I just got hit by a tsunami of four masterfully interwoven stories – each extraordinary in their own right. Three of them shining light on a different aspect of sexuality without any vulgarity. The fourth examining a man’s relationship to God.
Right from the opening scene one simply cannot “put down” this brilliant piece of art. With its hook-jab-hook-jab-jab-hook story punches it keeps you grasping for air as you try to digest what just happened. There is no shortage of bizarre moments in each story which shock and delight at the same time. A farting corpse, a traumatized neighborhood kid, an outspoken granny…what a craftsman of dark humor Kumararaja is!
Story #1: A girl forced into an arranged marriage has a fling with her ex-boyfriend who dies in her home. With the help of her husband she now has to find a way to dispose of the body.
Story #2: A father of a seven year old abandons his family, becomes transgender and comes back only to realize that while society may shun, ridicule and abuse him his child and wife accept him as he is.
Story #3: A group of schoolboys set out to watch a porn movie when one of them realizes his Mom is a porn actress.
Story #4: A man’s dogmatic belief in God is shaken when his son is in hospital and he realizes that he is not the only one ‘chosen’ by God.
Though I don’t speak the language the caliber of the actors was obvious from their expressions, body language and ease with which they portrayed their roles.
I couldn’t help but notice the excellent art direction and camera work that tied the stories together beyond the plot. There is plenty of color used in each story – houses in shabby chic decor, blue washed walls, vibrant clothes, even the light has a ‘color’ of its own – all of this makes even the weirdest places gain an air of classy. The camera direction has very cleverly used angles and perspectives to give meaning to the characters beyond what is being said or done by them, e.g. look for the scene where the transgender character is fighting policemen to curse the evil inspector who abused him. There is power bestowed on them by the camera’s lens.
The only thing that felt like a slight mismatch was the appearance of an alien girl who splices one of the school boys into two…ummm…maybe just a director’s quirk. I was close to bumping my rating down to 9 for this absurdity and the overstretched God-man scenes but the sheer brilliance of the rest of the movie kept me from doing it. (10/10)
This was my first ever Kollywood movie and if this is the benchmark I am going to have a hard time finding other Tamil gems like these.
That Story I Like 