Pendulum

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I have heard a lot about this movie being different.

Vampire Bat: One of the most divergent movies in Malayalam indeed.

Vampire Owl: I earlier had the feeling that this would be horror.

Vampire Bat: A mystery thriller need not be horror in any way.

Vampire Owl: Nothing would be better than a combination of all of these.

Vampire Bat: When it comes in Malayalam, there is a special feeling.

Vampire Owl: We need all the variety that we can have.

Vampire Bat: Let us thrive on such variety like never before.

Vampire Owl: The acceptance of audience would remain a question though.

Vampire Bat: The best movies would not be accepted well by our audience.

[Gets a marble cake and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: A truck driver named Antony (Shobi Thilakan) finds a strange man named Amir (Binoj Villya) on his vehicle, and despite his best attempts, the man does not get down, and seems to be mentally challenged and without most of his memories. Alex (Sunil Sukhada), the owner of the warehouse to which the truck supplied the goods tells them to keep him with them, and let him get down where he wanted to. Antony is surprised to find a number of snails around when Amir is there. Amir also predicts a number of things which would happen including heavy rains and hitting a dog on the way. Antony becomes more careful as Amir continues to reveal more. At the same time, Dr. Mahesh Narayan (Vijay Babu), a reputed surgeon returning from Australia after many years of service, joins a famous hospital in Kerala. He is accompanied by his wife Shwetha (Devaki Rajendran) and daughter Thanmayi (Aavani) who are happy to be back home from the concrete jungles of Australia’s cities. One day, he meets an old man in the hospital who tells him to find out where his son is, a case which he refers to the psychiatrist, feeling that the man is crazy.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Mahesh and his family goes on a short trip to Marayur, he gets a feeling of déjà vu for no reason, and Thanmayi locks the key of the car inside the trunk while they were having tea on a roadside shop. They decide to stay there, and while he was trying to get signal for his mobile phone, gets hit by a truck, and this is proven to be the one driven by Antony with Amir in it. Shweta finds him unconscious on the side of the road, and only he remembers that he was hit by a truck. Just before he was hit, he had found him in a dream of Amir and his friend Angel without invitation, and the old man had also asked him to find his son again. There seems to be something strange about all of these, but only he feels that all these have actually happened. His friend Dr. Jain Joseph (Ramesh Pisharody) seems to have some belief in what he has been saying. He asks Mahesh to talk to a man named John Master (Prakash Bare) who has had some interesting explanations for strange events which have happened all around the world. But as the incidents of the dreams have happened with a huge time gap in between, can there be an actual solution and a chance to extract what is required from the dreams?

The defence of Pendulum :: The ideas of time travelling and lucid dreaming come as new concepts to Malayalam cinema, and they have been used with effectively to create an impact like never before. This entry of the elements of science fiction into our movies with quality is to be remembered for long, as we hope for more of similar movies after watching this one. We should always be looking for experimentation here, and hope that this is only the beginning of some fine variety which is to follow soon enough. Maybe such movies will be made in big budget instead. The quality of making is also to be noted here as we move forward. The dreams are presented very well, and nice visuals support them. The mystery that prevails in this movie keeps us going, like no other similar film. After all, we are all set in a series of time loops in our own lives, and there seems to be no end or chance to escape – the realities that we create do not come to our help. The film often feels like a reflection of our meaningless lives which seem like busy realities. The music serves the purpose well enough as the mystery only gets sharper and thicker as we move forward.

Positives and negatives :: There is no doubt about the fact that the movie could have used more refining as some more of attention to details would have helped this one to connect to its audience better. There are times when the film seems to be confused about where it is heading. After all, there was the need for more explanation as the concept is new for the audience – we do have a lot of explanation here for sure, but not in the way that there is a perfectly defined conclusion to things. As time is not linear in this movie, such an explanation could have done a lot of good to the non-complicated, unsuspecting viewers. There is still the need to understand how the main character is involved in all of these, and how things have actually turned out in the end. It leaves us with the feeling that we have watched something special, but the chance to become a classic movie is not there because of the absence of some focused writing in relation to the complication between time and dreams in a world that walks on a bridge between real and unreal.

