Praying with Anger

M. Night's debut film is hard to judge properly with such a low quality version of it on the Internet. It's essentially a student film and a pretty uninteresting one honestly. I'll give M. Night some credit on playing the main character and having a passable music score in it, but that's really all the good things going for this film.

The performances are amateur and it doesn't leave much of an impression by the end. It's kind of cool there were little glimpses of dialogue and ideas in this film that foreshadow what movies M. Night would make in the near future. Oh well, you gotta start somewhere in the industry I guess, so can't be too harsh on this debut.

3/10.

M Night Shyamalan's debut film sees him return to India to find his ancestry. This isn't a bad movie and although budget constraints are evident, they should be forgiven seeing as this is his very first attempt. Dev Raman (M. Night Shyamalan) is an American-born Indian sent to India as part of a college student exchange program. Dev is reluctant to go, but his mother, to whom he is devoted, insists. So, friendless and alone, halfway across the world, Dev experiences culture shock -- he may look like an Indian, but it is quickly and vividly demonstrated that looks are of little consequence, and it will take more than a glib tongue and an unwillingness to back down to earn acceptance and respect. In the midst of his initial travails, Dev's sole friend is Sunjay (Mike Muthu), his guide and mentor, upon whose advice he relies. Praying with Anger relies on too much stock material for it to warrant anything more than a passing interest.

I saw this when it was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It was a late entry, but the festival's programmers were so impressed by this debut feature by a young filmmaker (only 20 during shooting) that they put it on the program anyway. One of them (David Overbey as I recall, sadly now deceased) introduced Shyamalan and glowingly said something like "Watch this young man; he's going places and you'll be seeing a lot more of him". Pretty good assessment.

The film is about a teenager, born in India but raised in the U.S. (as Shyamalan was), who goes to his birthplace for a long visit and experiences major culture shock. He sees various aspects of local life with his American eyes, from trivial things to matters of life and death, and the film shows his bemusement while doing a good job of communicating the thoughts of the local characters. I would say that he chose well the issues to highlight (I too am a South Asian raised in the West, born in Canada to Sri Lankan parents who planned to go back but never did), like the importance of superstition and the local variety of racism. However, some parts were a bit too Hollywood for me, in particular the scene where the protagonist stops a lynch mob by preaching his American brand of morality - in much the same way that Captain Kirk used to prevent interstellar war with a few glib phrases.

After the screening, an audience member asked Shyamalan how autobiographical the film was. He replied that he had indeed taken the same kind of journey, but that the movie was definitely fictional. As he put it, "I did not quell a riot in India".

Another question from the audience was how much the movie had cost to make. His answer: "About a million". He didn't say where the money came from, but clearly someone took a chance on this talented young filmmaker. I'm sorry that the film didn't get released; it has stayed with me through the years despite my never having heard of the guy at the time. And now that I've seen other movies he's made, I'd like to watch this again to see more of their origins, much as I was fascinated by watching, long after it was made, Stanley Kubrick's first feature Fear and Desire.

This is quite far from a typical M. Night Shyamalan movie. This is what I would deem a typical 90s coming of age story with the twist of Indian culture involved. While the movie wasn't anything outstanding, and surely is not the M. Night Shyamalan movie you may be looking for, the movie itself is not bad.

It was very difficult to view this movie, and hard to find. If I wasn't a fan of M Night and didn't want to view all of his movies, do I think I would take this path again? No. Would I recommend this movie for others to watch? With the quality and difficulty required, also no. But I'm certainly not holding pitchforks, and I was able to watch the movie end to end and enjoy it. If you want to watch it or find yourself with a better copy than an online recording, all to you. But for me, I don't think it's worth the hassle for the content involved.

I saw this film on Indian television many years ago and remembered it distinctly, one for its storyline (which as a South Asian American I could relate to), and second for the quite interesting name of the director. Little did I know way back then that I was watching the work of one of current cinema's more gifted filmmakers.

I found a rare VHS of the film and recently viewed it, and much could be see of the distinctive M. Night Shyamalan style. There is no twist ending to this film, but there is a silent and slow development to the story which pays dividends to the viewer. One could see that Night was not in complete control of his powers, but as a debut film, "Praying" is a highly accomplished piece of work, and was a precursor to a wonderful talent indeed.

The cinematography of DP Madhu Ambat is excellent, the acting is even, and the music a bit synth-cheesy, but what truly stands out is the emotional depth of the film. In hindsight there may have been too many issues tackled within the film (arranged marriages, caste, religion, poverty, ragging, elderly respect, diaspora, and family) but nonetheless all are addressed truthfully and honestly.

If you can locate this film, it is worth a watch. You'll see the beginnings and origins of Shyamalan's signature style, and a wonderful little piece of independent low-budget film-making.