Runaway (I) (2012) User Reviews

Humanistic, yet suspenseful thriller drama

[bmeiresonne · 9/10 · 12 March 2013]

The Redemption Raid

UDHAO (aka RUNAWAY) is a (quite unexpected) superb masterpiece from Bangladesh by first-timer Amit Ashraf.

UDHAO's story came to Ashraf's mind, while talking to his grandmother's maid. Being left behind by her husband with her three children, she wished somebody could bring him back to their family.

Together with producer Sumon Arefin, the future director imagined bounty hunter Babu's fictional story, which thus draws its inspiration in many terrifying true facts of Bangladesh's everyday life. If UDHAO's intriguing introduction seems to lead the movie into the path of another action movie, it develops more into a humanistic, yet suspenseful thriller drama. Bounty hunter Babu kidnaps the evil politician Akbar to start an adventurous journey through Bangladesh's beautiful, yet so menacing countryside. Whenever action sets down for a calmer approach, danger is never very far – such as in person of actor's Animesh Aich "Raj", Akbar's explosive right hand. As such, one never quite knows where Amit Ashraf's journey will take you – until the very strong ending, way beyond all expectations.

The last sequence might remind some audience members of Japanese director Takeshi Kitano's most powerful films, such as HANA-BI or SONATINE; but truth is, Ashraf's perfect mise-en-scene and – most overall – courage to take all leads to a very logic finish makes it one of the most powerful ending sequences of ANY movie in years…which makes the audience want to see the movie over and over again to reveal all the subtle red herrings (and I'm not only talking about the trail of "koi" fish) left behind by the smart film director throughout the film.

Impressive first feature

[sugith-1 · 8/10 · 3 October 2012]

I saw Runaway, an impressive first feature from Bangla-American writer-director Amit Ashraf, which was the closing night film at Filmi, the South Asian Film Festival in Toronto last Sunday.

The film tells the story of Babu, a rickshaw driver in Dacca who kidnaps a rising politico, Akbar, in order to return him to the family he abandoned as a young father and husband. The relationship between Babu and Akbar careens from hunter and hunted to something more familiar and then caroms off into something even darker. By the end, I felt I'd been through the same emotional ringer Babu and Akbar had been through, drained but very satisfied at the depth of the story I'd been told.

Ashraf's script is in Bengali and I had to rely on subtitles to know what the characters are saying, but his use of the camera shows an astonishing grasp of visual poetry. Even when scenes are just of characters talking, the camera is always probing, searching for the right vantage point to witness this relationship and often that vantage point surprises. Nothing is conventional.

Performances from some rising Bangladeshi actors are top notch, though I felt Shahed Ali's Bapu had the edge over Monir Ahmed's Akbar who had to play both the younger and elder versions of the character. Also strong are Nawshaba Ahmed and Reetu Satter who play the women in Akbar's past. Animesh Aich's Raj is particularly nasty.

My quibbles are with the script which lacks enough story to keep it moving through the long middle section where Bapu takes Akbar on a kind of journey into the heart of Dacca, but Ashraf's writing pays off in the end with rigorous tragic consequences.

Working with cinematographer Kyle Heslop, Amit Ashraf has crafted a mature and majestic first feature that felt like Satiyajit Ray met Tarantino in Dacca with a Red camera and made a movie.

Fantastic Storytelling

[spidermobi · 9/10 · 28 August 2013]

The movie 'Udhao' is surely one of the best movies I have ever seen. The cinematography and story telling style blew my mind up. I really liked it and I am sure Bangladesh is going to get another world class film maker after Tarek Masud and Tanvir Mokammel.The expressions of actors were good. Specially the framing which is very important to make a movie. The background music was so good and really relates to the story. The color grading and lighting was impressive. The title design could be more beautiful. The concept of the story was amazing. People will love to watch this. I think this is gonna hit the box office. Hoping something more cool from director

I will sum it up in one word:Superb! High quality acting, screenplay, and direction. Overall, this is a beautifully done intense movie, worth experiencing.

[kamranga · 10/10 · 17 July 2012]

I had the privilege of watching the screening of the movie "Runaway" at the Bangamela 2012 held last weekend in the Washington DC area https://www.facebook.com/events/162504423836640/).

