The Good Road (2013) User Reviews

Interesting Stories, But Fails to Have Any Sort of Impact.

[akash_sebastian · 6/10 · 16 October 2013]

A truck driver, unable to support his extended family properly, gets some outside help to stage an accident for insurance claims; a couple, on their journey through rural Gujarat, finds their son missing due to their carelessness; a small girl, who on her way to her grandmother's house, accidentally and unwittingly halts at a place which is darker than it appears to be. Three interesting stories, beautifully entwined with each other, keeps you hooked till the very end. Though the screenplay is thought-provoking, the movie ultimately fails to have any sort of impact on you. The overall acting is just okay; the performance by the two small kids and the truck people really stand out, and is quite commendable.

The cinematography is spectacular, and elegantly captures the rural Gujarat; it adds to the beauty of the stories. The music also helps create a good feel to the film.

With a better screenplay, a superior direction, and more skillful acting, the movie could have had better impact on the viewers. Though the movie doesn't bore you in its 90 minute long well-paced screenplay, ultimately it becomes one of those movies which can be seen and forgotten.

And The Oscar Hope Loses Its Audacity. ♦ 62%

[nairtejas · 6/10 · 26 September 2013]

Let's not compare movies here, for God's sake. The Lunchbox is a fine authentic movie. The Good Road is adventurous, rusty & indigenous. But, to be frank, the epistolary drama would've had a better chance at Oscars.

Talking about three partially inter-connected stories, The Good Road moves with a gradual pace. A kid accidentally left out in a local diner as his parents swoosh off in their jeep, a small girl trying to get to her granny & an illegal deal involving two cocky truck drivers - the story connects at the end chafing the low story-depth it had carved since the beginning. The implications are high & vague at the same time, as the plot talks about parents' carelessness towards their children during trips, corruption among policemen, how hapless truck drivers get involved into illegal deals, how young women get lured into whorehouses & regard it as their homes in a fore-course and it is the will of a person that drives him/her towards something. Out of line, the plot concentrates on the story of the kid & the truck drivers & ounce of humanity that joins them together.

Now, all this is told in a slightly rough manner. It totally depends on the viewer, given the DVD English subtitles suck to core & are inappropriate, too. Apart from that, the cinematography & direction is fine. Cast performance by seemingly amateur actors is okay. Dialog delivery is great, so is the music. Locations are fine.

I am disappointed with the camera work & editing, though, mostly as the lighting works against it. Summing it all up, The Good Road is an average road flick which tries hard to succeed harnessing innocence of children, yet ends up as a partial winner.

BOTTOM LINE: An average afternoon-watch flick, not to be taken seriously. As a matter fact, some elements also seem to be cooked-up. And about the Oscar, Indians can expect another loss at a time when countries like Pakistan are leaving no stone unturned to send a film for the first time in 50 years. 6.2 out of 10!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity: Very Strong | Vulgarity/Nudity: No | Violence: Mild | Gore: No | Alcohol/Drugs: No | Smoking: Mediocre | Porn: No

The Good Road is not so smooth to ride or drive.

[reachmallya · 6/10 · 25 September 2013]

I have grown up watching cinemas from NFDC. From the past one year NFDC has been doing a great job in restoring good Indian cinema and releasing them on home video. I respect to most of the movies that have come under the NFDC banner. In parallel to restoration NFDC is also releasing new films and "The Good Road" is one such. There was a bit noise about this when it got released a few months back but it did not get any kind of attention. I kind of lost on this until NFDC released it under home video recently. Another important reason why cinephiles are watching this one is due to its nomination for Oscars and how it compares and contrasts with much acclaimed "Lunchbox". I have not watched Lunchbox and hence cannot provide nay kind of comparison. The Good Road has a good plot. It captivates your attention in the first few minutes. You get a feel that its not a routine kind of cinema. You witness some great cinematography but what it lacks is the kind of emotions that the characters need to have in this plot. You feel deceived when you see the characters acting badly with almost no expressions and emotions. The film falls flat midway and embraces a predictable path. It does engage till you end with bit frustrating moments here and there. Had it been well executed and well acted it would have created much necessary magic. I would be super surprised if this makes some noise at Oscars.

