The Disciple Analysis

 The Disciple (2020)

Written and Directed by: Chaitanya Tamhane
Executive Producer: Alfonso Cuaron
Won the Best Screenplay at Venice Film Festival. 

The Disciple is a story of a young man who is in the pursuit of excellence. It's a heavy film, it's highly reflective - especially if you are an artist. It is set in the world of Indian classical music. The film has such strong imagery that after watching 5 mins of the film, I remember feeling that I know every shot till then, in the exact order. Every scene has on an average 2-3 shots in it. These shots are shot in deep focus, hence portraying the world more than focusing on one particular character. I remember one of the shots in the first scene, where the camera slowly tracks into the disciple being in awe of his guru. That shot was equivalent of a 10 min introduction of the character. I could see Cuaron's words coming through the film, about how even with small setups and budget - we can create cinematic imagery. 

It had a Moonlight sort of a coming-of-age vibe to it, which I absolutely loved. The film doesn't avoid truth, for the sake of being reverent - we see the guy jerking off to porn. There is a line said by the woman in the tapes - "technique can be taught, what can't be taught is truth and it needs bravery to look within oneself with unflinching honesty". This line stuck with me. The film succeeds in doing so. By seeing Sharad jerking off, we see his loneliness. My favorite parts of the film was, where he rides his bike in slow motion and there is transcendental sound and voice over of the woman - speaking truths of being a purist form of an artist. I was wondering about the kind of worldview the film was trying to present. It doesn't operate from a prejudiced worldview, where we select what falls within our theme. It neither says that purism works, nor do they say that it doesn't work. They present us with the truth, and capture it. What we take out of it, is up to us - if we want to be in the pursuit of excellence, or be content with what we are.