This is a very funny film. And yet, the subtext is always serious, always linked to halal/haram, and what it means to be a Muslim.
For a country where religion is such a part of the fabric, it’s surprising we don’t have what the Americans call the “faith-based film”. We’ve had the pure mythological. We’ve had the socio-mythological, the biggest one being Jai Santoshi Maa, which was released in 1975 and broke box-office records alongside Sholay. But we don’t have producers/filmmakers like Alex and Stephen Kendrick, who make explicitly Christian-themed dramas like Courageous (2011) and War Room (2015). Speaking about the latter to the Gospel Herald (note the name of the publication), the Kendricks said they believe prayer is a powerful weapon that can transform even the most broken marriages, families, and countries. “Our number one goal in making movies has always been: How can we advance the kingdom of God, and how can we take the Gospel to the ends of the earth?”
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Jatin
October 29, 2020
This movie became quite interesting after a while, but it could have used much tighter editing in the first hour IMO.
I love Malayalam movies, but am I the only one who think a lot of them take too long to get into the story? There were few times where I thought that time spent looking into the lives of the main characters (usually an hour, with a rather loose structure) was actually worth it and significantly enhanced the story.
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Yajiv
October 30, 2020
@Jatin:
You’re not the only one 🙂 Perhaps Malayalam audiences are more forgiving of such things
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krishikari
December 28, 2020
I loved this movie so much! If you are in the mood to have the cockles of your heart warmed, this will certainly help. Everything about it is made with love, respect and tender care; towards the people in it and towards the faith of these people. At the same time there are some sharp edges and subtle humourous barbs as BR has pointed out in his review, and those things keep it from becoming sappy.
As for the long, loose establishment scenes, the more Malayalam movies I watch the more I’m appreciating this style, itś like you need to live in this village for a while to really immerse yourself in the world of the film. For example, the coca-cola joke was worth the set up. If they had cut it out no major loss, but world building with the minor characters is important in malayalam cinema.
I do completely disagree about BRs observation that there was a tonal shift from the first half to the second half when it starts becoming about the two different marital relationships. It felt quite natural to me, Shereef’s pious ticking of boxes, while in bed with his wife signals this development. The idea that the flawed director in the terrible relationship is so observant about his actors was especially endearing, Joju George is so good here. Soubin and Parvathy making guest appearances gave this little film such hilarious moments, that I’m still thinking about all the sweet and heart warming little incidents that are stitched into this story. Nothing was out of place, too much, atonal or preachy, which malayalam cinema has a tendency to do.
They also did not forget to pay tribute to the “magic of cinema”. The climax was a beauty.
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