Spoilers ahead…
The Wikipedia entry under “Synopsis” for Angamaly Diaries is remarkably concise: “The story of local people and their life at Angamaly.” In a sense, that is really all there is to Lijo Jose Pellissery’s drama. It’s the story of the man who embraces a tree while preparing a bomb, so that even if it explodes in his hands, his face and body won’t be harmed. It’s about the woman who, when invited to a wedding, wonders if liquor is on the menu. It’s about the girl who is dumped rather curtly, in a first-floor restaurant – the man walks away, and she stares out of a large window, at the town of Angamaly below, which goes about its business with little regard for her tears. It is about the business that drives this town, the business of pork that’s conducted over the squeals of pigs facing the knife. And it is about the gay man in a butterfly-print shirt, who gets the film going as he scooters over to meet a gangster named Benny. Soon, there’s violence.
Read the rest of the review on Film Companion, here:
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Srinivas R
March 14, 2017
This is your best review in FC, serious God level writing 🙂
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lakshmi
March 14, 2017
Sometimes you fight. Then you make up. Another page of the diary is turned.
Beautiful! Left me with a lump in my throat.
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Gautham Jayan
March 14, 2017
Hi Rangan,
Please do read my review of the movie.
https://gauthamjnair.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/a-hardcore-realistic-movie/
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sarathp
March 14, 2017
Right from their debut with Nayakan, Lijo-Prashant combo has been terrific. And, this might be their masterpiece .
This clip is of the live performance of “ilamai” brass band version
https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=an5ys7eiCNc
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Jyoti S Kumar
March 14, 2017
relatively under-the-radar upstart films
No, no no BR sir… Lijo Jose is not an upstart, nor under the radar… Not atleast in malayalam film industry. His quirky and funny “Amen” had made him an established director. I remember many people begging you to watch it for your review. Pls do…
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brangan
March 14, 2017
Jyoti S Kumar: I meant Kirik Party, but yes, that sentence could have been less confusingly worded. Mainly about how these “offbeat” films are doing the mainstream stuff much more interestingly.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 14, 2017
Is it just a very good, well-made ‘Goodfellas’ rehash, or a great film as they seem to be saying back home in Kerala?
Come to think of it, even Goodfellas had food as a recurring part of the movie, right? We get a good lot of cutaways to food or offhand scenes that show the characters cooking.Even most of the meetings and showdowns tend to happen in a restaurant or joint.
Your using ‘Premam’ as an antecedent is spot on here, especially because Aluva (where ‘Premam’ is set) and Angamaly are neighbouring towns and have a somewhat similar way of life.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 14, 2017
Jyoti S Kumar:
He has a big laundry list to cover in that case, not just ‘Amen’. Starting with last year’s films
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Sutheesh Kumar. P. S.
March 14, 2017
Loved the movie and i loved your take on it.
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lakshmi
March 14, 2017
sarathp: Thanks for that link.
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BR Discoverer (formerly the "original" venkatesh)
March 15, 2017
We are living in the golden age of Malayalam Cinema. Awesome to see this.
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Navneeth
March 15, 2017
First-time commenter here; a few thoughts (SPOILERS BELOW):
1) I had a bit of trouble understanding the slang; (not going to happen, but) subtitles would’ve helped with some of the lines and names.
2) The python scene, followed by the barroom brawl between Jesus, a nun, Roman soldiers and the thugs (seriously :D) early on convinced me that this was not going to be a run-of-the-mill new-gen Malayalam film (though the subsequent voice-overs did tend to follow the template).
3) Initially, I had issues connecting with the main characters (and by extension, getting immersed into the film). Pepe & co. as kids idolising the local goon and growing up to be wannabe gangsters/troublemakers felt similar to ‘Kammattipaadam’.
However, the scene where rival gangster Ravi throws a bomb at Pepe’s shop is what made me sit up and think, “Okay, s#!t just got real”.
(BTW, why the name Vincent Pepe? The screenwriter Chemban Vinod Jose explained that he wanted to name his son Chris Pepe, but it was not to be; hence…)
4) The on-off friendship/rivalry between Pepe’s gang & Ravi-Rajan reminded me of the song ‘Hot & Cold’ – “…we fight, we break up/we kiss, we make up”…
…but in all seriousness, you’d think someone bombing your shop would be a blood feud waiting to happen; yet, the screenplay doesn’t tread the predictable route. Forgive and forget. Love thy swine dealer.