The performers of the soul :: Vijay Babu nicely leads a complicated movie with twisted characters all around. The sinister and seemingly unsolvable problems faced by the character is nicely shown by Vijay Babu who seems to blend in to the doctor facing unexpected terror. He has to go through an Inception-like world living through magically created world, and at the same time, relive his life multiple times like in Edge of Tomorrow. The helplessness is displayed really well by the actor. Ramesh Pisharody comes up with an interesting role here, as a doctor and support. Devaki Rajendran plays the main lady character here, and keeps us hoping to see her more around. Anumol is playing the other lady character of relevance, and handles her moments really well with a touch of mystery following her. Prakash Bare has another strong role well played here as we go deep into a world of mystery. Indrans plays a strange character without enough attention provided to characterization, but it is nice to see him in another classic role. Shobi Thilakan also has a strong presence here. Sunil Sukhada and Neena Kurup also have some small, but notable roles.

How it finishes :: With lucid dreaming and time travelling making its way nicely in here, this becomes a landmark movie in Malayalam movie industry. It is just strange that it had gone unnoticed among the common audience – one can blame the absence of the required kind of advertisement and also the missing superstar at least in the form of a leading lady for the same. The cast that we see here is surely able to hold the movie universe together, but we needed that special ingredient which could have appealed better to our audience, and in its absence in advertising has left this film mostly unwatched, which is rather disappointing. Maybe some people still fail to understand the basic idea behind this movie. Yet, it is brilliant as the attempt, and I would say that this is a fine New Year movie which one could watch with the presence of what seems to be a blend of science fiction and magic. So, we go on and watch this one and wish each other a Very Happy New Year. May this new year bring the best moments in your life, as world never ceases to have enough to offer.

Release date: 8th December 2023 (Saina Play); 16th June 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Rejin S Babu
Starring: Vijay Babu, Ramesh Pisharody, Devaki Rajendran, Anumol, Prakash Bare, Indrans, Shobi Thilakan, Deepu Navaikulam, Sunil Sukhada, Neena Kurup, Jolly Chirayath, Aseem Ibrahim, Biju Sopanam

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous full sci-fi review.

<<< Click here to go the review of latest thriller.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Malayankunju

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the floods and landslides of the last few years?

Vampire Bat: Yes, 2018 floods was too terrifying for vampires too.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that this movie will be a Fahadh Faasil show.

Vampire Bat: You mean, more focused on him than the big works like Joji and Malik.

Vampire Owl: I don’t see why it should be any different.

Vampire Bat: There can always be balanced acts.

Vampire Owl: The focus always shifts to Fahadh Faasil at some point of time.

Vampire Bat: We remember the much earlier Fahadh Faasil movie which was focused on high ranges too.

Vampire Owl: Maheshinte Prathikaaram was one of its kind.

Vampire Bat: Well, so was Kumbalangi Nights which deserved better accolades than what it had received then. Still my favourite movies of him would still be the earlier ones in the form of Amen and Diamond Necklace.

[Gets a blueberry cake and three scoops of blackcurrant ice cream].

What is the movie about? :: Anil Kumar aka Anikuttan (Fahadh Faasil) is an expert electrician who serves the locals of the high ranges of Kerala. He is the one whom almost everyone depends on, whether it is about laptops and mobiles or related to general household items like televisions, refrigerators and washing machines, with any possible doubts being cleared using Youtube. Sumesh (Deepak Parambol) is his best friend, and helps him with obtaining the electrical equipments required for repair, as they live closer to the forest area. His father Radhakrishnan (Jaffar Idukki) had committed suicide a long time ago, and he had been unhappy about it for a long time, leading him to becoming frequently angry towards others and even resulted in him acting strangely for most of time. His mother Shanthamma (Jaya S Kurup) is particularly unhappy about how he has been living his life – as the child next door cries all the time, he feels disturbed and not able to concentrate on his work, leading to more fights with neighbours.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: All of these points to his sister Sandhya (Rajisha Vijayan) eloping with Deepu (Arjun Ashokan) on the night before her marriage, the event thus becoming the major reason for the suicide of Anil’s father. Even though his uncle Surendran (Indrans), neighbour Poulose (Irshad) and a few others are still in support of him, he doesn’t gain any fans among the people around. As his sister comes back to the area with her child, he is not ready to go and see her. He also gets into fights with the locals, and lands in the police station. But he somewhat gets along with these people, but it has been raining heavily for a long time, and an alert was already issued. Most of the people nearby had already moved from the area, and Anil’s neighbours plan to get out there the very next morning. Anil is adamant that he won’t leave his house, despite the warnings of his mother. But the landslide occurs during that night, and everyone seems to have perished. Anil tries to get out of the area underneath the land and try to save others who might have also been caught in there, but can he?

