Thazhvaram (1990) User Reviews

Poignant!

[rtoac1 · 9/10 · 23 May 2013]

Poignant is the right word to describe this movie. From one view one might think it is slow, but every moment is loaded with the haunt of what could happen next.

Simple storyline: A man shows up at a village with the intent to kill the thief who stole his savings and killed his wife.

Hats off to Mohanlal and Salim Ghouse for their excellent performances.

It's surprising when you look back, there are not many characters in the film. Shankararadi does well, and Sumalatha adds the beauty quotient.

Another unique point is that the main plot does not cover a large time- span. Instead relies on timely flashbacks to tie up the loose ends.

The movie is a showcase of the director Bharathan's genius.

A truly unique film in Malayalam cinema. True, it takes inspiration from the Western genre. Never before nor after has one such been attempted!

The ending is especially commendable. No sentimental gimmicks!

Truly a must-watch!

This film needs a Blu Ray .....

[PimpinAinttEasy · 8/10 · 8 April 2016]

To all fans of Westerns,

I wish there was a Blu-ray with English subtitles for this film. It deserves more recognition. There are nothing but a few blurry Youtube videos and an awful pixelish Video CD.

The film is a revenge Western in the Malayalam language. Balan (Mohanlal) arrives in a remote valley to take revenge on his former best friend Raghavan(Salim Ghouse) who murdered his wife and stole his savings. A violent fight between them leaves Balan injured.

When the unsuspecting father-daughter duo with whom Raghavan lives, gives shelter to the injured Balan, a cat and mouse game between the two men begins. Sumalatha in a blouse and mundu is a sultry presence in the midst of the violent feud between the two men. Shankaradi plays her kind and industrious father.

The film also offers glimpses from the everyday lives of the people who live in the valley. The title sequence and the background score are excellent.

It is definitely one of Bharathan's best films. The setting is quite similar to his earlier film called Kathodu Kathoram in the sense that both films focus on the tense interactions between a few characters in a very remote place. Though Kathodu Kathoram was a lot more light-hearted compared to Thazhvaram. MT Vasudevan Nair lends authenticity to the settings through some realistic dialogue that sheds light on the attitudes of the valley dwellers and their ways of living. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide any context to the film's era or setting.

Mohanlal is quite bulky and him fighting the muscular and athletic Salim Ghouse was a bit hard to believe. A leaner actor like Suresh Gopi or Mammootty would have fitted the role and surroundings better.

Best Regards, Pimpin.

(8/10)

Gem 💎

[adarshkrockz · 9/10 · 6 July 2021]

This is one among best movie ever made in malayalam. No words.. Must watch..

Classic Movie !

[hari_krhs · 10/10 · 19 July 2006]

I was a child when the film was released and didn't get anything when watched it first time. But after years i was so much excited watching this beautiful movie which was picturised with perfect mix of everything needed for a classic movie. Director Bharathan did his own style to tell the story of a revenge without filling it with disturbing action scenes and gimmicks. Mohanlal's lead role as balan and salim's role as raghavan are really great. I was a fan of sumalatha after i watched "Thoovanathumbikal" and in this film she is simply awesome. Bharathan & M.T has given so many classics to Indian movies and this is to be listed on the top of them. if you haven't watched it please do it soon because it is a movie "must see"

A perfect classic

[vinodsreehari · 10/10 · 5 October 2007]

Today, watched the 90's classic malayalam movie "Thazhavaram-The valley" once again, in a TV channel,after a long period. But this time ,thought of writing something here about the movie . This movie, I would say, one of the best movie by Bharathan,. I know that there is no point in describing the story of the movie and tell you repeatedly that the movie is excellent ,because its already known to all . So I will point out some of the good features of the movie which I was attracted to ."Thazhavaram" is a masterpiece in all aspects. A well crafted movie, which makes us remember some Hollywood classic thrillers. It can not be considered fully as a dramatic movie . By genre, it's a thriller , in my opinion.Bhartahan was keen to make this movie, grammatically perfect as well as thematically strong. The theme of the movie is not so unusual, ...a man who reaches an isolated valley in search of his old pal, the murderer of his wife , so as to have his vengeance. What makes it different is the treatment .

