Much of Telugu Cinema usually has a dearth of stories to tell. When it does find new stories to tell, it often lacks ingenuity in the narrative. This is a paradox, because the Telugu speaking regions aren't exactly short of stories to tell, proven by how illustrious our newspapers tend to get. Of course, a lot of films have their basis on the hinterlands of these regions. They derive their characters from there, their conflicts, resolutions, and emotions are inspired by them; yet the narrative is usually lost while being translated to formulaic tedium.
Hence, I was naturally elated that, with "Rangasthalam", even commercial Telugu Cinema had found a new language. A much needed, fresher one. Yet, one cannot neglect the feeling that the film, its language, characters, and background still feel like a staging, and not a setting. A well thought out, well executed one, but a staging nonetheless. That is not the case with "C/O Kancharapalem". It is one of those films that feels like the end product of a lifetime spent documenting a region, with a keen eye for events, details, and emotions.
0 Comments
I read somewhere that Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" ends with a freeze frame and that this ending is entirely well deserved, compared to films that exploit that effect as a shortcut to an effective climax. I think it's safe to say that "Aruvi" lies in the same fold as Truffaut's venerable classic - it ends with a freeze frame that is both entirely well deserved and the only way this narrative could have effectively ended without ruining its carefully constructed emotional balance. Let's talk about the narrative first, for which we will have to talk about the film's premise. The film is about small town livelihood disrupted before one's aspirations ever had the chance to achieve clarity, let alone take flight. Aruvi experiences this, and then goes through varied forms of oppression and harassment that society usually offers girls. But then, in a quirky take on karma, she decides to revolt, takes matters into her hands, and churns things up not only for herself but for the folks responsible for her predicament.
A lot has been written about how wonderfully this film works and the prime reasons behind it. John Krasinski's clever plot (co-written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods) makes great use of sound as a device to stage some real horror. Yet it never loses sight of some poignant emotion tied in with the family central to it. One movie that comes to mind, with regards to such fine balance of clever thrills and emotion, is Hitchcock's "Rear Window". Sure there's jump scares and cheap thrills aplenty, but the movie makes it a point to rise above them. Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are at their usual effective selves but surprise comes in the form of the terrific Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. And did I mention the movie's use of sound and what a riot it would have been designing that for the film, with a fabulous soundtrack by Marco Beltrami?
|
Read MoreAtlantic CityAtlantic City says so much about two people in a relationship, without saying too much.
BooksmartA comedy that is fun, while being just good cinema in the first place.
Categories
All
|