he's just a regular guy who loves his solitude more than anything in the world. Although it's difficult to live an isolated life because if not you, other humans certainly are social animals who seek thrills by stepping out, meeting new people and so on and that's exactly what happens with Ali's character in this film. With a mix of comedy, this movie about a person who loves his isolation is a light-hearted one. Maybe you could check this out only to see how his character doesn't leave the house but gets everything done because let's face it, we need that right now!
3. Two Night Stand
Like I said before, stories about quarantined people are there across genres and for those who enjoy a bit of romance, Miles Teller's Two Night Stand is one of them. In the film, a bad snowstorm results in two strangers who meet for a hook-up turning into 'quarantine partners' after a blizzard paralyzes their city transport and other facilities leaving them stuck with each other at home. Time is everything when it comes to building relationships and what better time to get to know each other than at a time like this!
4. Room
Brie Larson's Academy-winning performance in Room is unforgettable. The film tells the story of a woman who has been held captive for seven years and who even gives birth to her son during this captivity. Her 5-year-old has never seen the world outside that room and will he ever is the question. This is a life-affirming drama that truly makes you realise how many things we take for granted in our lives.
5. Rec
The Spanish horror drama is from the zombie/supernatural genre. The film follows the story of a reporter (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman who whilst covering a firefighter intervention in an apartment building in Barcelona get stuck thereafter the residents start to show dangerous animalistic behaviour. The supernatural drama doesn't its protagonists confined to an apartment per see but the entire building. The same film was remade in Hollywood with the title Quarantine and starred Jennifer Carpenter (of Dexter) in lead.
6. Phobia
In Radhia Apte's psychological thriller, the actress plays a woman suffering from agoraphobia, a condition in which an individual is paranoid about being in public places. After moving into an empty apartment, Radhika's character of crippling fear to step out in public spaces has her confined to her apartment all the time which soon starts to play tricks with her mind considering she's trying hard to suppress a traumatic incident from her past. There's a particular scene in the film that truly gives you the chills as her character finds herself unable to move beyond the pavement of her door event to handover her garbage bag to the bin collector. Quarantine & Chill! 17 WTF Movies of Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Other Fave Bollywood Stars to Watch at Home for Pure Guilty Pleasures!
7. The Divide
Another film where residents of a New York building find themselves confined in a basement of their building after a nuclear attack is The Divide. The film stars Michael Biehn, Lauren German, Milo Ventimiglia and Rosanna Arquette in lead roles. The film shows how the group eventually start to acclimatise to the cramped surroundings during their confinement.
If you have more suggestions on films that capture stories of people trapped in their apartments ad shelters and are your absolute favourites, do comment and tell us!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2020 04:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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