5) The film is a great example of perfect casting. 86 newcomers, yet not one of them looked out of place. The actor who played the fire-breathing Ravi looks so mild and… small in real life. Similarly, the poised Lichy was played by a real-life nursing student named Anna Reshma (irritatingly giggly in interviews).
6) Really, really loved the fact that the script followed through with the younger man-mature young woman romance that had been hinted at from the time the female protagonist made her entry. Pepe & Lichy had great chemistry, and I particularly loved the Linklateresque late-night walk & talk (notice the movement of the vehicles behind them as well).
Apparently, this was supposed to be last shot of the day; they started shooting it at 8:30 pm but only finished at around 2:30-3:00 am.
7) Loved BR’s observation about the 3-raps-on-door motif; from the knocking, it segues to the ringing of a bell, a metal tiffin box being rapped on a bench to open it, and pages of a textbook rustling (guess where the characters are?). Imaginative stuff from Prashant Pillai & Lijo Jose Pellissery.
8) The chase & fight scenes at times had Amal Neerad-like shaky/neurotic camera movements (including quick pans & zooms), with characters in mid-shots or closer. Though not a major gripe, this kind of shot-taking & editing prevents us from seeing the choreography as a whole; I’m not a fan.
That said, I loved the fight in the back of the pickup auto, leading to the long-take chase through the pig farm. Notice Pepe’s mundu slipping at the very end and the camera, with perfect timing, deftly tilting up to show the attacker escaping. Barely-noticeable accident adding to the realism. 😀
9) Since stepping up from being Sameer Thahir’s 1st AC to the cinematographer, Girish Gangadharan has been going from strength to strength. His work in this film is far different from that seen in the smooth, colourful ‘Neelakasham Pachakadal…’ & ‘Kali’ (haven’t seen ‘Mariyam Mukku’ or ‘Guppy’). In contrast, ‘Angamaly Diaries’ seems very real, thanks to what appears to be the predominant usage of natural & available light, lots of handheld & Steadicam work and numerous long takes, culminating in…
10) THAT 11-minute climactic shot tracking the rival gangs as they move through the festival crowds, walk in and out of houses, have conversations and drinks before a few of them get stabbed, leading to a chase through the crowd and a brawl illuminated by fireworks. My jaw had to be metaphorically bandaged Anil Kumble-style. How did they shoot that??
The number of elements in that sequence – from the enormous crowd of extras, drummers and drunken dancers on the move to the pyrotechnics and their timing;
the indoor & outdoor lighting requirements, designed to give the impression of normal household lights;
the movements of the different sets of actors through the various zones;
the movement and positioning of the camera as it follows them while trying to avoid colliding with people/objects/walls or exposing the shadow of the camera in the frame, and the incredible difficulty of trying to pull focus while on the move;
not to mention recording the pilot sound from all those sources while following the camera crew
are so difficult to coordinate, it beggars belief as to how they managed to block and execute it successfully (how many takes did it require, I wonder? Imagine having to start all over again.)
Maybe there was a cut just before or during the fight between Pepe and Mr. Stabbitty; I noticed a swish pan at that point. It doesn’t matter; though perhaps somewhat inspired by the famous tracking shot in the first season of ‘True Detective’, this particular shot was technically right up there with the best I’ve seen in cinema.
The way the sequence ended – specifically, Pepe & the gang’s reactions and the revelation of the villain’s silhouette inside the gigantic flames – gave me gooseflesh. Of the many memorable moments in the film, this is the one that has stayed with me throughout.
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Navneeth
March 15, 2017
Man, that turned into an essay.
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Jyoti S Kumar
March 15, 2017
True!
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Raj Balakrishnan
March 15, 2017
Hi, why this sudden spurt in Malayalam film reviews. Not complaining as your reviews are very well written, just wondering. Also, you seem to have cut down on Hollywood/English film reviews.
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Rishikesh
March 15, 2017
where is you review of veeram..if you could find time for something like Aby, than what is keeping you away from veeram..it at least has some cinema in it..
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Jyoti S Kumar
March 15, 2017
A familiar story of short fused….
When was the last time anyone was surprised by the story, I wonder? ( Top of mind I am not able to think of any) Since, over so many decades of movie industry I am sure all kinds of movie has already been made.
