Churuli is probably the most raw and beautiful looking films I've seen from the Malayalam industry. Each and every frame is littered with such green, that you just can't help but be gravitated towards it. The cold, isolating forest, the intriguing characters, the toddy shop, and the overall landscape that our two protagonists must navigate in order to catch a criminal, is really good to look at. All in HINDSIGHT. After suffering through torturous amount of inconsequential action that just goes on and on. It's all good to look at, but there's nothing really to gain from it. I love Malayalam movies, alright. They're probably the only industry, coupled with the Bengali, that's actively trying to make substantial art in a cesspool of garbage that my Tollywood makes. When I came across this new LJP's film, that too advertised as being a sci-fi/fantasy, a rare occurrence in Indian cinema, it got my gears up. But, god, wasn't it such a disappointment. I watched it with my mom, and she was annoyed and angry by the end. Who the hell would want someone to feel like this? If you're going to stretch the narrative to its tipping point, with moments stretching far beyond what's necessary, and ending it on a near-incomprehensible note, without giving any substance to what we just sat through, it's only an embarrassing testament to the investment of ourselves.
It just feels like a copout by the filmmaker by not giving any scientific explanation to the events happening in the village. At least, some clue. Usually, the pretentious artsy directors think it's cool to leave audience on the edge to let them figure out what the story is about. I don't think LPJ is a pretentious filmmaker (even with that self-indulgent placement of his name over the film's title), but he may have pushed the envelope a little too far to really seem like one. The critics while watching this, must've felt themselves to the ambiguous, Kubrick-ian ending, and felt like this is the greatest film ever. At least, Kubrick had the substance and theme necessary to back up his visuals. What LJP just does is beat around a beautiful bush with his lazily written characters, in a premise far disconnected from any rational, or scientific thought. If this is a fantasy film, with the parable being about the corruptibility of a never-ending pursuit, then why put clocks, coils, aliens and all to signify some deeper meaning to the characters or the reality that they're experiencing? It all seems phony. Oh wait, maybe I answered my own question. Okay, maybe, I have to let myself give it the benefit of the doubt and watch it again. But why should I care to generate the drive at all, to suffer again through the torture of absolute monotony, with characters and the reality holding no real substantial value, and reach an ending that's vague and incomplete. All I can say, is that it's not the intellectually stimulating science-fiction I thought it would be, nor is it a profoundly moving fantasy film about revelation and guilt it could've been.
It just feels like a copout by the filmmaker by not giving any scientific explanation to the events happening in the village. At least, some clue. Usually, the pretentious artsy directors think it's cool to leave audience on the edge to let them figure out what the story is about. I don't think LPJ is a pretentious filmmaker (even with that self-indulgent placement of his name over the film's title), but he may have pushed the envelope a little too far to really seem like one. The critics while watching this, must've felt themselves to the ambiguous, Kubrick-ian ending, and felt like this is the greatest film ever. At least, Kubrick had the substance and theme necessary to back up his visuals. What LJP just does is beat around a beautiful bush with his lazily written characters, in a premise far disconnected from any rational, or scientific thought. If this is a fantasy film, with the parable being about the corruptibility of a never-ending pursuit, then why put clocks, coils, aliens and all to signify some deeper meaning to the characters or the reality that they're experiencing? It all seems phony. Oh wait, maybe I answered my own question. Okay, maybe, I have to let myself give it the benefit of the doubt and watch it again. But why should I care to generate the drive at all, to suffer again through the torture of absolute monotony, with characters and the reality holding no real substantial value, and reach an ending that's vague and incomplete. All I can say, is that it's not the intellectually stimulating science-fiction I thought it would be, nor is it a profoundly moving fantasy film about revelation and guilt it could've been.