Gyan Correa is a better craftsman than Anurag Kashyap

[PimpinAinttEasy · 7/10 · 1 October 2013]

GYAN CORREA is a pretty good craftsman who adheres to the style of directors like BUDDHADEV DASGUPTA. He is able to create this arid and idyllic world far world away from civilization where even mobile phones do not work. I was reminded of UTTARA's setting while watching this movie - a seemingly pleasant place where nothing much happens, but nothing is as it seems. I am not good at reviewing movies, but the film does have this harmony about it - the mis-en-scene elements are in harmony. There weren't too many cringe worthy scenes though Correa does lose control towards the end, but only a little bit. The messages and themes of the film - national unity, importance of the girl child and rich poor divide are conveyed quite subtly but markedly.

Many of the actors seem to have been chosen from real life. I won't watch it again because it is quite dull and half-baked at times - especially the way the different stories are connected together. but a good effort, nonetheless. And may I add, better than any film Anurag Kashyap has ever made :)

a directionless good road

[deloncoutinho · 3/10 · 13 February 2014]

I do not understand why this movie was even in the selection for the Indian offer to the Oscars. I watched it, because of the Oscar hype. The concept, though unoriginal, was interesting and the script was decent. The treatment and the direction were abysmal. The performances were not convincing, except maybe by the child actors. There are many movies made with low budgets but are brilliant in every aspect. Salaam Bombay is a fine example. 'The Good Road' lacked decent direction and showed mediocre acting. It could have been a brilliant film but failed in very important aspects. On another note, I am still confused why this was selected over 'The Lunchbox' for the Oscar contention.

Great cinematography, fair story, poor acting and dialog deliveries

[miralkumar-patel · 6/10 · 10 October 2013]

I came to know about this movie from the news. I was eager to watch "What" Oscar material this movie has.

As an art lover, I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematography but that was all the movie had to offer to me. There are some incidents with policemen which will make you smile during the serious drama. The director failed to create "seriousness" in the events. Nothing wrong with the story but it needed justice with direction and acting.

Dialog deliveries of all characters were in "sophisticated Gujarati" except Pappu and Shaukat.

Shaukat was a good character and he acted really well.

Don't watch this movie for entertainment, just go with the flow. I wish the movie good luck for the Oscars.

The Undulated Road!!

[thiszjithu · 4/10 · 30 September 2013]

I have decided to watch this film first rather than "The Lunch Box" out of excitement. The essence of the film is interesting and appealing - "A tale that tracks down the life styles and emotions of three people (and their peers/kin) with different backgrounds making their way on a High- way". But remember, Oscars are never given to summaries or ideas behind the films. They acknowledge the film itself, the art involved and the the science made use of. I don't find a pinch of the former one in those 92 minutes or so.

Coming to the plot, It narrates the events that happened in a single day of the lives of an educated family from the city who are on a holiday trip, a truck driver who is fighting with destiny to feed his family, and a poor little girl from the city who is on a ride towards her grandmother living in a far city on the high-way.

While continuing the journey on the highway towards their relatives, the child of literate couple from the city goes missing, which they fail to notice for a long time. The rest of the plot narrates their quest of the lost child. And wait! This is nowhere close to the word 'interesting'. All the elements like script, direction, and action are near-terrible. You will never actually feel that "a child is missing". And I can not imagine how a 7-year old fellow who went missing on a deserted highway does not panic and enjoys his adventure kind of struggle. However, the child is certainly a strength to the film as he pulls of some good eye- catching performance.

The second story that runs along is of a truck driver who is on a ride with illegal stock which he has to deliver and then disappear with the money received. He along with his assistant encounter the missing kid of the city couple and try to find his parents. This is the part where the writer did a fair job. Dialogues and emotions were well scripted. However, the poor performances drag the script down.

The third story is about a poor girl who ends up finding a brothel to ask in her ride towards her grandmother's place over the highway. She realizes the truth only when she has been 'picked' while "performing on the stage". Test rest is about how the girls gets on to the right path out of the brothel.