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Jyoti S Kumar
March 15, 2017
My take on the answer- BR sir’s move to FC was for the south as a whole. I am glad that he is doing malayalam, because there is a lot of talent trying to do a lot of things and I have not come across any reviewer (not for the lack of trying), who can do a critical and in-depth review. Hence this spurt.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 15, 2017
Jyoti S Kumar:
True. This is frustrating especially when films worthy of a cinematic analysis (but don’t get any in our state) come by
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Aman
March 15, 2017
Good to see so many of the new malayalam films have that atmospheric quality and it gives us the mood and the feel of the place it set in. And they aren’t set just as a new location, but the place is an integral part of the story/ Be it all three Rajeev Ravi films ( There is a reason each film of his set in the place it is set in), Premam( Aluva and then Fort Kochi), Maheshinte Prathikaaram ( While the story is universal, it can’t be set any where other than Idukki) , Anuraga Karikkin Vellam( Ernakulam) all tries to go into the spirit of the town/city it set in. Not just with the slang or dialect, but with the food, culture and the cinematography, the music, bgm etc is used to clearly give us the feeling being in the midst of these place and these people.
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vishal yogin
March 16, 2017
All these malayalam movies are released on the big screen in Bombay too, but does anyone know if they are subtitled ? This is why I havent gone to watch them.
If there’s any source (online or offline) for reliable info that one can check…. ??
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Aman
March 16, 2017
@vishal yogin They are released with subtitles in Mumbai. PVR, Inox properties had an issue, but that’s sorted and now playing with subtitles . Carnival Vasai and Borivali are also playing the subs. All prints are inclusive of subtitles, just the question of theaters switching them on. So check with them if it is any other screen you want to watch the film in Mumbai.
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tonks
March 16, 2017
Brilliant review
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Manikandan V
March 16, 2017
Pork is palatable though pig is disliked by many – No one likes thuggery pushing and hushing in real life, but they are devoured if made into a palatable dish like ” Angamaly Diaries ” . Excellent film
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vishal yogin
March 17, 2017
@Aman Thanks for the detailed reply, I had no idea that subtitles are always included now, and that it is up to the theater to show that. The telephone numbers listed online for almost all cinemas are invalid, so I guess I would need to actually go to all these theaters and convince the manager to give me a number to call, so that I can check and then go.
I live in the western suburbs near juhu beach, and 99% of the time, all the movies from the south play in the far eastern suburbs. But if its worth it, I will travel 🙂
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 20, 2017
Finally caught this today. As much as I was entertained, I couldn’t really shake off the feeling that it was a little too inspired by Goodfellas. I found similarities even in the way scenes begin and the single-shot nature of many scenes
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adroitami
March 20, 2017
As much as I liked the raw style of filmmaking, I found the film very disturbing. They show animals being slaughtered and juxtapose with scenes of romance and bonding which made me feel really awkward.
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Murali Mohan
March 23, 2017
Not sure, if you know, but brass band is usually associated with the church festivals and plays popular film songs, including tamil songs. That may be the reason behind the brass band background music
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brangan
March 23, 2017
Murali Mohan: Of course. Brass bands have been playing film songs for decades. But I haven’t seen many filmmakers use this sound to underscore a fight in a bar! That was what I was referring too — the unusual-ness of this kind of sound in that kind of scene.
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babablacksheepweb
March 25, 2017
For a lot of church-goers, brass band = church festivities, so what better background music for, when Jesus and co. get into a fight. It is such unique thinking that sets Lijo Jose Pellissery and Prashanth Pillai apart from their contemporaries.
The Illaiyaraja influence. Malayalis have always had a love-hate relationship with Tamil movies – the movies do well here. All of us watch them. But we also make fun of the illogical stuff shown in Tamil movies, while praising movies made in Malayalam . Illaiyaraja is widely popular here and so are most Tamil songs. I recently read an article about how movies like angamaly diaries are bridging this Tamil – Malayalam gap. I don’t remember the name of the website but it was written by Soumya Rajendran I think.
Lijo Jose’s third (and breakout) movie, Amen was entirely based on two warring brass band teams. So the brass band bgm in the fight scene was kind of a wink towards the movie that made the director famous.
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Udhay Sankar
November 6, 2017
This was such a good film and the review is perfect. I’m surprised at the low number of comments here. It is a breathtaking firecracker that keeps bursting on and on till the end. I loved it but won’t put myself through it again. Again, What a film!
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hari
February 19, 2019
Just caught up with this movie in Netflix, what a brilliant and refreshing movie and awesome review as usual. What other movies do you suggest of Liji Jose that one can see in Netflix/Hotstar?
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