Adrishya Jalakangal (2023) User Reviews

The dead will be all that is left to talk to.

[chand-suhas · 6/10 · 10 December 2023]

Set in a dystopian future where the country is at the brink of an impending war, the police are tasked to capture the homeless and get them admitted to a mental hospital. The hospital is full and the staff is forced to release few to accommodate the new patients. One such patient to be released is the nameless guy (Tovino Thomas) who is good with all gadgets, lives in a railway bogie and has a special talent i.e. Being able to talk to the dead. He is friends with an ailing old man with two of his grandkids and also a woman who is a neighbor too. The film paints the lives of these individuals amidst the threat of war and the impact it has on them.

I did not like the way film ended suddenly so let me put it out here first. Barring that, I thoroughly liked the world built here and the transformation Tovino Thomas has gone through to fit into this character. Nimisha however is too natural and hee performance is organic as it can get yet Tovino gets to drive this story forward. The messaging about the anti-war and what the dead represent to the establishment is another highlight. It does get preachy but the way anti-war messaging is put forward through pro-music is quite impressive.

Fell short!

[josephsajin · 4/10 · 3 April 2024]

This film is definitely not for everyone, however the story and cast seems blant and fails to get a connection with the viewers. The theme of the screenplay is good, there are couple of good frames, and scenes which goes with the natural sound of the location are all nice. The film is evidently made on a short budget, the art team has failed miserably at times throughout the movie. Tovino Thomas has put in a good effort but fails short in embracing the character to fullest. The CGI shots are pretty mediocre for the current times , it's 2023 not the 90's. The storyline and progress is pretty sluggish and blant. The climax however seems even more confusing or do not make any scene altogether. The trailer showede potential when it was released but this film just couldn't live upto it. I would not recommend this one to much peeps.

slow-paced but instructive

[ngandacinema · 6/10 · 11 December 2023]

This movie is definitely not for everyone as it was very sloooow paced. But, we have to give it up for the great performance, important messages, and initiative to bring something new

DELICIOUS

-The film's very calm environment and minimal score were so special because they made you pay attention to the screenplay.

-It's a waste to comment on Tovino Thomas's & Nimisha Sajayan's talents, these are pure actors!!!

Tovino was completely immersed in his role by being feeble, smart, resourceful, and sensitive.

Nimisha was gentle and caring, yet stern when she needed to be

-The color green was present everywhere. Green is a symbol of nature, health, or freshness. As if the director wanted us to see that this earth is beautiful and has so much to offer but our cruelty and negligence want to destroy the planet and wage war rather than peace.

-There're so many lessons to take away, but we'll focus on the meaning of the film title "Invisible Windows." Windows are associated with the concepts of freedom, liberation, and escapism. The goal of the story was to demonstrate that our so-called democracies give us many freedoms and liberties; however, it's only a deception, thus the term 'invisible windows'.

-It was interesting to see how Tovino's simple character was able to solve one of the government's major problems, i.e. Electricity

BLAND

---The downside of the film comes from the slow pace which was so passive, making it challenging to concentrate on the narrative.

Of course, this was intentionally done to witness the dead atmosphere the characters were living in; however, some active moments could have been included just to stir our emotions.

Additionally, characters could have been designed in a way that we could identify with them in order to be invited into their world rather than being observers.

Suffers from poor pacing and direction

[sakheeratharva · 2/10 · 13 December 2023]

Just now Photography: This aspect of the film deserves significant praise. The visuals are captivating and contribute to the overall atmosphere.

Areas for Improvement:

Performance: While Tovino's dedication is evident, the execution falls short. The character's energy and physicality seem inconsistent, especially given his background. Additionally, there are moments where the acting feels forced or lacks conviction.

Story: The narrative appears derivative and lacks a strong connection to the Indian context. The inspiration from a European novel feels jarring and superficial.

Art Direction: Several inconsistencies and errors distract from the immersion. The size of the train bogey is unrealistic, and the lighting and aesthetics of the mortuary fall flat.

Direction: Glitches and inconsistencies disrupt the flow of the film. Additionally, the characterization of the female lead feels inconsistent. Her past experiences with Portuguese culture seem forgotten when she struggles with simple tasks like holding a fork.

Overall: While the film boasts impressive photography, its shortcomings in other areas outweigh its strengths. The story lacks originality and connection to the Indian context, the acting is inconsistent, and the art direction suffers from jarring errors.

An attempt to bag awards. Not meant for entertainment.

[psychhelp · 1/10 · 27 November 2023]

A film produced to bag awards. Tovino's acting reminded me of Ben Stiller's acting in Tropic Thunder as a captive. Seemed very comical. He doesn't have the skills and ability to emulate such character's for now. For him, it is better to continue doing his stereotyped character's. The film is not meant for entertainment, and it is based on a theme that has been tried over and over, it doesn't have the same impact anymore. I hope, no one sane would reward film-making such as this. The only positive thing that I can say is it's visual anachronism of the background where this story is depicted to be happening and due to how it is captured through framing the peculiarity of the filming locations, other than that nothing else. I believe films like this should only be screened in specific venues, and if the producer wants to make money through ads, it should be hyped up through the media using paid and mutual understanding marketing, and then streamed through YouTube by cutting it into segments. The audience for the film are cringe generating, fake artsy philosophers who may or may not be under the influence of substances and are seeking venting of their deteriorating bodies and situations, simply because of the remaining, pulsing, spirit in them. Certain direct to screen type content streaming platform productions have much life to it than this.

Nah

[jinufrancis1 · 3/10 · 12 February 2024]

First of all the film is moving too slow and secondly the camera and direction works were too much boring. There are like this films, but their acting and direction makes us to sit and watch. This film, if we trim the unwanted scenes you'll get only like 30 minutes videos. All making it hours long is the walking itself. Tbh we can skip and watch every scenes and you'll understand the plot. And the ending, where the children's goes missing and the plant is about to explode. This makes me confused. My question "did they find the kids and escapes" or "did they didn't find the kid and dies there" or "what happened to kids and where did the kids go?" Or "did they escape without the kids" or "they died and still searching for kids" man this film left me with so many questions. I'd rather watch a explanation video or rewatch the film.

Ok movie with a bad or no proper ending.

[skptestemail · 3/10 · 9 January 2024]

Movie was going ok, but I don't know why someone would end the movie abruptly like that. As you can see with many other reviews, this movie lost at least 2 stars on average from majority of the reviews just because of that bad ending.

Don't they have anyone who can tell from a regular audience angle and say that they need to properly end the movie? What was this director or producers or other who got involved in this movie thinking? This is like mocking the audience who wasted the time till then.

At least by seeing all these reviews, I hope this director and others understand the mistake that how it didn't reach the audience properly and how they can correct it in their next movies.

SPOILER: I saw one comment from someone who guessed that this ending meant that gas already leaked and people are dead without realising it yet. I don't know if the movie makers already meant it, but it would've been a wonderful ending if it was shown like that. But instead these guys decided to spoil the ending.