leader – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last time we watched a Moana movie?

Vampire Bat: That was surely an eternity ago.

Vampire Owl: I wonder why it took so much time to release the second one.

Vampire Bat: Maybe they were thinking about how to make this one have an even heavier environmental message.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that there can ever be a message that will work in real life?

Vampire Bat: The environmentalists these days are basically against the nature themselves.

Vampire Owl: Well, the pretenders to the love for environment, aren’t they?

Vampire Bat: They can still act really well as environment lovers.

Vampire Owl: This is a world of actors, who become leaders?

Vampire Bat: The human world rarely has any person who is honest.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: Three years have passed since Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) and demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson had their last adventure together and achieved the impossible, which involved life-threatening situations. With the demigod nowhere to be found, Moana has been on a solo adventure, even though her followers in the form of a pig and chicken continues to be around wherever she wanders to. She has been searching for people living near her home island of Motunui connected to the ocean. On her partially successful return from one of similar explorations, Moana is provided the title of tautai, the master pathfinder – this is a title which has not been bestowed upon anyone from the island in a thousand years. It is then that she has a vision of Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey) who had travelled and discovered the paths of the oceans. He talks to her about the legend of Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i).

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: He tells her that Nalo, a god that controlled the storms of the oceans had sunk a grand, legendary island called Motufetu, which connected all of the islands, right down to the depths of the ocean. This action had made the people of the islands disconnected, and if the connection is not made in time, her people would not survive to see a future. The choice was now simple, to find a way to raise Motufetu from the depths of the ocean, or face extinction, not just for their people, but also of whoever might exist in other parts of the world. In response to this vision, Moana assembles a crew of people from the island of Motunui — craftswoman Loto (Rose Matafeo), historian Moni (Hualālai Chung) and an expert elderly farmer Kele (David Fane). With the pig and the rooster added to the list as usual, this does not seem like a strong team, but is expected to be the best for the situation.

And what more is to follow in another ocean adventures with an angry god and clueless humans that go all around? :: At the same time, Maui is on his own adventure against the same god, as he moves forward only to be captured by Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), an enforcer of Nalo who controls bats and can even transform into one if needed. Maui had decided to go on this mission alone without asking Moana as it was thought to be a very dangerous one. At the same time, Moana and her team are captured by the Kakamora, a group of savage coconut-like pirates who also wishes for the island to be raised from the depths of ocean, as they are also disconnected from their island. One of the pirates also volunteers to fight with them. Meanwhile, Matangi is not really happy with her dealings with Nalo and Maui has almost escaped. Between them and their mission, stands a giant monster and a long path ahead with terrible creatures controlled by a hateful god. Can they go past all these troubles and save the world?

The defence of Moana 2 :: The visuals of the movie remain stunning, just like the previous ones, and the main characters continue to be solid. We never stop feeling the need to see The Rock around, whether in animated form giving voice, or with that full power as in Hercules, Black Adam, Red Notice, Jumanji, Jungle Cruise, Journey to the Mysterious Island or those never-ending franchises like The Fast and the Furious and spin-offs. Auliʻi Cravalho stays strong as the leading voice yet again. There are also more interesting characters around here, and the danger that they face are more real than ever, as the opponent here is a god that wishes to bring terror upon on humans and stop them from uniting and progressing. The emotional side also seems to be getting stronger and so are the entertaining sides with humour as much as action. One cannot deny the strength of whatever is seen on the screen, as we keep looking, and we keep being entertained.

Positives and negatives :: Comparison to the first movie, the freshness is still not felt and the big villain never really makes a straight attack. Some new characters are also lost, especially the young sister seems to be just a random addition to get more emotional support. I do not remember any mention of her having any younger sister, and with this addition, the movie seems to go a step backward with its ability to go for content and instead makes it feel the Bollywood drama effect for a change. But we know that it was something created for a purpose and not required at all. The first movie’s innovation seems to have disappeared. Family theme remains strong, and the environmental message stays somewhat there, but we know how much Avatar itself came down from the classic first movie. The beauty of the world, even when animated feels so good here, and as long as the sequels hold on to the basics, this one is surely here to stay.

How it finishes :: Among the animated movies that have stayed with us for a long time, this one will stand tall as a sequel. We remember the earlier movie releasing close to another interesting animated flick, Zootopia. Also, among the movies on the seas, with an environmental message, this one holds a fine place. So, while this movie dazzles with its design and continues the titular character’s tale with more emotional layers, it doesn’t quite match the original. It remains enjoyable with all the fun, and maintains its quality. After watching this movie, and seeing the scope for sequel, we know that something big might be coming. We also wonder if such a movie with an environmental message can be made in the God’s Own Country, as nature is all that matters in this part of the world too. One would keep wondering if such a fine myth can be created with focus most on the ancient green past. For now, we will enjoy this world.

Release date: 27th November 2024
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: David Derrick Jr
Starring: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk, Gerald Ramsey, Remuera Morrison, Awhimai Fraser

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

An Indian Love Story :: Now, that is the direct Malayalam to English translation of the title of this movie, but let it not make you think about this as a romantic love story full of melodious songs and a hero and heroine looking at each other, the sky, the beach, or the river. This is partially a political satire and otherwise a drama concerning family relations. Coming from the director who never disappoints us (except for may be No. 1 Snehatheeram Banglore North), as the man with such a fine record, this movie was always going to be watchable whatever be the content, and even as it turned out to be kind of usual, this movie also doesn’t disappoint (yes, I do think well of his last venture Puthiya Theerangal too). His best of this century was Manassinakkare, and before that we know it has always been Nadodikkattu – Oru Indian Pranaya Katha fits among the good movies, not at the higher level though. But be assured that the love between the lead pair happens just because the movie ends, and that is where the romance should begin.

