Just last night, I was having dinner when my sister decided that she wanted to watch Paruthiveeran (PV), a movie by the acclaimed Ameer. Ameer had directed Mounam Pesiyathe, which I didn't really like, and subsequently Raam, which I thought was excellent. So unfortunately, Ameer was victim of the high expectations I had set on him for PV.
In PV, he takes his shot at a rural story of blood wars and caste tensions, somewhat similar in mood to the violent Virumandi. At the centre of the controversy is Mr Paruthiveeran (yes, it's actually someone's name!), a rough, uncouth, murderous, promiscuous, vulgar individual who happens to be from a lower caste, but is related to a higher caste through his step-father. If that was confusing, there are many other step-fathers, sons-in-law and uncle relations that will possibly drive you up the nearby oak tree, worst still if you don't manage to sieve through their impossible accent. Things become complicated when his relative, a high-caste girl, actually loves PV inspite of all his crap, because he saved her life during their childhood and because he's just oozing with manhood. The tension ensues with threats, fights, and a brutal climax.
I liked:
- The cinematography: very beautiful and innovative compositions, creative use of colours and natural lighting.
- The attention to detail of the dialogue, especially when one character is speaking you can hear murmurs, whispers and comments by a thousand other people without distracting you from what the main fella is saying (however, the distracting accent is another story).
- The music, by Yuvan, is interesting departure from Yuvan's normal teeny-bop hip-hip "yo spin that shit" type of music. In this movie, he's been forced to record some of the hardcore village folk music , complete with old men and women singing throats dry.
I disliked:
- The climax. It spoke poorly of the entire structure of the narrative as it did not reveal anything new, and I believe it served only to shock and disturb. In fact, I think the movie became a hit only because of the controversy surrounding the climax.
- The resulting feeling that the entire movie beat around the beaten bush to reveal a sordid ending.
Even though the minuses are outnumbered by the pluses, I didn't feel too good after the movie. I hope Ameer's next one hits the mark.
Read what The Hindu says about PV.
I was with my wife on the upper deck of an SBS bus when she alerted me of a man asking where he was. This man was a few seats in front of us, in the row parallel to our row, in the almost empty bus. He was saying "Excuse me, were are we? Excuse me? Excuse me? Hallo. Hallo" in a loud voice to the guy in front of him, who was ignoring him. I, too, thought of ignoring him because he could've been on his mobile phone. But my wife, being a special education teacher and having an uncanny talent to come the rescue of many a person with disability, highlighted that the man was visually impaired and was asking a question to anyone near him a simple question of where he was. I went to him and told him where we were, and he became silent, indicating his quest was mometarily over.
If I take myself as an example, I agree with many in the social service sector who say that Singapore needs many more years in accepting persons with disabilities as part of society. I, for one, was not accustomed to seeing a man ask for help to determine where he was, and I would have just kept silent if my wife hadn't been there. Apart from being shameful about my potential behaviour, and resolving to be more proactive next time, I asked myself why some of us are like that.
Social behavior theory tells us that people are more reluctant to help, when they are surrounded in a group, because of the Bystander Intervention Problem. This theory was supported by an experiment conducted in 1968, which showed that if appeals for help are called out to a group or a large crowd, no one responds, because everyone else thinks the other will help. This is called diffusion of responsibility: "I'm sure someone's going to help. So I'll just wait and see how." Social scientists point to the solution: it is to direct the plea for help at an individual so that diffusion of responsiblity does not occur. So next time you need help, and a crowd forms, be sure to point at one person and firmly say what you want to say, eg. "call the police".
The other reason maybe that many of us do not come across persons with disabilities. We don't have a relative with autism, or we don't have a colleague with cerebral palsy, or we have never heard of someone with intellectual disability. I guess we might have to take some time out on some weekends to volunteer our services to some of these volunteer welfare organisations to get more in touch with such folks.
In PV, he takes his shot at a rural story of blood wars and caste tensions, somewhat similar in mood to the violent Virumandi. At the centre of the controversy is Mr Paruthiveeran (yes, it's actually someone's name!), a rough, uncouth, murderous, promiscuous, vulgar individual who happens to be from a lower caste, but is related to a higher caste through his step-father. If that was confusing, there are many other step-fathers, sons-in-law and uncle relations that will possibly drive you up the nearby oak tree, worst still if you don't manage to sieve through their impossible accent. Things become complicated when his relative, a high-caste girl, actually loves PV inspite of all his crap, because he saved her life during their childhood and because he's just oozing with manhood. The tension ensues with threats, fights, and a brutal climax.
I liked:
- The cinematography: very beautiful and innovative compositions, creative use of colours and natural lighting.
- The attention to detail of the dialogue, especially when one character is speaking you can hear murmurs, whispers and comments by a thousand other people without distracting you from what the main fella is saying (however, the distracting accent is another story).
- The music, by Yuvan, is interesting departure from Yuvan's normal teeny-bop hip-hip "yo spin that shit" type of music. In this movie, he's been forced to record some of the hardcore village folk music , complete with old men and women singing throats dry.
I disliked:
- The climax. It spoke poorly of the entire structure of the narrative as it did not reveal anything new, and I believe it served only to shock and disturb. In fact, I think the movie became a hit only because of the controversy surrounding the climax.
- The resulting feeling that the entire movie beat around the beaten bush to reveal a sordid ending.
Even though the minuses are outnumbered by the pluses, I didn't feel too good after the movie. I hope Ameer's next one hits the mark.
Read what The Hindu says about PV.
~~~
I was with my wife on the upper deck of an SBS bus when she alerted me of a man asking where he was. This man was a few seats in front of us, in the row parallel to our row, in the almost empty bus. He was saying "Excuse me, were are we? Excuse me? Excuse me? Hallo. Hallo" in a loud voice to the guy in front of him, who was ignoring him. I, too, thought of ignoring him because he could've been on his mobile phone. But my wife, being a special education teacher and having an uncanny talent to come the rescue of many a person with disability, highlighted that the man was visually impaired and was asking a question to anyone near him a simple question of where he was. I went to him and told him where we were, and he became silent, indicating his quest was mometarily over.
If I take myself as an example, I agree with many in the social service sector who say that Singapore needs many more years in accepting persons with disabilities as part of society. I, for one, was not accustomed to seeing a man ask for help to determine where he was, and I would have just kept silent if my wife hadn't been there. Apart from being shameful about my potential behaviour, and resolving to be more proactive next time, I asked myself why some of us are like that.
Social behavior theory tells us that people are more reluctant to help, when they are surrounded in a group, because of the Bystander Intervention Problem. This theory was supported by an experiment conducted in 1968, which showed that if appeals for help are called out to a group or a large crowd, no one responds, because everyone else thinks the other will help. This is called diffusion of responsibility: "I'm sure someone's going to help. So I'll just wait and see how." Social scientists point to the solution: it is to direct the plea for help at an individual so that diffusion of responsiblity does not occur. So next time you need help, and a crowd forms, be sure to point at one person and firmly say what you want to say, eg. "call the police".
The other reason maybe that many of us do not come across persons with disabilities. We don't have a relative with autism, or we don't have a colleague with cerebral palsy, or we have never heard of someone with intellectual disability. I guess we might have to take some time out on some weekends to volunteer our services to some of these volunteer welfare organisations to get more in touch with such folks.
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