I will sum it up in one word:Superb! High quality acting, screenplay and direction. The intensity of the movie, in some scenes, parallel that of a Hitchcock thriller. The use of flashbacks drive home the totality of the dominant theme: bring back the Runaway. This well written story covers the progression of a happy rural family man to become a Runaway and transition to a corrupt urban politician who is up for re-election, and ultimately the Runaway's return, in confinement, back to his village. Along the multi-stop return journey, we encounter some well-picturized surrealistic interactions between the protagonist (Shahed Ali) and the antagonist/Runaway parent (Monir Ahmed Shakil). These interactions are often intense with unexpected juxtapositions. Hired hand and ultra villain played by Animesh Ich adds elements of surprise that literally make us jump out of the seat, occasionally reminiscent of the effectiveness of these dimensions in the likes 'The Godfather'.

In the movie, Amit Ashraf, a promising young director, uses some effective techniques to convey complex modalities. An example is the use of accelerated motion photography of the Buriganga river with myriads of boats and launches caught in cross-traffic, a symbolism for fast and complex urban life and issues. Another example is the metaphorical use of a trail of "koi" fish like that in the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel (Hansel leaves a trail of white pebbles to help him retrace path from the mysterious forest back to his home).

A movie which attempts to address a complex social issue like that of a 'Runaway' is not expected to cover every nook and cranny. Areas that could add to the effectiveness (from this viewer's perspective)are: use of relevant indigenous music for the rural settings; more balance between the message of the movie and the numerous elements of surprise used; subtitles could be made meaningful in the context of the cultural backdrop of the movie (the viewer may have been spoiled by the subtitling in the work of the likes of the famous director Satyajit Ray...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNmMeWhAPTU).

Overall this is a beautifully done intense movie, worth experiencing. Likely to keep the viewer glued to the screen, and drives home the thematic message very well. Our thoughts meander to recall another thematically driven movie of repute, well-acclaimed with many Academy Awards (To Kill a Mocking Bird).

Unexpected twists, great execution!

[waizrahim · 10/10 · 22 June 2015]

I watched this movie last week and was completely blown away by it. The cinematography was really rich. It beautifully framed the bustling streets of Dhaka's and the green rural areas. The acting was also quite good, although I believe it could have been slightly better. Each of the actors played their characters really well in the movie. Overall, the movie was a very well crafted story that is sure to keep you guessing and prove you wrong at every twist. The movie overall also helps to bring to light one of the most common problems in our society in Bangladesh, and other developing countries. And it does this in a very subtle, yet moving, way. One of the main reasons why I love this movie is because it is a complete game changer for the local film industry. I believe movies like this will slowly help to bring back our once famed movie industry and also please the viewers with high quality movies. I absolutely loved it and am really looking forward to Amit Ashraf's next endeavors!

bounty hunter with Daddy issues and a corrupt politician.

[namira-68662 · 8/10 · 31 May 2015]

Nail-biting and edge-of-your seat plot, Tarantinoesque action and punchy dialogue makes this an enthralling watch. The characters and their lives and choices are simply fascinating and the cinematography showing the twists and turns of Dhaka streets and narrow-alleyways make for a perfect background. Babu, the protagonist is an anti-hero who makes some questionable choices and we are left wondering what his motives are. The villain Akbar Rahman has very interesting transformations in the story which are well thought out and explained - how he came to grow into the heinous character the actor Monir Ahmed portrays. A very entertaining take on an age old tale - the father who abandons his family, a common phenomena not just in rural Bangladesh, but everywhere in the world. The twists and turns of the movie along the journey of the characters makes this a highly entertaining film. Amit has done a brilliant job of story telling where he makes us empathize with his characters, no matter how foul they seem. Must-watch!

Great first feature film thanks to its storytelling and execution

[iradmustafa · 8/10 · 21 July 2016]

The film tells the story of how a rural vigilante who helps return runaway family members to their families finds a corrupt urban politician with a mysterious past and proceeds in forcing him to own up to his form life. Their journey and the construction of their relationship throughout is what keeps viewers glued to the screen while it addresses the complexity of the "runaway" conundrum faced by many rural families. As we delve more into the troubled pasts of the protagonist and antagonist, we get to see a level of character progression from both main characters which helps viewers better understand the motives behind their actions.

The movie is paced perfectly with quality acting, directing and screenplay. The direction and acting especially helps viewers empathize with both main characters and keeps you hooked till its unexpected end. The top-notch story with its refreshing albeit somewhat twisted idea is definitely worth the watch.

It's a good movie.

[rony36 · 7/10 · 9 November 2013]

Udhao, is a nice movie. Thanks to Amit Ashraf to put such effort in Bangladeshi film culture. Yes, it's so much challenging to make such kind of movie in Bangladesh. Cause most of the people of our(yes, I'm a Bangladeshi) country are not prepare to watch and feel the art of these kind of films.

