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Browsing All Posts filed under »Cinema: Malayalam«
“Moothon”… Geetu Mohandas’s drama is bumpy and overstuffed, but with passages of great beauty and a superb Nivin Pauly
One part of me wished this ambitious film had stuck to one story in one timeline, but in a strange way, this in-between mood is what makes the events stand out. Spoilers ahead… You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/moothon-movie-review-by-baradwaj-rangan-mumbai-film-festival-nivin-pauly/ With her second feature, Moothon, Geetu Mohandas has moved from the […]
FC Recco: ‘Uyare’
October 16, 2019
A weekly series where I recommend a film-based book, a foreign film or an Indian movie. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
“Love Action Drama”… An utterly dreadful romance that gets dreadfuller by the minute
October 8, 2019
The film is an unholy mess. It feels like a 9-year-old’s attempt to write a deep treatise on life and love. Spoilers ahead… I think they wanted to make a movie about a man-child, a jolly drunk who’s rich and entitled and thinks he should have whichever woman he wants. He does man-childish things, like […]
“Jallikattu”… Lijo Jose Pellissery gives a masterclass on how to make a movie that’s both experimental and entertaining
October 7, 2019
The invention, the joyous energy in the filmmaking left me with such a high that I didn’t particularly care that it all has to ‘mean’ something. Spoilers ahead… You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/jallikattu-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan-lijo-jose-pellissery-antony-varghese-santhy-balachandran/ In Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu, a buffalo escapes slaughter and runs amuck in a village in […]
Why Gully Boy is the right choice for Oscars: Visibility, international buzz gives the film a real shot
September 26, 2019
Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/why-gully-boy-is-the-right-choice-for-oscars-visibility-international-buzz-gives-the-film-a-real-shot-at-winning-7406641.html Of late, we’ve been hearing a lot about Anurag Kashyap. His Gangs of Wasseypur, which was screened at the 2012 Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, was the only Indian entry in The 100 Best Films of the 21st Century, compiled by The Guardian. (“Stylish, visceral […]
‘Ramayana was written thousands of years ago and we’re still trying to live that kind of life’
September 6, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-film-festival-2019-sanal-kumar-sasidharan-interview-chola-baradwaj-rangan/ Fresh off the screening of ‘Chola’ in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan opens up about the movie, which originated in the Suryanelli rape case. So Sanal, let’s start with this. What is your fascination with the Ramayana? I was surprised […]
“Chola”… Sanal Kumar Sasidharan continues his study of oppression in a twisted, chilling retelling of the Ramayana
September 3, 2019
The film could be called the third installment in Sanal’s “oppression trilogy”. It is very much a companion piece to ‘Ozhivudivasathe Kali’ and ‘S Durga’. Spoilers ahead… You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-film-festival-2019-chola-shape-of-water-movie-review-sanal-kumar-sasidharan-baradwaj-rangan O nce upon a time, there was a prince. A wimpy prince. This is the fairy tale […]
FC @ Venice 2019 – Full coverage
August 29, 2019
Read the coverage at Film Companion (links below)… 1: BOMBAY ROSE https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-fim-festival-2019-bombay-rose-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan/ 2: AD ASTRA https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-film-festival-2019-ad-astra-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan/ 3: JOKER https://www.filmcompanion.in/joker-movie-review-venice-international-film-festival-2019-joaquin-phoenix-baradwaj-rangan/ 4: Roman Polanski’s J’ACCUSE, plus VERDICT https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-film-festival-2019-roman-polanksi-jaccuse-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan/ 5: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s CHOLA https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-film-festival-2019-chola-shape-of-water-movie-review-sanal-kumar-sasidharan-baradwaj-rangan 6. EMA / MADRE / SOLE https://www.filmcompanion.in/venice-international-film-festival-2019-sole-movie-review-madre-baradwaj-rangan 7. Interview with GITANJALI RAO and DEBORAH SATHE https://www.filmcompanion.in/gitanjali-rao-interview-bombay-rose-venice-international-film-festival-2019-baradwaj-rangan 8. Martin Scorsese’s NEW YORK, NEW YORK, […]
‘Nivin Pauly was scared… in a really good way’
