Hereditary (2018)

Director: Ari Aster
Writer: Ari Aster
DOP: Pawel Pogorzelski
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolffe, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne

After the family matriarch passes away, a grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences, and begin to unravel dark secrets.

Hereditary manages to creep you out by defying your expectations consistently. It combines the best elements of Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby and Babadook. Some critics like Mark Kermode have objected to it not sticking with one thing but I didn't have any problem with that. Giving everything a psychological explanation can be quite boring as would if everything was made supernatural as well. Hereditary has both of these in the right amounts to make it a very enjoyable watch. Underneath all that, it is ultimately a comedy as I laughed out loud in many places. You know the horror is very effective if you have the remote always in your hand while watching the film.

It works effectively by the actors not giving the expected reactions and staying in the scenes longer. There are some extra details in corners of many of the frames in it and so watch carefully. Paimon is even shown in the beginning during that funeral scene. The characters in it are all flawed and I was kind of glad when that pivotal scene in the car happened because the kid was totally creeping me out. It is the kind of film which big fans of horror might not be really into because it is not pure to the genre and those who like to look for subtext and stuff might also pan it because of the inconsistency. Sometimes it is just nice to see a film which is all about craft and the tease.

Rating: 5/5

അകത്തോ പുറത്തോ (In or Out) (2018)

Director: P.P. Sudevan
Language: Malayalam

Akatho Puratho is the follow-up from director Sudevan to his state award winning feature film debut- Crime No 89. The latter was produced on a meagre budget of 7 lacs while his newest film cost a still meagre 15 lacs. His films are what you call as proper award films in Malayalam and is generally targeted for festival audience only. Some of them can really test your patience but in this film Sudevan pretty much hooks your from the beginning.

It is a two hour long film comprising of four short films with the last two considerably longer. Common theme running through them is death. First short is titled fish and is basically a depiction of food chain in our society through the lifecycle of a fish captured beautifully. The next one is titled the doll and does a similar feat over the lifecycle of a doll. The last two titled 'Old Man' and 'Her' respectively are human condition stories which can test your patience. The length, on reflection, is quite warranted for the first one as it is about the painfully slow process of death of a bedridden old man who is never shown on screen. It can really make you think about your own mortality and reaffirms the cause for assisted suicide, which I fully endorse. The last segment of the film is its weakest which involves a crime of passion and the protagonist role is played by a theatre artist. All others in the film are non-professionals.

Crime No: 89 was more cinematic in the traditional sense since it involved a plot. Akatho Puratho is more of an art movie and is available on Amazon Prime Video Service. Such streaming services can really provide a platform for these kind of niche films which can never get a theatrical release here in Kerala. The likes of Munroe Island and Ozhivudivasathe Kali, both of which got a very limited theatrical release here, are available on Netflix and comes highly recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

万引き家族 (Shoplifters) (2018)

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda
DOP: Kondo Ryutu
Cast: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka
Language: Japanese

A family of small time crooks take in a child they find outside in the cold. While they intend to return her home next day, the evidence of abuses on her body changes their mind.

It is the most un-Japanese Japanese films I have seen from recent times. Ozu made movies with ordinary characters and normal storylines but in general Japanese films that I tend to watch are normally out there. Over the course of the film we learn the nature of actual relationships between the members of this family and it is done in such a non-judgemental manner that we are left in a moral quandary. Which family we are born into is not something that we can choose and the film works on that theme. This film is begging to be remade in Malayalam because worries about child snatching is very real on Malayalee WhatsApp universe and it has even led to instances of harassments on suspicion. The film would be a subversion of that since characters from this social strata are often portrayed in such a binary fashion in films here.

It won Palme d'Or at Cannes last year and collected around $72 million worldwide, much of it from Japan itself and China. I haven't seen other films from the director and am intending to catch up on those. The two child actors in it are excellent. We are often given a portrait of Japan with all its kinkiness without going much into how those people actually feel and this film is an exception.

Rating: 4.25/5

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

Director: Drew Goddard
Writer: Drew Goddard
DOP: Seamus McGarvey
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Chris Hemsworth

Circa 1969, several strangers, most with a secret to bury, meet by chance at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one night, everyone will show their true colours- before everything goes to hell.

