Kala Analysis

Kala (2021)

Directed by: Rohith V. S.
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Sumesh Moor

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

The best part about the film is the tone of the film - it is a result of the locations, the costume, the editing, the character, production design, music - they arrive at this world, and this tone after using all the tools of filmmaking. There is a strange sense of eeriness to the world, and sometimes it feels psychological too. The film is high on style - it has non-continuity editing, it uses a lot of wide angle close shots to create a sense of distortion - in the way we see the characters - and the camera moves a lot. The setting is a simple house in a forest, there is a family and though it is a simple family - Shaji is an extremely complex character which is what makes the film more than just a horror/home invasion flick. That's the best part about films that subvert genres - they inspire other writers to try all genres and not get taken aback just because the general films that come out in that genre are not that great. 

For me, the point that the film was trying to make didn't come through that well. It talks about how deep down, we all are animals and how it creates problems in the modern world. It's a simple point, did I have to watch them fighting for about 40 minutes to arrive at this? Maybe not. That's what my issue was. Perhaps I didn't understand the other layers the film had. I could see how the film is pro-compassion too, with the ending. I like that it's a complex film, but I'm just wondering why they approached a film which talks about peace, and humanity in this violent a form. The violence is disturbing too, it's not fun to watch. And when they are fighting, I wasn't empathizing with either - I just felt like they're fighting and I'm watching them from a distance. Tovino Thomas killed it, I remember him in Mayanadhi - even there he plays a complex character - but he is so soft spoken and silent there - it's such a contrast that I see in both these films.