Ship of Theseus is a movie which we need but didn't really deserve right now. A lot of things have already been said about it, so with the risk of sounding repetitive, however I'll try not to be so, here are some of my thoughts: 1. To begin with, Anand Gandhi has made an utterly brilliant movie. The honesty, genuineness, and intent of the director is clear from the word go which is a sheer pleasure to see in an Indian filmmaker.
2. Three stories - totally different to each others in terms of mood and narration, yet so well transitioned that you don't even notice it. Two thumbs up for the screenplay and editing.
3. Utterly brilliant cinematography, a visual delight which mesmerizes you and grips you with every scene and its details that is on the screen. After I exited the theater, I couldn't believe I watched an Indian movie looking so beautiful. In fact, I can go on and on about the imagery. Well done! 4. Superb dialogues (and the use of no dialogues) - At times, zen, and other times, so passionate that you feel like talking to your alter ego, just like, the conversations in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Even the humorous and satirical parts don't make you feel like they are used as punches, except a couple times maybe.
5. Acting - Top notch by the all three protagonists. Relatively good performance by the other actors as well. But the three main actors are so good you long to see more of them. And the sympathies and your connections with them find their peaks in the penultimate scene.
6. Only thing where I felt I had issue is that some scenes and conversations were finished in a hurry. While one talk about something so powerful in detail, it should be a complete conversation, whereas, at times, it appears a lot of important things were skipped (esp. in story #2). Though I didn't find too many things wrong with the conversations in story 2 and narrations in story 2 and 3, it looked to me that something was amiss, they could have talked a little more, and so on. The movie could have been even more powerful, given the premise and ideas it began with. Actually, the idea is itself so big and extensive that any less would feel like incomplete. Such as, writing about this movie in 140 characters. But I guess I shouldn't complain as it's a movie where it's very difficult to have such kind of narration as well as a speech as long as that of John Galt. Anyways, I am more than glad that such things were talked about in a movie made in India.
Bravo, Anand Gandhi and the team! I stood and clapped for you all when the movie ended in the theater.