The film is very Tarantinosque and, as can be seen from the synopsis, an obvious comparison can be made with Hateful Eight. The time it is set in and the historic touchpoints is also interesting in the sense that Tarantino's next is titled 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' and is supposed to have a peripheral reference to Manson. Tarantino has been quite disappointing in his last two outings and I enjoyed El Royale much more than Hateful Eight, both of which have a pretty generous running time. El Royale. Film follows the chapter format each of which gets a flash back and same events in the film are seen from different perspectives. This or the writing are not as snappy as Tarantino's work from the 90s but is much better than his recent fare.

The film plays with audience expectations and is very twisty with violent escalations. It is the hotel which provides you with surprises initially and then it becomes about the characters. How it holds up on rewatch remains to be seen. Chris Hemsworth's Mansonesque character makes an entry only in the final act of the film. Characters played by Jeff Bridges and Cynthia Erivo mostly carries the film but performances from all are quite good. I didn't have any problem with its length and actually quite enjoyed it taking its time. It does have a poor man's Tarantino vibe to it but the man himself has been quite poor lately.

Rating: 3.5/5

Ich seh, Ich seh (Goodnight Mommy) (2014)

Directors: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
Writers: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
DOP: Martin Gschlacht
Cast: Susanne Wuest, Elias Schwarz, Lukas Schwarz
Language: German

Twin boys move into a new home with their mother after she has a face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone whom they don't recognise.

The German title of the film translates as 'I see, I see' but they went with Goodnight Mommy for its overseas release. An obvious comparison to be made is with Michael Haneke's 'Funny Games', with it being an Austrian film and the nature of its genre. The trailer of the film, which I didn't watch prior and was proclaimed as quite scary, would leave you with an impression as to who is going to be the dangerous character in it but the film subverts that expectation by the midway point. There is something that could come across as a twist if you don't pay much attention to it but the filmmakers thankfully does not make any effort to hide it and it was obvious from the get go for me. It doesn't even qualify as a twist because you have to be pretty dim if you miss it.

It ends up as a quite straight forward film about grief and related struggles. Another subtext that could be read is regarding celebrity cosmetic surgeries and the reaction to it from the fandom if it doesn't quite work out. We had a recent experience of it in Kerala when Mohanlal decided to go plastic. The film really worked for me even though some had problems with the sudden turn it took around the hour mark. I really had to hide my eyes during some of the scenes.

PS: The director duo has an interesting backstory on how they met and eventually ended up working together. Severin used to babysit Veronika's kid as a 14 year old while she was working as a film journalist. Their English language film, The Lodge, will get released this year.

Rating: 4.5/5

버닝 (Burning) (2018)

Director: Lee Chang-dong
Writers: Oh Jung-mi, Lee Chang-dong
DOP: Hong Kyung-pyo
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jeon Jong-seo 
Language: Korean 

Jong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood as him in his village, who ask him to look after her Schrodinger's cat while on a trip to Africa. Both of them are still quite poor and he has fallen in love with her even though she is quite a tease. When back from Africa, she introduces a mysterious Gangnam guy Jen whom she met there, who eventually confesses a secret hobby to him which involves burning of greenhouses. 

The film is an adaptation of Haruki Murakami's short story titled 'Barn Burning'. The 'Gangnam style' song is actually quite helpful in understanding the film because most people who had followed the viral video and discussion surrounding it would know the meaning of Gangnam in Korea. It is actually a posh/bourgeoisie district in Seoul and the mysterious worldly guy is played quite aptly by Steven Yeun who hasn't spend his adult life in his home country. He had to improve his Korean for the role. Jong, an aspiring writer with a difficult childhood, comes across as quite naive in the film as the audience is ahead of him throughout the film in deciphering what Jen is implying. Not that we for certain can conclude those things actually happened in the story. 

It is comfortably the best film from last year that I have watched so far and don't think any will actually beat it. It can be seen as a metaphor for inequality and how it is playing out in global politics, or as a metaphor for global warming or just as a straight up mysterious film without a clear cut resolution.  It has been nominated for Academy awards in the foreign film category, a first for Korean cinema, and it will be a fucking joke if Roma ends up beating it.

Rating: 5/5

കുമ്പളങ്ങി നൈറ്റ്സ് (Kumbalangi Nights) (2019)

Director: Madhu C. Narayanan
Writer: Syam Pushkaran
DOP: Shyju Khalid
Cast: Soubin Shahir, Fahadh Faasil, Shane Nigam, Anna Ben
Language: Malayalam

Kumbalangi Nights is centred on the lives of four Christian brothers who are parent-less and lives in a dysfunctional household, which is apparently the worst in the panchayat as per the youngest of the lot. Relationships between the brothers are also strained and the reasons for it are gradually revealed over the course of the film. They need to get their house in order as the third one falls in love with a Hindu girl whose brother-in-law (Fahadh Faasil) doesn't approve the relationship for quite obvious reasons.

