Jallikattu

A little village where eating beef is a daily priority, one morning the buffalo which was to be butchered ran away and what follows is 90 minutes of awe-inducing pandemonium. From the visionary director Lijo Jose Pellissery comes a technical masterpiece which has a strong message about the animalistic traits of us humans & also the herd mentality & devolution of human beings. This film is not plot driven, instead it deals with events & an army of characters constanty moving from one place to another. The sound design & cinematography is on another level. Only cons are the acting of some characters & the last scene which is basically a spoonfeeding of the message. It deserves to be our Oscar Entry, hopefully it can campaign well enough to have a chance.

I am always gave a special attention to some of the filmmaker's new updates all among the country and abroad, and Lijo Jose Pellissery is one among them. I am always keen about to know about everything that associate with their new outcomes. When I heard about Lijo's next movie will deal with a buffalo and initially titled as Pothu, I smelled something epic is going to happen. Then the first look and all others came on the way, it then changed its title as Jallikkattu. After its premier in the prestigious TIFF, I marked in my mind that I am gonna it early on its release here in Kerala. I got that and experienced it. And stunned. Lijo, once again deliberately invites us our attention to a big fantastic product. So simply in my way, Jallikkattu is an extraordinary film. I like it in all the way. Lots of goodness in the film (not in the sense of subject but in way of delivering it). I like the haunting music, that he always prefer Prashant Pillai's composition and DOP from his Agamaly companion Girish Gangadharan. All these factors add that brilliant odor to the film. I love the film and wondered about it. I suggest you to experience it in theatres near to you.

Lijo Jose Pallisserry is a trademark in Malayalam cinema now. Audiences will rush into the theatres for movies made by him without a star cast or big budget just like Hollywood directors Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan. We all know he won't disappoint and it will be worth watching in theatres. Jallikattu is the most anticipated movie in his career so far on par with Double Barrell. We all waited for Double Barrell mainly because of the stellar cast and big budget. But for Jallikkattu, all the expectations are for LJP. The film screened in various film festivals and received applauds. Jallilattu is a 91 minute roller-coaster. The movie never slows down. The pacing of the movie increases more and more from start to end. A big salute for Girish Ganagadharan. His cinematography is simply the best in Indian movies in recent times. The bgm was also very good. As for the performances, every cast did an excellent job. Jallikattu proves that LJP is getting more and more good by his every next movies. Highly waiting for his next release.

The plot is very simple - "Hundreds of people chasing to tame the bull that went amok". But at the end, there is an unanswered question - Who is wild here? Man (or) the animal? Like his earlier movie 'Angamalay Diaries', Lijo Jose has captured the life style of the village town wonderfully. Special mention to the night photography and sound effects team. Though the movie makes you wonder at times - 'Where this movie is heading to?', it is a worthy watch and an unique film.

This is not the Tamil Jallikattu, but a whole different kind of sport - one of savage masculine behaviour inflicted upon a single animal, which makes for disturbing viewing.

This is the way I look at this film:

'Jallikattu' is an allegorical tale of mankind's eternal struggle to subdue Nature. However it is not possible to control Nature, and when she runs riot, the result is mayhem. In their eagerness to control and consume the beast, the menfolk of the village are themselves reduced to a primal state of savagery symbolized by the human mound that engulfs the buffalo in the end.

Are the villagers eating buffalo meat (which I believe is called buff or carabeef) due to the ban on beef? This is not apparent from watching the film, or perhaps I am missing something.

That the villagers love meat in their daily diet is established when they incongruously hang their morning meat purchase to a tree before entering the place of worship. When the buffalo runs amok, the villagers' reaction is sharp, which is reflected in their over-the-top acting, and a farcical chase across the village and the forest.

Therefore I also see this as a commentary against non-vegetarianism wherein a free-spirited buffalo refuses to be reduced to becoming somebody's meal, and decides to take its fate in its own hands - or hooves, in this case.

Either way, in the end, the men appear beastlier and ghastlier than the beast itself.

This is a short film that moves at a rapid pace, thanks to the crisp editing and great sound effects.

Not easily 'digestible' by all.