The defence of Malayankunju :: The struggle that the main character has to face, feels as real as possible. The skills with cinematography seems to have worked in favour of the movie, not just underneath the ground, but also outside with the shots, even though there are no shots of this particular world like in one of the best quality films in high ranges for sometime, John Luther. There are no exaggerations in this tale which is close to reality from the beginning to the end – the protagonist is no hero, and struggles with the problems of the mind reminding us of North 24 Kaatham which had a different crisis from inside. The movie is very much well shot in parts, and with some fine use of lighting and sound effects, creates the desired effects to take us to that world. The nature with all the greenery works close to the tale, even though environment is pushed to the background for quite a long time. This seems to be a movie custom made for Fahadh Faasil, and he assures the audience about the same. He continues with his excellence, and when he is there, you know that the movie will rise further, even if caught in the ordinary at times.

The claws of flaw :: With the premise, one would have expected this to be a disaster movie with the visuals of the terror also coming into the picture. The time spent underneath the ground could have also looked better, with some more smaller events of interest – the situation outside could have also been shown from outside, about what had actually happened, and how the news channels report the incidents – these could be easily achieved without making things complicated or exaggerated. The idea of having the father appear in the dream-like sequence doesn’t work, considering the mood which the film has been maintaining. Some of the characters are there to do very less, and it is disappointing considering their skills. The sudden interest in humanity which is displayed by the protagonist seems to be forced, as he looks like the one who is interested in his fellow humans all of a sudden. The movie had already stretched a little bit too much with the events in the early stages. After all, as people watch survival thrillers in different languages, they are no strangers to the idea. The songs are also not that interesting.

The performers of the soul :: Fahadh Faasil has never stopped amazing us with his works, and it is to be noted that even with the ordinary stories like Ayal Njanalla and Role Models, he has elevated the movie to a classic level, and there is no question about those works which have managed to be close to perfection with his presence. We have been seeing him as the actor who has been part of movies from different languages and having more and more fans from different parts of the world and even outside the nation. Here, he is excellent in displaying the protagonist’s desire to survive against all odds, as he is caught in the debris which remained after the landslide. Rajisha Vijayan plays another role in which she does a fine job, even though one would have wanted to see her more, as we had only recently seen how well she managed to work as the sole star in Keedam, a quality which was also seen in Kho Kho, Finals and June, all of them having her rising above all expectations. The usual veterans are surely strong in here, in the form of Indrans, Irshad and Jaffar Idukki. Nilja K Baby also gets a good role which is performed well, and we would expect RJ Nilja as part of more similar movies – more of future for the film industry.

How it finishes :: The movie seems to have had its inspiration from the landslides which occurred in Kerala, especially from the year of Kerala’s biggest floods of the century till the year of the corona virus – the devastation of the times seems to serve as inspiration for creativity as much as for caution. The horror related to natural disasters has never been too far away from us. This one works as an eye opener for all people, as everyone needs to come together during the disaster which unites humanity, and let them get out of the boundaries of religion, caste, race and language. The disaster has been used to remind people of what they have been missing, and some fantastic performances make sure that it gets to the viewers. It also works as the triumph of humanity when it discovers what it had lost in the last few years – hope and love for the other. Malayankunju successfully urges the audience to reclaim the same, even though a world of chaos and destruction awaits to be unleashed on unsuspecting people.

Release date: 11th August 2022 (Amazon Prime Video); 22 July 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 114 minutes
Directed by: Sajimon Prabhakar
Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Rajisha Vijayan, Indrans, Nilja K Baby, Johny Antony, Jose MV, Deepu Navaikulam, Jaffar Idukki, Jaya S Kurup, Deepak Parambol, Arjun Ashokan, Meera Krishnan, Binu Manambur, Irshad, Chali Pala, Meera Krishnan, Remya Suresh, Kiran Peethambaram