Moor

This is by no means a technical breakdown of the good or bad in film making. Rather a feeler as to what Moor (2015) has to offer. Moor is set in a cold snowy Balochistan. Focused on the life of a man struggling to keep hold of his land and his family. The Film takes us on a journey to far away barren land, shot beautifully with actors who barely faltered, delivering well written dialogs and capturing strong emotion. Moor is for the patient viewer who knows that good things comes to those who wait...and I must say Good things do come! A great watch! Shedding light on an important issue backed by wonderfully pleasing music and sound design. One of the best Films to come out of Pakistani Cinema!

The movie was such an experience in itself... Lyrics, cinematography, acting, story all were perfect. The scenic locations of Balochistan were really well shot. Snow clad mountains, camera catching even the slightest of details of the scenes, two stories running in various scenes, thought provoking dialogs, suspense being built up slowly were the hallmarks of the movie.The corruption in Railways was portrayed in a manner worth appreciation. The story picked up pace gradually and all pieces of jigsaw puzzle were well connected. The producer didn't lose control of the plot at any point of time. Music was tuned with the story line. This movie has surely notched up the quality of Pakistani cinema. All actors did justice to their roles. Moor had many subtle messages for its viewers and the story surely had the depth to satiate the mature viewers.

MOOR shows is a simple story of corruption, honesty, soul searching and above all a Father/Son relationship.

To begin with movie from its first shot takes your breath away, Cinematography is Hauntingly beautiful. During the movie at points you forget its a Pakistani movie. Movie's atmosphere is so calm yet at the same time its chaotic.

Jami a veteran director whose previous is O21 and many music videos has conceived it brilliantly. He has made a movie which will make Pakistani Cinema proud and should be official entry for Oscars from PAK.

On the whole a damn good movie and a must watch. 9/10

When a dysfunctional family confronts the realities of the past and present along with diminishing collective morality of society then maintaining values you've been carrying becomes a liability and your fragile innocence clings only with string of hope. This is the subliminal central idea of much anticipated Pakistani movie "MOOR" produced and directed by highly acclaimed Jamshed Mahmood Raza aka Jami. Since the first teaser of "MOOR", I had firm believe in distinct quality this movie offers.

Deeply intense emotional melodrama revolves around closing down of railway system of Zhob district of Baluchistan back in 1984 and its direct implications on station master Wahid (Hameed Sheikh) and his family. Abject poverty resulted from closure of Railway station cripples naïve but honest Wahid when he is emotionally challenged by his elder brother Zahir (Shabbir Rana) and local goon Sardar Khan aka Laalu (Sultan Hussain) to make some compromises. Palwasha (Samiya Mumtaz) who plays more an emotional whistle blower than a wife of Wahid and he hangs between good and evil, family values and corruption. Death of Wahid's wife and then his son Ehsaan's (Shaz Khan) own battle for self redemption spread darker shades on screen in peculiar back & forth style of Jami in which story takes two steps back before moving one step further.

Serene and breathtaking beauty of Muslim Bagh with snowy surroundings reminds us Hollywood's "FARGO" released in 1996. Farhan Hafeez as cinematographer has pulled off an award winning job. The way he has filmed different areas of Baluchistan, it has never been attempted before. Along with strong performances of main leads "MOOR" will always be remembered for its top-notch cinematography.

Hameed Sheikh has done stunning job. Maxims of acting Hameed Sheikh has explored as station master Wahid in "MOOR", it seems this role was specifically penned for him. With acutely believable character and emotionally charged acting, his talent can easily be par with Naseeruddin Shah. It will be great to watch both of them in single frame someday. Debutant Shaz Khan has surprised with his matured performance. It will not be surprise if Shaz Khan is seen in some international project in future. The forgotten name of experience actor from Quetta Abdul Qadir as Baggoo Baba gives small but noticeable comic relief in intensely charged sequences. Abdul Qadir's performance is one of the highlights of "MOOR". After watching Ayaz Samoo as Imtisal, no one can imagine that he is the same person who has been hosting music show on ARY Musik as famous video jokey Sajid Billa.

On the whole, "MOOR" is magnificently executed, superbly performed and meticulously written film which aims self-actualization. With its soul-searching element and momentous theme "MOOR" will cherish only serious cinema-goers but not the masses. If right promotion and effective PR are done internationally then "MOOR" has all the ingredients to emerge as an Oscar material.

Moor. Was the hype deserved? . The movie started well. The place was beautiful, camera angles were refreshing and different from those I have seen in previous Pakistani movies. Individual scenes were shot beautifully and care was taken of the little details. It was a poetic depiction of a story.Editing was loose at some places and some scenes were patched on very abruptly. Casting and acting was OK, better than previous Pakistani movies. Some actors did fit in their roles. Shaz Khan was OK in his role of Ehsaan but he did not leave any lasting impression. It was his father Hameed Sheikh playing the role of the station master, who did a good job. Samiya Mumtaz as usual, did justice to her role. Sara, the sister spoke beautifully in a voice coated with honey, though her accent was way off for a Baloch girl. Amber, his girlfriend was convincing in her small role. Ehsan's friend was good too. Another important role was Baggoo, whose character I did not find adorable, at all. Dialogues were average, nothing I would feel compelled to quote. But coming to the most important ingredient of a good film: the story, It was not gripping. At all. It was as boring as the trailer made it seem. I failed to develop any concern for any character, let alone an emotional connection. It was a third party viewing and analyzing. It also appeared as if director was trying to complicate a very simple thing. This is modern story telling but I personally think it is appropriate when the story has more to reveal. You can shoot a cat drinking milk from three angles but in the end if the cat is only drinking milk, it's boring. There's no twist to it. People are going to lose interest. I also don't know how the conscience of people suddenly wakes up from its deep slumber by one or two emotional situations. It is the director's responsibility to bridge the gap between the good and bad by a convincing turn of events. Character development was not as bad as in previous lollywood films but still. disappointing. Predictable. Utopian. Nothing new. Possibly the only thing I actually enjoyed about the movie was the background music with the beautiful shots of Balochistan. I wanted that to go on and on. (Admittedly, towards the end it was also because i wanted to avoid the movie) Some nuances: In one scene Ehsaan says after reading her mother lab reports that she was diagnosed with Broken heart syndrome. Seriously? One cannot read different interesting conditions on internet and diagnose the characters in his movie with it. No one is diagnosed with 'broken heart syndrome' on a lab report,as such. It's a retrospective diagnosis made on 'speculation'. It is a term coined for the very rare occasions when someone experiences severe heart conditions and there is no physical abnormality that explains it, and if the only explanation could be psychological stress or trauma . No one diagnoses it on 'lab reports'. What a piece of fiction! . In retrospect, would i want to watch this movie if i knew what it was like? No. I wouldn't. It is just another movie which made me feel that i sat through it to encourage local cinema. Was the hype deserved? No. If this was Pakistan cinema at its finest then they sure have a long way to go.