Writers: Dee Rees, Virgil Williams, Hillary Jordan
DOP: Rachel Morrison
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Bilge, Jonathan Banks, Rob Morgan
Two men, one black and one white, return from home after world war two to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.
It is basically centred around two families, one land owning white one with a full blown racist grandfather and a black family with aspirations to buy some land so that their kids won't have the same fate as theirs. It is based on the novel with the same name from Hillary Jordan and is told from multiple perspectives with many of its characters taking turns to do narrations. Novel as a medium allows for internal monologues and it is something that is not viable in films. Use of narration is generally considered as a sign of weak storytelling in films but I didn't have a problem with it in Mudbound because of the multiple perspectives that it is going for. Netflix picked up the film for distribution and I wonder whether they insisted on the narration.
World wars brought about significant social changes in Europe. Increased participation of women in workforce was as a result of first world war and the German air raids of England and the consequent state of mind of the people, where any day could be their last, and staying in closed quarters during the raids have said to have influenced the change in sexual norms of the society. The United States, which was quite far removed from the battlefront, didn't experience the same changes and the black soldier is returning back to the racist hellhole that is American South. The white soldier, an airforce pilot, is retuning to stay with his brother's family who have bought this farmland recently. There is this 'Iyobinte Pusthakam', which again was influenced by 'Irakal', vibe to their storyline. Overall, Mudbound is a stunning watch and hits you hard. Rachel Morrison has become the first woman cinematographer to be nominated for the academy awards. But Roger Deakins seems to be a lock for his work in Blade Runner 2049.
Rating: 4.25/5
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