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Ponniyin Selvan: Part I 2022
revels in it's details -- be it the light falling through the crack of a door on someone's face or a relentless camera that's always looking for something. lots to like here, especially how mr navigates from swashbucklers to palace intrigue with relative ease -- the film is at it's strongest when the characters are interacting with each other, vandiyathevan being the dice that's rolled around the chola empire shaping it's fate of what's to come. a certain tactility in…
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Alms for a Blind Horse 2011
a much more angrier film than i remember -- with substantial influence from mani kaul, singh manages to create a socio-realist drama that patiently observes the collective strife of a village as well as that of punjab through the various eyes. unhurried in its approach and almost steeped in visual stoicism, allows the space to reflect on the narrative -- the aurality makes the action off-screen to stand out, be it the sound of a train approaching or a gunshot in the middle of the night.
one of the most audacious debuts in years.
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Sardar Udham 2021
a rather inert film which falls prey to its own narrative trappings -- the third act feels disingenuous in a way that the aestheticisation denies it the power or motive for the individual and serves no purpose. the last 40 mins doesn't feel earned after a whole lot of needless exposition -- it nails the look but seems like that's all they bothered to get right.
an interrogation of the past, that lacks any feeling or character and ends up being a show of mere sensationalism.
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Dear Friend 2022
have always had an affinity for city films which is why i ended up rewatching this -- there is a sense of newness that you see, both with respect to aesthetics as well as the idea of relationships. as they try to navigate their own uncertainities, the film increasingly unravels itself as a portrait of the malleable urban milleu, forever changing in shape. the disillusionment is real and the ending bookends that.