What is it about? :: Ayamanam Sidharthan (Fahad Fazil) is the leader of the local youth wing of a party who hopes to become an M.L.A. soon by being the candidate in the upcoming by-election. He is supported by Uthup Vallikkadan (Innocent) who is the district head of the party always making an attempt to show his face on television. But his hopes are crashed when the national leaders choose another person who has no political background to contest in the elections instead of him, just because she is the daughter of a big shot politician. As Sidharthan is fed up and decides to take a break, he comes across Irene Gardner (Amala Paul) from Canada who is attempting to shoot a documentary and needs someone to help her, for which she can provide rupees two thousand per day. He feels that this could be a nice opportunity for him to keep away from politics as well as gain some much needed money, and he takes that offer. But he realizes that there is something about her that is much more than what meets the eye. So why is Irene in India and what is she looking for, and how can our hero help her? There remain the questions.

The defence of Oru Indian Pranaya Katha :: The movie has a wonderful first half, and it is a gem that shines and takes all the claps with grace. There are lots of moments of fun, and in each of them, Fahadh Faasil scores, and Innocent provides good support. There is the humble and yet beautiful beginning to the story which is carried on towards the interval. The moment when the hero takes up the job for the heroine is hilarious, and most of the moments involving politics are times of laughter. It remains clean throughout the movie, and there are no unnecessary vulgar jokes which has been plaguing Malayalam movie industry and keeping the audience away. There is basically nothing which is bad for kids, and there is no stupid romance getting in the way of the movie flow. There was obviously the chance for bad jokes on many occasions, and at a time when even movies like Sringaravelan become family entertainers, this effort to keep the dirty things away has to be appreciated. To add to it, the goodness and social message that the movie delivers is worth some applause.

Claws of flaw :: The movie fails to keep the momentum going in the second half, and right after the first half, the world starts twisting and breaking apart. Even as the latter half also has some good jokes, it seems to suffer from a big curse which hinders its movement, and it drags and gets converted into a family drama from the political satire which it was in the first half. There is lot of emotional undercurrents going on, and none of them romantic in character. The leading lady’s search for her roots lacks in both strength and innovation and the flashback story is too much off the dusty old books. The songs stay below average, and there is nothing that can pounce in our hearts. There is a void left in our desire to follow the satirical side, and our need for things which are left behind can be felt by the end of the movie. It has a happy and a righteous ending for sure, but surely not an effective one. The people who are looking for the romantic side will be disappointed, as the love between the leading characters blossoms only in the last few moments of the movie, or rather the last few seconds before the movie ends.

Performers of the soul :: As expected, Sathyan Anthikkad’s style rescues another movie yet again. But Fahadh Faasil is the man who leads the show yet again, just like he did in North 24 Kaatham without even speaking much, and in Amen with simplicity. He has portrayed a different character yet again, and his comic side in this movie is something that takes over. He once again transforms to a character who rules the first half of the movie and stays good in the second half. Innocent’s support is as good as usual, and there is no boring moment when he is around. Amala Paul looks even better than ever in this movie, and it is good to see that her presence is there right from the moment she is introduced. Her character seems to have been rightly portrayed, right from the moment she appears with a video camera in an orphanage. Her characteristics of a lady searching roots as well as a fun loving girl are rightly captured and reflected to the audience. Shafna and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy are also there with significant roles which catches attention, but the latter could have had more screen time.

Soul exploration :: The movie does leave us with many messages, one of them being the core of them all, not to take politics as a job, but as a means to serve people along with working. The real ambition is to be serving people rather than to be at the top, but that will rather be a need. Well, ambition is the root of all evil, and as Doctor Faustus did prove long ago as in the lives of Lucifer and Mephistopheles, there is nothing like ambition that makes a man evil. The leading characters do undergo significant changes in their journey, but not something as huge as North 24 Kaatham, as they were both this good right from the beginning to the end. Even as a movie which is considered as a romantic comedy, there is no glorification of romance or similar stuff, and that is another bonus. The useless nature of exaggerated love is made known to us throughout the movie, and the stress is more on family values, along with helping others at the same time. The movie also stresses on the importance of roots and the need to know them thoroughly. Whatever be the situation, or however the world changes, there is nothing like our parents, as the movie shows.

How it finishes :: When the hero says “There is beef in the scene” – that was a hilarious moment, and so was the dialogues in the library – the movie drops such laughter bombs regularly to keep the movie in the hunt in a weekend powered by two other big releases, Jeethu Joseph’s Mohanlal starrer Dryshyam and Lal Jose’s Dileep starrer Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal along with the Bollywood’s own Dhoom 3 and Hollywood’s only release Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. There is also the Tamil movie Biriyani, which means that there is a lot going on in the theatres this weekend – I have already booked tickets for Dryshyam, and I am looking forward to watching Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal on the same day. There is a lot to be done for me this Christmas, that is for sure, and as far as Oru Indian Pranaya Katha is concerned, it is a good choice for a family outing, and there is not much rush for it due to the less hype – you can go for it soon enough. Forgive the movie for its weaknesses in the second half, and do give it a chance to be that love story that scores without that much of romance. This is a small movie of goodness, that can do with a lot of support from the audience.

Release date: 20th December 2013
Running time: 150 minutes (estimate)
Directed by: Sathyan Anthikad
Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Amala Paul, Innocent, Shafna, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Krishna Prabha, Muthumani