Eldest of the brother is played by Soubin Shahir and he is the no-good out of the lot who is leaching on a Tamil guy. Second one is a mute played by Sreenath Bhasi and he is a dancer and visits the house only occassionally. Shane Nigam plays the third youngest as a jobless 'freakan', and the role  is against his usual type. Youngest out of the lot has sort of escaped from the house with a sports scholarship but is back home on his vacation. Fahadh Faasil stars as Shammy who is newly married into a women only household where he is passive aggressively establishing himself as the Patriarchal head. He is a barber in the city and runs a saloon in partnership with his equally creepy brother. All of these are revealed very slowly as the film meanders it way through with plenty of comedic moments as well as scenes which will tug your heartstrings.

Ultimately it is a feel good film which becomes conclusive as such only by the end. In another universe the Shammy character would have been played more subtyly and would have been equally as effective. Girl's father role in Thondimuthal for example. Portrayal of Shammy as a semi-psycho helps in keeping the audience on its toes. His role can be seen as a  representation of the angry Hindu in Modi's India with the aggression basically stemming out of inferiority complex/small-dick syndrome. He is primed to lash out at all and sundry.

The film is a great watch overall even though I was irked by some of its forced political correctness. Performances are top notch with Shane Nigam being the stand out IMO, even though it is Soubin who is getting all the accolades. Shyju Khalid once again brings out the beauty of Kumbalangi, which is a tourism village. I do wish these people also tell stories set in normal Kerala towns where everywhere you look is not picture perfect.

Rating: 4.25/5

9 (2019)

Director: Jenuse Mohamed
Writer: Jenuse Mohamed
DOP: Abhinandan Ramanujam
Cast: Prithviraj, Wamiqa Gabbi, Master Alok
Language: Malayalam

A comet is going to pass very close to the Earth, an event which is going to affect life on Earth for 9 days. Electricity, combustion engine vehicles with spark plugs, battery run things etc will all be out for 9 days. Albert (Prithviraj) is an astrophysicist of great repute and is assigned a task by his mentor which involves going to Himalayas to document the event and how it affects the tribes over there, whom have predicted this happening much earlier than the scientific community. He also takes his motherless son, Adam, with whom he have a difficult relationship. There they meet an outsider, Eva (Wamiqa Gabbi), which sets in motion certain chain of events for the film to jump from one genre to the next.

Genre jumping within a film can be quite risky because you can lose your audience with each jump. Prithviraj in his promotion interviews had been stressing on sci-fi aspects of the film while director Jenuse was more or less pitching it as a fantasy film with some cosmic sci-fi background. They have been keen to manage audience expectations to make sure that the right ones turn up during the initial days of the release. Trailer was also pretty detailed and stunning. Prithviraj himself produced the film with Sony Pictures International also partnering, a first for Malayalam cinema, and they haven't made any compromises. Film is top notch on a technical level and you're doing well when the audience is immersed enough to not notice the VFX while watching the film.

The first half an hour of the film is its weakest with lengthy expositions some of which could have been trimmed or made in a little more cleverer manner. You cannot fault them too much for it because there is quite a lot of information that they have to pass to the audience. The one flashback song in it also looked totally unnecessary but the reaction of Albert to the pregnancy news is also kind of key. Film gets going once they reach the Himalayas as they get the pacing spot on from there. It is difficult to talk much about the film from then on because everything becomes spoiler territory. Steer clear of them and pay close attention while watching. The ending is deliberately ambiguous and you have a science Vs supernatural explanations competingat the end. Such ambiguous endings are not familiar for Malayalam cinema and a section of audience will certainly fail to appreciate it. There is an explicit explanation sequence at the end for such people but many will find problem with the similarity to another Prithviraj film from recent times. Many have missed the alternate possibility suggested by the final line of the film and the brief closing credits scene.

Performance wise, Prithviraj is his usual self and it is Wamiqa Gabbi who steals the show. The kid actor in it is also very good as is the creepy caretaker. I'll be certainly watching it once again and very glad that I picked the best screen possible during my first outing. This is a film that has to be seen at the cinemas and I really hope it does well. Ambiguous films are hard to pull off and they've managed it.

Rating: 4.25/5