Virumandi (2004) :
Brief Review -
A Must Watch Kamal Haasan phenomena to create Indian 'Roshomon' despite lacking the punctuality in the climax. Ok, so the first question is, have you seen Akira Kurosawa's Japanese Cult 'Roshomon' (1950)..? Or do you know what does 'Roshomon Effect' means? Apparently, it doesn't really matter but to understand it technically, you should know the stuff. If have seen Roshomon (1950) then it's easy for you to notice the loopes in the climax portion of Virumandi, and if you haven't then it's not really a big deal. Virumandi is a story of a temperamental farmer who gets embroiled in a bloody clan feud in a southern Tamil Nadu village. The film begins with a monologue of real footage which describe that Death Sentence is nothing but just a 'Judicially approved murder'. This gets you on rolling and then for next hour it's just a time pass film. And then after an hour, the second side of the same story arrives and stuns you. This is the best part of the film when you see the same story, same footages from different point of view and that's my friends is called 'Roshomon Effect'. Even Kurosawa's version has the same storytelling but that film shows you the same story from 3 point of views whereas Virumandi shows you only 2 perspectives. The major loss of film appears in the last 15 minutes when it loses practicality of the story and becomes a regular mass chaos. Roshomon had a terrific climax which fulfills its thoughtfulness while Virumandi drags a little while proving the point. Nevertheless, it is still a brilliant film from all aspects. It's a Kamal Haasan show all over, he's fantastic as an actor and as a director too. Abhirami and Pasupathy also showcases their good acting skills in brilliantly written characters. Overall, it's a great attempt and very much worthy too. It is just that, if you have seen Roshomon you'll find it slightly below the belt.
RATING - 7.5/10*
#samthebestest.
A Must Watch Kamal Haasan phenomena to create Indian 'Roshomon' despite lacking the punctuality in the climax. Ok, so the first question is, have you seen Akira Kurosawa's Japanese Cult 'Roshomon' (1950)..? Or do you know what does 'Roshomon Effect' means? Apparently, it doesn't really matter but to understand it technically, you should know the stuff. If have seen Roshomon (1950) then it's easy for you to notice the loopes in the climax portion of Virumandi, and if you haven't then it's not really a big deal. Virumandi is a story of a temperamental farmer who gets embroiled in a bloody clan feud in a southern Tamil Nadu village. The film begins with a monologue of real footage which describe that Death Sentence is nothing but just a 'Judicially approved murder'. This gets you on rolling and then for next hour it's just a time pass film. And then after an hour, the second side of the same story arrives and stuns you. This is the best part of the film when you see the same story, same footages from different point of view and that's my friends is called 'Roshomon Effect'. Even Kurosawa's version has the same storytelling but that film shows you the same story from 3 point of views whereas Virumandi shows you only 2 perspectives. The major loss of film appears in the last 15 minutes when it loses practicality of the story and becomes a regular mass chaos. Roshomon had a terrific climax which fulfills its thoughtfulness while Virumandi drags a little while proving the point. Nevertheless, it is still a brilliant film from all aspects. It's a Kamal Haasan show all over, he's fantastic as an actor and as a director too. Abhirami and Pasupathy also showcases their good acting skills in brilliantly written characters. Overall, it's a great attempt and very much worthy too. It is just that, if you have seen Roshomon you'll find it slightly below the belt.
RATING - 7.5/10*
#samthebestest.