August 26, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/nivin-pauly-was-scared-in-a-really-ood-way-geethu-mohandas-baradwaj-rangan/ Ahead of ‘Moothon’, which will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and MAMI, Geetu Mohandas talks about her movies and her methods. Let’s talk about the goat, I told Geetu Mohandas over the phone. Some of you may know the goat. It’s the goat […]
With ‘Kalki’ and ‘Thanneer Mathan Dinangal’, formula returns to Malayalam cinema
August 20, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/with-kalki-and-thanneer-mathan-dinangal-formula-returns-to-malayalam-cinema-tovino-thomas/ Tovino Thomas doesn’t get a romantic interest. But then, his real love seems to be the approximately four thousand cigarettes he consumes through the course of the movie. How do you describe a ‘mass’ movie? Let me present this scene from Kalki, directed by Praveen Prabharam. […]
The biggest trends in the four southern industries in the past 5 years
July 25, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/fc-turns-5/trends-in-southern-industries.html This period has seen some landscape-altering developments in the cinema of the four southern states. A look at the breakout talents of this movement. In Telugu cinema, it was the return of the mega-movie, thanks to the mind-boggling success of Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and its […]
FC Recco – ‘Directors’ Diaries: The Road to Their First Film’
July 18, 2019
A weekly series where I recommend a film-based book, a foreign film or an Indian movie. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Ym39kMJD0 Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
“Luca”… An artfully designed movie that’s middling but not without merit
July 1, 2019
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/luca-movie-review-tovino-thomas-ahaana-krishnakumar-baradwaj-rangan Spoilers ahead… Arun Bose’s Luca is a carefully (some might say “artily”) designed film, and we see this care, this art, right from the opening, which is a jumble of images. A woman rises after sleep. A man roams the streets on his bike, in the […]
“Unda”… A superbly understated Mammootty stars in a drama that’s much bigger than a “cop film”
June 22, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/unda-mammootty-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan It’s 2014. Idukki. Policemen are getting ready for their first out-of-state duty. They line up in rows before a stage, from where a superior will give them instructions. He does. He also delivers what, in hindsight, will prove to be a big joke. “Use […]
“Virus”… A superbly crafted, and very human, medical thriller
June 11, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/aashiq-abus-virus-is-a-superbly-crafted-and-very-human-medical-thriller-baradwaj-rangan/ Aashiq Abu follows Mayaanadhi with another winner. Virus is a medical thriller that brings to mind the all-star disaster movies from Hollywood. If the threat was fire in The Towering Inferno and a tidal wave in The Poseidon Adventure, it’s the Nipah virus here […]
Readers Write In #77: ‘Lucifer’ and ‘mass’ in Malayalam cinema
June 10, 2019
I knew I was an outsider in this group. Lucifer had let them down and a set of colleagues hadn’t recovered from the disappointment. But ever since I watched Prithviraj Sukumaran’s directorial flick, I was desperate to put this out in the open. “I liked Lucifer.” Expectedly, after this simple confession, I faced a volley of questions. “Idenda […]
‘Ishq’, starring Shane Nigam and Ann Sheetal, is NOT about moral policing…
June 3, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/ishq-starring-shane-nigam-and-ann-sheetal-is-not-about-moral-policing-baradwaj-rangan/ Rather, it’s about how subtly and insidiously patriarchy manifests itself. (Warning. Major spoilers ahead.) Anuraj Manohar’s Ishq opens with lovers talking over the phone, at night. The boy is Sachi (Shane Nigam). The girl is Vasudha (Ann Sheetal). He’s ambling about his neighbourhood in Kochi. She’s […]
Readers Write In #75: Uyare soars high on its performances despite its predictability
May 15, 2019
We have had dozens of movies that showcase a love affair gone wrong from the view point of the male protagonist, some of them even blaming or insulting the girl for having changed her mind about a boyfriend (what come to mind immediately are the ‘Why this kolaveri’ song and the more tongue in cheek […]
“Athiran”… A twisty thriller filled with more red herrings than convincing storytelling
April 20, 2019
Spoilers ahead… Fahadh Faasil has been on such a quality run of late — the thought running through his mind as he evaluated scripts appears to have been “Will this movie take Malayalam cinema to the next level?” — that it’s a bit of a relief to see him in a pure genre film like […]
FC Recco: ‘Spadikam’
April 11, 2019
A weekly series where I recommend a film-based book, a foreign film or an Indian movie. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
October 19, 2019
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