Positives: 1. Both the child artists 2. Cinematography that captures the beauty of "Rann-of-Kutch"

Negatives: 1. Poor script 2. Some terrible acting

Bottom line: Not a "Good Road" to the Oscars!!

Great Triumph

[meraiya · 8/10 · 9 October 2013]

Not seen many movies you have seen which are very Indian at it's core and will not change much if you take out all Hollywood know-how! I mean Authentic Indian movie, movie that can portray Indian image using Indian real life scenarios instead of all theatrical sets?

I remember people talking that Gujarati movies industry being dead because "Gujarati" as a language not being able to manifest itself in literary mainline cinema.

If I remember other movies, so far I have not seen any Bollywood movies trying to capture Gujarati essence and being successful. Maniratnam's "Guru" made me feel like Dhirubhai Ambani was born in some south Indian Village and nowhere close to Gujarati. Sanjay Leela's Ramleela is theatrical overdoing of Gujarati cultural heritage. Gyan Correa has not only captured Gujarati realism but also made it seem possible to make Gujarati mainline cinema in seamless ways. The music, cinematography, and acting of not so known amateurs makes wonderful impact that did not exist for long time.

Nomination in Oscar seem to be working against movie instead of in favor, but If you look at history Gujarati film Industry, "The good Road" is Breakthrough!

Being Gujarati, I have never been able to relate to Gujarati movie at this level before.

The Good Road is over-hyped for Oscar nominations. Unconvincing plot does not qualify the film for even Indian Awards.

[ketgup83 · 3/10 · 5 February 2014]

Any kind of publicity has always been good for a movie. The Oscar hype surrounding " The Good Road" do makes it a commendable watch but after watching the film , you will feel betrayed.

The Good Road is a chain of 3 stories - A young couple loses their son , the last journey of a truck driver and a teenage girl try to reach to her grandmother's place - all woven together when their path cross each other on the deserted road of Gujarat.

I was pretty excited to watch The Good Road as it was the Oscar contender for Best Foreign film from India competing against The Lunchbox but was saddened and disheartened with unconvincing plot and poor screenplay. How can a couple drive for than a mile without even knowing the presence of their son in car ? What was the purpose of Sonali Kulkarni's character going to Rann of Kutch ? Direction is over the top and none of the performances will leave an impression once you leave the theater.

The Good Road is over-hyped for Oscar nominations. Unconvincing plot does not qualify the film for Indian Awards. Poor 1/5

How ordinary situations can be portrayed extraordinarily

[lionel-nie · 10/10 · 6 October 2013]

The good road is a story about three situations happening to three groups of people with a protagonist in each of these three groups. The story happens in the beautiful Rann of Kutch area in Gujarat.

A family(Father David, Mother Kiran and their 6 year old son Aditya) are on their journey(tour) to a place called Attahasa. Simultaneously, a truck driver Pappu with his assistant(co-worker) are on their journey in which they need to destroy their truck by taking it down the hill and pretend to be dead in return for a lump-sum amount as directed by an agent, one Mr. Jadeja who wants to claim insurance benefits. Also there is this story of a little girl Poonam who is on her way to Attahasa, to unite with her grandma, and is dropped by a truck some where on the same highway. Poonam's journey begins from Bombay.

At a Dhaba, where David pulls over to pick a pack of cigarettes and when Kiran is fast a sleep in the car, their kid Aditya sneaks out and plays with a puppy in the dhaba. David doesn't notice his son having sneaked out and moves from that dhaba only to realize that their son is missing when they stop to refill gas some 200kms ahead.

Pappu the truck driver also stops over the dhaba and Agent Jadeja asks him to take this kid Aditya along with him in the truck and drop him in a village some where ahead. At the same time poonam who is dropped along the highway is seen wandering around for help and food and lands up in a brothel(she is not aware of it).

Aditya goes along in the truck carefree with his puppy which is disliked by the co-worker even though pappu the driver makes no qualms about it. Gradually due to various situations that occur Pappu and his co-worker develop a bond and affection towards Aditya and he kind of becomes a part of their family. Pappu is actually not ready to drop Aditya any where because he doesn't want he kid to be abandoned nor to be left with strangers.

