A peek into my journey:
Since my childhood, movies have been my go-to entertainment, something I have always found engaging and amusing, only to a time where I realised that there are a lot of facets to the filmmaking practice that has always impressed me. With my increasing age and exposure to films, I was keenly interested in learning a lot about films and its making, up until when I realised my sheer love for movies and then I decided to pursue my career on films. To hone my skills in films, I had decided to write film analysis and movie reviews to dissect the various aspects of a film and learn about each and everything in a film to make sure I get to know a lot about movies and the process behind its creation.
And this is where my journey of writing film reviews had started and it will continue until I get hands on my own creation, my first film.
To start with, I have chosen to post my review on the newly released Malayalam film, Kishkinda Kandam, directed by Dinjith Ayyathan.
OVERVIEW:
Kishkinda Kandam is a brilliantly written mystery thriller, that works very well despite its relatively underwhelming climactic twist.
Malayalam cinema has always managed to crack the mystery genre and this film is no such exception. Taking a very simple thread and developing it into a slow paced yet terrific narrative has always been a staple element in such genres and this film manages to crack that aspect.
PERFORMANCES:
Asif Ali delivers a very intricate performance that depends heavily on his eyes rather than his dialogues. His eyes effectively convey the emotions he experiences. He gives a very humane touch to his character. Aparna Balamurali does the 'Sherlock Holmes' character in an unlikely world for a 'Sherlock Holmes' treatment. Undoubtedly, the film belongs to Vijayaraghavan who is utterly superb as the unpredictable Appu Pillai. His performance gives soul to this imperfect yet perfectionist character that manages to make you hate him and empathise with him, simultaneously.
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SOUNDS:
The film has a very natural look and this effectively contributes to its narrative. With neither the brightly lit frames nor the saturated colours, the film looks very real and immersive .The film doesn't use music very much and goes for a very live sounding, that immediately pulls us into the world it carefully builds. However the tracks used for conveying the emotions and the drama work very well.
THEMES:
At its core, the film delves into the difficulties of psychologically affected individuals, which gives a very unsettling feel to its viewers. The film also comes off as a different take on the father -son dysfunctional relationships.
TREATMENT OF THE FILM:
The film excels at slowly unfolding a very absorbing tale of suspense that does a lot with its characterisations. The film uses a very interesting trick of telling the needed information about its characters more through the dialogues while the latter half shows more than it tells. The whole film can be summarised as a film that tells a lot before showing us what actually it is.
The film treads along as a steadily paced film that's devoid of the seat-edge feel one associates with these genres but does for an extremely engaging watch even with its leisured pacing. The finale reveal somehow felt underwhelming, considering the wonderful buildup it does to its concluding portions.
The whole geographical setting of the film is the very interpretation of the film. A house amidst a dense forest is the very structure of the whole narrative, a dense layer of suspense and mystery that has a very emotional core to its centre.
VERDICT:
To conclude with, Kishkinda Kandam is a superbly written mystery drama that is powered by its strong performances and definitely a feather on the cap of Malayalam thrillers.
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