Welcome to the Journal of Things.
Today I am going to be talking about the movie Rhythm.
Rhythm - For those of you who aren't familiar with this movie, Rhythm is a tamil movie (and
Tamil is a South Indian regional language), this movie is directed by Vasanth, starring
actors Arjun and Meena.
I could go as far as to say that this is my favorite tamil movie of all time, and it definitely
has a spot in my personal 'Top 10 Favorite Movies of all time' list.
Why does this movie feel so good?
I would just sit in front of TV, every time this movie is on.
Well, technically it is great and at the same time, it also has its share of flaws.
It has beautiful music by A.R.Rahman, masterful cinematography and it is expertly acted, directed
and edited.
But so many other movies share the same technical quality and flaws.
Underneath of it all, this movie has a charm that is undying.
What is it?
Before answering that question, here is a short summary of this movie for those who
are unfamiliar.
Rhythm primarily follows two people.
Karthikeyan, a photo journalist and Chitra, a bank employee in the big city of Mumbai.
It casually introduces them through their daily life in the city.
They take the same suburban train and follow the same road to work.
Yet they are strangers.
The movie takes its time.
The lens is just there, watching them go on about their lives.
It is also about other characters, like Chitra;s adopted son and Karthikeyan’s ailing parents.
It is about these people just interacting and coming together while the city itself
is ever present in the background, as a silent spectator.
Ok now, what is so special about this drama?
It is it's maturity, atleast I think it is it's maturity
Nowadays, it is hard to come by a film or any story for that matter that is filled with
good people, matured people, who are caring and understanding in general.
People who, you would love to meet in real life.
The film's conflict actually stems from various situations as opposed to people doing bad things
This movie is an antidote for all the modern dark, brooding works of art.
But do not mistake me, I love my share of dark stories.
I am as much a fan boy for The Wailing and The Dark Knight as I am for Rhythm.
But the battle has to be balanced, isn't it?
I know that most of the films and stories in general, imitate the state of reality.
And the current state of our world is downright scary.
We've got a presidential elect talking about wanting to sexually assault a women and building
a wall in between countries, we've got religious terrorism, refugees, homophobia, xenophobia
and it does feel like a state of emergency.
It feels like we are going backwards instead of proudly striving forward.
So it is hard to tell stories about good people and frankly, I don't know if it would even
make sense financially.
But that's the same reason that we've got to make films like Rhythm, filled with people
who are good.
Rhythm is not boring because it is about good people, it is also equally layered and complex
like its dark counterpart Prisoners.
You get to know these characters and you love these characters and you want to know what
happens to them.
Movies like Rhythm are non existent.
Only The Station Agent, Lars and the real girl and maybe the upcoming movie Paterson
comes to mind; Now, I’ve only watched the trailer for Paterson, so I don’t know.
We are celebrating violence, destruction, stalking, sexism and downright stupidity.
But when a film like Rhythm comes out, it becomes a financial failure.
Doesn't that tell something about our society?
All I am saying is we should keep making at least one film like Rhythm for every 10 BatmanVSuperman,
you know, just to keep us sane.
Alright, that’s it for this episode.
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