Technical ##########

First thing that can be noticed is the technical quality of the movie. First of all Venu has done an excellent cinematographic work. Next one is, director, Bharathan, has composed each frames very carefully. I haven't watched much more movies, in which a director keeps the grammatical aspects of movie-making so brilliantly. The film consists of so many beautiful wide-shots, which nowadays can never be seen in any reginal movies, but is an essential part of a visually stunning movie. Another brilliant composition ,in which director used "Golden Mean" which is a dynamic balancing technique , usually got to see in western movies..(the scene in which the character "Balan" played by Mohan lal walks through the valley ,just after passing a hanging brdge,and some cattles crosses him. ;two by third of the frame occupied by the sky and rest by the surface,and the character moving from left towards right of the frame...) This technique is very rarely used in our films. Almost all of the frames are geometrically perfect. Visual elments are well composed in the frames to achieve good depth to the scenes which makes them visually brilliant. Sound recording was also remarkable. One of the best feature of the movie is that the background music coming only in required situations. (Remember ,in Hariharan's classic movie "Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha" , a major drawback we can point out is the mishandled background score.)

Performance #############

There are not much protagonists coming to main plot, the main characters are played by, Mohan lal, Sumalatha,Sankaradi and Salim Gouse, all of them has done their job well...The performance of Saleem Gouse is especially remarkable. And of course, Mohan lal is brilliant in his lead role.(A scene in which he is listening to Sankaradi explaining the fake story told by the anti-hero ,he is responding to the narration of Sankaradi and at the same time he is shocked hearing the story.His expression at that moment is simply amazing)

Screenplay ###########

Script by M.T Vasudevan Nair is outstanding . There are no signs of any particular time period in the script.That makes the movie a unique one ,.No matter after how many years since it's release ,you are watching this movie, you will feel the same freshness. But credit goes to the director who was able to screen a beautiful script without losing its soul, in a well disciplined manner, avoiding disturbing action scenes and gimmicks which could have been added easily in this kind of themes. Usually flashbacks in a movie would become little bit irritating and may affect the flow of the central theme.But in this movie, Bhartahan shows flashbacks in certain intervals and complete it at a point and move forward with the current theme from that point , which is a classic style of storytelling, so that the audience will be immersed in the central theme, without breaking the flow, cinematically speaking,creates a suspension of disbelief.

Definitely,Thazhavaram is a movie which deserves a place in your personal movie collections.

Overall I'd give 9/10 for the movie.

Great one

[sreelesh-69328 · 10/10 · 26 August 2020]

Awesome film.. direction, story, actors... and what else everything is at its peak.

review

[bonyjoseph-55909 · 10/10 · 19 October 2018]

World classic , super acting exelent direction avery one shoud be see it

A simple revenge drama in 90s couldn't have got better execution and performances than this. True Red Vibes of Old Hollywood's Westerns.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 26 August 2021]

Thazhvaram (1990) Brief Review -

A simple revenge drama in 90s couldn't have got better execution and performances than this. True Red Vibes of Old Hollywood's Westerns. Thazhvaram has a very simple story but the execution it follows on screen is more than its on-paper potential. It happens sometimes that a good story gets spoiled by dull storytelling and sometimes it's other way around. A simple story gets better presentation than what it deserves and that's what has happened with Thazhvaram in my opinion. Balan and Raju's friendly relationship turns into rivalry when Raju murders his wife and robs his hard-earned money. Balan decides to take revenge on Raju. It reminded me of some Western flicks from old Hollywood (before 60s) which had the similar plot and yet those films came out much better with the help of skillful vision. Maybe, Thazhvaram could have been improvised on paper with better screenplay. It starts off on a faltered note. That scene in first 15 minutes when Balan confrons Raju to seek revenge but wastes the opportunity. That wasn't sensible to me but if it hadn't been like that then what follows next couldn't have been possible. Intense acts by Mohanlal and Salim Ghouse have made this film more watchable, rather i would say almost a must see material. Sumlatha and Anju both look very beautiful and both of them plays their parts very fine along with Sankardi. Thazhvaram is more of a director's and actors' film than the writer. One can easily predict what's gonna happen next hence the thrill is missing but you can't just guess how the director is gonna showcase that scene on screen and how beautifully actors take it one step higher. Bharathan has left Thazhvaram with Zero boring moments. The film keeps you engaged despite its predictability and that's the best thing about it. Overall, a Fantastic Gripping Revenge Tale.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.