1. Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (Siesta)
Lijo Jose Pellissery's movies are an acquired taste. Each movie is different and probably appeal to different temperaments. So when it came to Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, I was not sure what to expect. One weekend, DH and I gave up our own siesta to watch it.
A group of Malayalis return from their pilgrimage from Velankanni in Tamil Nadu. The group leader James (Mammootty) is an irritable man who has no regard for punctuality. He eats very little lunch because he hates the native cuisine. The onward journey on the interminably straight roads in Tamil Nadu lulls everyone into sleep, including the driver who narrowly misses crashing the van. So when James suggests a stop for what seems to be a toilet break, the driver gratefully parks the van amid green fields and takes the time to refresh himself. Meanwhile, James walks out of the van, crosses the fields, and walks through a village that seems familiar to him. Within minutes, he has doffed his own clothes for a lungi and shirt hanging outside a house, is feeding the cow, handing over paan to a blind old woman, talking in fluent Tamil, and upbraiding the lady of the house for not keeping provisions stocked.
The pilgrims are astounded. James doesn't recognize anyone including his wife and son. They chase James around the unknown village in an attempt to catch him as he goes around doing his daily chores. Finally, the villagers and the pilgrims discuss the problem and decide to wait around to see if the seeming personality displacement resolves itself.
The story is straightforward, as is the climax. But in the interim, the director presents several themes that touch the heart even as we wonder how the story will resolve itself. The close community where everyone helps out each other vs. the unloving brother-in-law who scoots before any solution has been found; the misconceptions and prejudices that the Tamilians and Malayalis have about each other; the haplessness of Sundaram's wife; the short-lived rage of his teenage daughter; the placid acceptance of the blind mother; the way Sundaram's dog follows James around and finally runs off after the van... There is a lot of food for thought that is presented with the background of dialogues and songs from old Tamil movies. There are very few close up shots of the protagonists, very few single-character shots as well except for James/Sundaram.
It is difficult to say whether I liked the movie in the sense that I would watch it again...probably not. But even a week after watching it, it has stayed with us and we are still discussing its various facets.
2. Romancham (Horripilation)
I don't like horror movies. My kids dragged me to The Nun a few years ago. I spent the time clutching DH's hand on one side, Ani's hand on the other, and opened my eyes for tiny increments when I felt that nothing horrendous was happening on-screen.
So when DH invited me to watch Romancham touted as a horror comedy, I planned to buy a bucket of popcorn and bury my face in it when the movie became overwhelming.
When the very average group of young men sharing a bachelors' pad frolicked their way across the screen and invited the supernatural into their lives as a pastime (probably had lousy data packages), I found that I was gazing avidly at the screen, rather than hiding behind my popcorn bucket. The laughs made the scares bearable and the scares were palpable even though there were no figures with extra-long canine teeth, coals for eyes or melting visages. Phew!!! Jithu Madhavan, I thank you for making a horror movie that I can actually watch without flinching. 5 stars!!!
3. Pranaya Vilasam (Love Cottage ?)
The kids booked tickets to watch Quantumania. Rather than while away two hours wandering around the mall buying up non-essentials, DH and I opted to watch Pranaya Vilasam, knowing nothing about it other than its name.
It's the kind of movie that makes you smile, giggle, laugh out loud occasionally, weep, and sigh in sympathy. Rajeevan, a middle-aged Village Officer, is in the throes of rekindling his old flame. His singer son Sooraj, who is stuck studying the wrong course, is not on speaking terms with Rajeevan. Sooraj appears to be an accomplished flirt who even ogles his father's erstwhile girlfriend. Anu, Rajeevan's wife is a colourless hausfrau who protests when eating dinner with her son encroaches on her 7–10 pm serial-watching time.
A typical Malayali dysfunctional family, one would think. But from that point, the movie takes off into a story arc that is all the more colourful due to the judicious use of the local culture and landscape. The talented cast does justice to the script. Manoj KU, the amazing find from the phenomenally successful Thinkalazhcha Nischayam seemed set to reprise the same kind of role, but metamorphosed into a surprisingly nuanced character. Arjun, Mamitha, and Anaswara carry off their characters with ease and aplomb. Hakkim Shah is the surprise package in this movie about romantic love of various kinds and their consequences.
On the way back, DH sniffed and grumbled, "Where did they find that cat? Just to make people sentimental..." Five stars again!
