The Warrior (2001)

In feudal India, a warrior (Khan) who renounces his role as the longitme enforcer to a local lord becomes the prey in a murderous hunt through the Himalayan mountains.

Director:

Asif Kapadia

Writers:

Asif Kapadia (screenplay), Tim Miller (screenplay)

Stars:

Irrfan Khan, Puru Chibber, Aino Annuddin

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Irrfan Khan	...	Lafcadia - Warrior
Puru Chibber	...	Katiba, Warrior's son
Aino Annuddin	...	Biswas
Manoj Mishra	...	Warrior
Nanhe Khan	...	Warrior
Chander Singh	...	Warrior
Hemant Maahaor	...	Warrior
Mandakini Goswami	...	Rabia
Sunita Sharma	...	The girl
Shaukat Baig	...	Clerk
Gori Shanker	...	Tarang village headman
Prabhuram	...	Blacksmith
Wagaram	...	Blacksmith's son
Ajai Rohilla	...	Quarrey foreman
Noor Mani	...	Riaz - Thief

Storyline

Circa feudal India in the State of Rajasthan is a desert region that is ruled over by a cruel and sadistic Lord, who, with the help of a handful of equally cruel and fierce warriors, led by Lafcadia, weigh a reign of terror upon those who do not submit or dare to oppose him. Long-haired Lafcadia is widowed but has a son, Katiba. Once when Katiba was by himself, he befriends a young girl, who ties a Raakhee on his hand and makes him her brother, and in return he gives her his amulet. When the Lord asks Lafcadia to subdue the villagers of Tarang, they carry out his orders. After the raid while Lafcadia stands by, his warriors rape and loot the villagers, it is then that Lafcadia is surprised by the very same young girl, and it is Katiba's amulet that saves her from being killed. This incident has a deep impact on Lafcadia and he decides to give up his job & sword and seek peace in his village in Kullu in the Himalayas. When the Lord finds out, he asks the rest of the warriors to hunt ...

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Plot Keywords:

warrior | amulet | blood | severed head | village | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [us]

Country:

UK France Germany India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

15 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El guerrero

Filming Locations:

Himachal Pradesh, India

Box Office

Budget:

£2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,130 (USA) (15 July 2005)

Gross:

$48,160 (USA) (5 August 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour, Senator Film Produktion, British Screen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Hindi-language film "The Warrior" was chosen by the British Academy of Film and Television to represent the UK in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category at the 2003 Oscars. The AMPAA took the highly unusual step of rejecting the movie because although the film had a British-born director (of Indian ancestry) and was co-produced by three British companies, the film did not qualify as British since "Hindi was not a language indigenous to the U.K." The British Academy was forced to submit its second choice, the Welsh-language, "Eldra". In an ironic twist, "The Warrior" went on to win "Best British Film" at the British Academy Awards the following year, although it lost "Best Non-English Film" to a film from Spain.

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Goofs

Before The Warrior tosses his dagger into the stream, a wire attached to the hilt to retrieve it from the water off-camera is clearly visible on the palm his left hand.

User Reviews

'The Warrior' Takes No Prisoners

"Thumbs Up/Down" makes little sense in general, but when it comes to Asif Kapadia's "The Warrior," it's virtually repugnant to say just yes or no to such work of rare and consuming integrity.

This brilliant new British director made his debut at 29, when the 2005 Miramax US release of "The Warrior" appeared in its initial form in 2001. It is shot entirely - and spectacularly, with the painterly prowess of a Zhang Yimou - in India of long ago. It is a work onto itself, without regard to convention or audience comfort.

Kapadia does not bother to introduce his subject or to invite viewers into the world he depicts, he thrusts them into it with the first frame, and he doesn't stop... until about an hour into the film, there is a brief episode not involving gripping, threatening, breathtaking conflict.

As does the director, the great new star in the title role, Irfan Khan, is also making his debut, but he has a face, a presence that you feel you have always known. He plays the top warrior, the enforcer and executioner for a inhumanly cruel warlord, a man slaughtering men, women and children of the villages that don't pay their taxes in full. When he suddenly stops killing and seeks a different life, the hunter becomes the hunted.

From this point on, when Hollywood would follow one of two or three possible scenarios, Kapadia continues to enthrall the viewer, the story unfolding in its own unique, riveting way, never becoming slack, lazy, predictable. Intensity continues unabated, suffused with meaning and complexity.

From India's Rajasthani Desert to the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh, there are spectacular backdrops, but Roman Osin's camera is consistently on the faces - ancient, stoic faces (most of the cast never acted before), showing the barest signs of emotion - magnified in context and in the close-ups.

At the most horrendous moment of "The Warrior," the face on which we'd expect the reaction is suddenly hidden by the camera shifting up so that we see only a riot of colorful turbans. We both want to see that disappearing face, and are grateful that we don't have to witness it.

"The Warrior" takes control, arousing and maintaining intense feelings that you'll rarely experience in a theater. Which way the thumbs that wave high for the usual infantile drivel? Let's just break 'em.