Koozhangal

I decided to watch this film primarily because of its Oscar nominations and award wins. However, what unfolded on screen left me with mixed feelings.

The documentary-style drama had its moments, but I couldn't help but feel that a significant portion of the movie could have been omitted. In particular, the extended walking scenes added unnecessary length to the runtime, making the viewing experience feel like a bit of a drag.

In hindsight, it seemed that the essence of the story could have been effectively conveyed in a much shorter format, perhaps as a concise and impactful short film lasting around 20 minutes. This would have likely made the narrative more engaging and avoided the sense of time being wasted during the viewing.

Greetings again from the darkness. Movies don't get the credit they deserve for opening our eyes to other cultures and providing a snapshot into the lives of others ... lives often unimaginable to us. Another aspect of World Cinema is that it serves as a reminder that people are people all over the globe. Dreams and disappointments are simply a part of the human existence. Often we recognize more similarities than we previously thought. Such is the case with the debut feature film from writer-director P. S. Vinothraj. This is India's official submission for the Foreign Language Academy Award.

Ganapathy (played by Karuththadaiyann) marches purposefully through the village until he finds his son, Velu (Chellapandi), in the school room. The abrasive father brazenly inquires if the boy prefers him or his mother. It's not a question the young boy dares answer. As the two begin their journey, it's clear the man is angry, annoyed, abusive, and we soon learn, alcoholic. He seems ready to burst with pent-up energy and emotion. His goal is to travel to another village and bring back his wife, who returned to her family ... and his demeanor leaves little doubt as to why.

The trip involves a bus ride and long walk on the sunbaked dirt trail through the rocky and mountainous desert. The father doesn't so much walk as stomp, while the small boy follows behind in hopes of minimizing the abuse. Of course, as kids often do, Velu finds his ways to rebel, despite the risk of another slap upside the head.

With only minimal dialogue, director Vinothraj serves up visual storytelling at its finest. The filmmaker is obsessed with details ... right down to minutiae. The camera sometimes lingers as if to force us to go deeper than merely noticing something - a woman loading water jugs on a bus, a family catching-prepping-cooking rats for consumption, or a young boy's collection of the smooth rocks (pebbles) he tucks into his cheek to generate saliva. The remarkable, extended closing shot of women painstakingly filling bottles with precious water is culmination of what we've just watched - a slice of life demonstrating how life is complex even in the most remote areas of India, and yet no dissimilar to what we experience.

"Pebbles," a film by PS Vinothraj is a cinematic story that is analytical and sensual at the same time, a small narrative and abstract allegory and he meditates on the most sublime cinematic level on his story, the characters and the landscape. Vinoth's accents are mainly based on the rhythm of the day, landscapes and animals, visible for example in the opening scene. It is followed by the introduction of Ganapathy, sweat drips as every forward step he takes boils him alive. He drops by the school, interrupts the class and glances over to spot his son. This is not a dad trying to be hip and cool Infront of the teacher. The camera rummages to introduce us to Velu, he stands shaken, looking up with fear. He is pulled out of the classroom; next shot we see Velu maintaining a distance and walking behind his father. Coated in rage and sweat, Ganapathy turns to Velu and asks, "Do you love your mother or me?"

Velu stands in silence and is questioned again, he maintains the usual stare looking at his father who has pulled him out to accompany him to his in-laws' village and bring back his mother, who has left him to escape his abuse. What follows next is a road trip of Ganapathy and Velu on foot and the film manages to transcend drama and pain by speaking in silence, in the language of visuals. It is confronted with the clash of emotions with the harsh realities of the desolated landscapes. One has the feeling of experiencing the action from the perspective of the characters on the one hand, and on the other hand, by removing them, the harshness of the scene is emphasized. The characters are given space to sweat and the scenes are prolonged in length which is too pedestrian. It is haunting as the grim reality of the plot is deliberately multiplied by the inclusion of landscapes that are as hostile to life as possible. However, the silence is not particularly bad for me, as the film stages its story with masterful restraint. Vinoth allows for emotions, actually narrates and delves into endless deserted shots, which - one must say - never seem artificial and is very organic till the last frame where an old lady is inside the pit to collect a pot of water while others wait, the chances are less but life goes on.

The Cinematography is obviously so masterful even with a simple plot it is based on visual components in such a way that monotony the action only gains quality through the concrete form in Jeya Parthiban and Vignesh Kumulai's work. Another major highlight is the Sound design by Hari Prasad, it works so well. For the most part, it is accompanied by the ambient sounds of a deserted wasteland - birds chirping, trees rustling, the splash of water from the pot inside the bus, baby crying, rats squeaking, a girl throwing dried leaves high into the air, an airplane, TVS xl bike, a puppy playing with coke bottle, a snake slithering on the surface. The elements are out in full force and the result is a soundscape both epic eventually growing into something disturbing. Mention of the soundtrack necessarily means discussion of Yuvan Shankar Raja and his minimalistic score. It lays silent, or at least practically invisible, during the runtime only to erupt all of a sudden. The score in the penultimate scene showing a beautiful bond with Velu, his little sister playing with the puppy is of the highest order.

But the great strength of the film is probably the acting, the standout performance comes from Ganapathy excellently played by Karuththadaiyaan, he nailed as the abusive father and reveals a lot of toxic masculinity with rage. Velu is extraordinary, his gaze is filled with despair and longing for hope as he is part of his father's toxicity, misogyny and you know the rest and it's like every other day for him. My favorite scene is when Velu picks up shards of glass from a broken mirror and reflects the sun rays on his father's bare back while sucking on the pebble to keep saliva going, it is a brilliant scene, an innocent act of rebellion.

Overall, this film is not high on entertainment, and I'm very hesitant to recommend it to everyone due to its pacing which is its greatest asset. In the fast-paced smartphone generation to sit through "Pebbles" is a big yawn and I'm so glad that director Ram, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Rowdy Pictures stood by Vinoth and backed his vision. I couldn't be more excited for Koozhangal to represent India as it will be competing in the International Feature Film category at the Academy to be held in March 2022. Since there are not many reviews yet, I shared my thoughts on this gem and I hope this movie can harvest as many awards as it can, hopefully the Oscars (eventhough the competition is tough).

That said, I'm glad that the future of Tamil indie cinema is in good hands with talents like P. S. Vinothraj, Kamalakannan, Arun Matheswaran, Vijay Jayapal, Arun Prabu Purushothaman, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan, Balaji Vembu Chelli, Leena Manimekalai, Arun Karthick, Manoj Leonel Jahson and Shyam Sunder.

Disclaimer: This movie is strictly for move lovers like ..... i don't know like what but not for all 😊

Did i like it, i don't know but a very different attempt. Full visual, even if you don't understand a word you can follow and understand based on your experience. A story of bringing back an angry alcoholic's wife back home.

I dont think a movie like this is ever made in Tamil. And do we even call this a movie, may be a short film.

Watched it because Manirathnam, Vetrimaran, Sudha, and few others praised it so much. I did not read any review or heard anybody even watched, I just watched based on Mani and Vetri. I as surprised.

A journey through the desert to reach the village where father and son live, it becomes a representation of the family, patriarchal power and the division of the sexes. Despite a drunken and violent father, the son follows him (perhaps he will also become a drunken and violent father). There is good handling of the camera (in the long shot in the village), but the length is long for the scope of the narration.