I must say, Amit Ashraf is a talent director. Lets consider a interesting point of the film: in a marginal view, it's ridiculous that the age difference between two main characters of the film is so close. But I would like to say that is a great work. Cause in this way audiences got no way to find out the relation between them! And also the plot of the movie is good. In our Bangladeshi art film we are always using same plot! It's '71. Yes, I agreed that '71 is a nice plot but we have a lot of art film on this. Now need to find out new, creative interesting plots like Udhao. We need to make good international standard "Commercial Films".

So, thanks again to Mr. Amit Ashraf to take such initiative step to improve our Film culture.

Brilliant Cinematography, Intelligent editing and great cinematic language

[mashiul · 9/10 · 30 November 2015]

This movie is a great example of use of cinematic language. Amit Ashraf ( the director ) kept his art form loyal to its media, in this case, brilliant cinematography. Camera and visual image was telling the story. Intelligent editing, stunning cinematography made this movie very much dynamic and successful. As stated by the director " non-linear" screenplay helped telling the story in a very effective manner. This film Udhao brought me the experience that I had living in Dhaka (where this film was shot) many years ago. Camera moving in narrow alleys, taking shots from top, long and short angle, was very organic. You can feel the texture, attitude, chaos and smell of the town. Reminds me Rabindranath Thakoors great short story "Shasti' where police caught protagonist Chandara and taking her handcuffed through crowded bazaar in a village. The description was very cinematic in that story and I often thought how to take that narration to a visual image. Amit Ashraf has used this language in his own written story, particularly in a sequence when Akbar was fleeing or his hit-man was chasing Ricksawala. The transition from city to village was astonishing. The color tan and Grey becomes green, taking audiences to a different world, very surreal world. The new wave Iranian filmmakers have done this in several films ( Abbas Kiarostami's the Wind Will Carry Us ) where cameras long shot on landscape give a sense of calm and peace and innocence. Another interesting point is the symbolic use of fish to remind very essence of the character of Akbar as a parallel story line. Finally, the treatment of last sequence of the movie is a great example for film students to learn how to tell a story just by using visual images effectively ! looking forward to see more works by ‪Amit Ashraf !

An important milestone in Bangladeshi film history!

[nayeem-mahbub · 8/10 · 26 May 2015]

Over the last few years there have been a lot of Bangladeshi indie thrillers coming out at varying levels of competency. This is far ahead of the pack - tightly packaged, confidently constructed. Some of the location shooting is put to great use to give this film a sense of scope. Cox's Bazar, in particular, has never looked better on film. It's no mean feat for a first time director; the film seems to have been born out of the sheer force of will. Good chemistry between the two leads helps sell it. I wanted to see more of Babu's sister's character. Although she and Babu had similar childhood experiences, she internalized it differently. Anyway, future Bangladeshi indie films with commercial aspirations, particularly thrillers and action films, should look to this as the standard to match or beat. Looking forward to future work by Amit Ashraf. Meanwhile, check this out!

Over-hyped

[shameema-mallik · 4/10 · 20 October 2013]

Firstly the sound editing is so poor that if there were no subtitles at least one third of the dialogues would be incomprehensible.

The movie starts off smartly enough, with a glimpse into the vigilante work of one of the two protagonists, Babu. He is a rickshawallah by day and bounty hunter by night as the trailer and poster so nicely claims. However once the credits are over, all hell breaks loose. The story starts going everywhere and no where at the same time. Halfway through the movie, not one proper conversation takes place. And finally when there are proper conversations , for example when the two protagonists are drunk and fishing, its unbelievable. If surreal was aimed , they have missed the spot by quite a bit. Understandably its all for build up. Sadly the build up amounts to nothing as when finally the secrets are revealed you feel nothing for any of the characters. There is absolutely zero connection between the audience and the movie.

Notably the movie was very poorly researched ( the Brahman priest diagnosing a "Jeen e dhora" was a terrible LOL moment) and hence what was supposed to be a gritty and dark film came across as unnecessarily pretentious. None of the characters , both major and minor are believable in their actions and words. There are two many gaps in the story large enough to fit two movies in them.

None of us are psychopaths or have friends who are gangsters. However we have all seen movies were there was no choice but to believe that what is shown on the screen, is how a sociopath or gangster acts. Unfortunately this movie is not one of them . The writing is extremely poor and the ending , although sort of tied things up for this story, it felt for this reviewer, as over- sensationalized.