On the other end David and Kiran helplessly keep searching for Aditya. The little girl Poonam who lands at the brothel is fed by the brothel owner for a day but he asks her to go away from there because she is too small but the girl has no where to go. Poonam also develops a bond with a girl called Pinki in the brothel. Shortly Poonam runs away from the Brothel when she understands the reality and reaches the highway. A truck driver obliges to drop her to Attahasa. Somewhere ahead this truck and Pappu's truck encounter each other and Pappu loses control of the truck and takes it down a valley. Luckily none is hurt but the truck is destroyed. Pappu tells Aditya that the police will take care of him shortly and tells aditya not to tell about them to anyone or else they will be in trouble. Aditya is shortly united with his parents and Pappu tells his co-worker that there are many trucks and highways in India and life will go on and they too move on.... The credits roll....

The good road is a simple story shown naturally and still it is a brilliant watch. The cinematography, the rustic background score, Screen play and direction have been perfect.Camera work and editing could have been made better.

The movie has some emotional moments between Aditya and the truck driver especially when they sing a song together. Aditya also takes dinner with them and says the food is better than home food.That scene is quite emotional.

The story tells us not only about human emotions but also about human difficulties.

Love,responsibility, Carelessness, greed,trafficking,humanity, difficulties of truck drivers, innocence of children, care for animals,corruption all these suttle elements of life are depicted brilliantly.

On a standalone basis i think this is a better nomination for the Oscars. Even the Iranian movie A saperation had a simple plot and yet won the Oscars. I wont be surprised if this movie makes to the final 5 nominations.

Worthless script, poor acting

[drsaicat · 2/10 · 26 March 2014]

I never write reviews for bad movies, but as this was our Oscar going film, I decided to write it for the Jury who selected this film for the Oscars.

1.The boy tells at first that he is feeling hot and then pulls over a blanket!!!!

2. Later it was found that it was because of the blanket the parents could not see the boy....POOREST PLOT... sorry to say Sir.

3. There is absolutely no connection of the girl with the plot.....IF YOU RE-EDIT THE MOVIE AND REMOVE THE GIRL'S STORY OUT...THE MOVIE WILL REMAIN THE SAME!!

4.Poor acting of the parents when they realize that the boy was not in the car.

5. The police could have easily called the Dhaba where the parents stopped first...as because they never stopped in the middle, and the boy asked for some water to his MOM at the first stop, its obvious that he is either at the present stop or the previous stop. Now don't tell me that police don't have the numbers...

6. The boy is very reluctant to go back to her parents...he seems to be fine with the situation..which is not so believable.

7. Sonali's RANN-YATRA was too hilarious and predictable.

8. Last but not the least, the boy gets down from his parents car as he was very thirsty...and he saw some cold drinks and his father at the Dhaba..thats why he came out...but never searched for it in the Dhaba! Instead he started playing with a puppy!! So funny, so poor screenplay.

what was the necessity of getting thirsty then?? The director could have shown that the boy saw the cute puppy and came out from the car! simple!

THE IDEA OF THE MOVIE WAS FINE, BUT THE DIRECTOR MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A MASTERPIECE FROM IT...POOR SCREENPLAY AND POOR ACTING WAS THE MAIN DRAWBACKS. CINEMATOGRAPHY IS THE ONLY SEGMENT WHERE THIS MOVIE CAN GET SOME MARKS.

I am NOT so impressed with "THE LUNCHBOX" either...

MY QUESTION IS, IF THE JURY FINDS NO PICTURE FIT TO SEND TO THE Oscars, IS IT MANDATORY TO SEND ONE?

PLEASE DON'T SEND SUCH MOVIES FROM THE LAND OF SATYAJIT RAY ,RITWICK GHATAK, MRINAL SEN, GAUTAM GHOSH, SHYAM BENEGAL, MANI RATNAM, TAPAN SINHA, ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN, BUDDHADEB DASGUPTA, SAI PARANJPE,GOVIND NIHALANI AND SO MANY OF THE MASTERS!

Not near to the level of The Lunchbox!

[curterlpv2 · 4/10 · 26 August 2020]

Watched both The good road and The lunchbox and while both were good films but the later one brings more artistic values and deserved to be in the Oscar much more than this!