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Like every year, an incredible movie parade livened up every cinephile’s heart at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
The curtain came down on the 2024 edition of the fest some days ago, but not without the lasting memories of some wonderful films.
This year’s festival brought with it buzzy titles like Payal Kapadia’s luminous All We Imagine As Light and Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winning, wildly entertaining Anora to Raam Reddy’s sophomore film The Fable starring Manoj Bajpayee in terrific form, and Konstantin Bojanov’s The Shameless that won Anasuya Sengupta the Best Actress award at Cannes.
Mayur Sanap may have missed some prominent films, like Emilia Peréz, Shambhala, Santosh, Rhythm of a Flower and Girls Will Be Girls, but there was still much to like and admire.
Mayur lists his favourite discoveries from MAMI that you should look out for in the coming months.
Boong
First time Director Laxmipriya Devi spins an incredibly sweet and oddly devastating tale of love and yearning in her Manipuri film Boong.
A wonderful Gugun Kipgen plays the titular character, a mischievous schoolboy, who sets out to find his missing father in his endeavour to bring a special gift for his mother, played by an excellent Bala Hijam Ningthoujam.
The film touches so many beautiful themes at once: Friendship, love, family, kindness, redemption, acceptance, and even making a friend of an enemy.
What a way to learn about all of this!
By the time the climax arrives, you have your heart broken into pieces. I don’t think I’m going to recover any time soon.
Nocturnes
From the clear-eyed narration to incredible shots of the Eastern Himalayas and unique information about butterflies and moths, this documentary is hypnotic as much it is awe-inspiring.
Film-makers Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan make nocturnal insects their focal point and render an absolute sensory delight.
Kudos to Satya Nagpaul’s evocative images and Shreyank Nanjappa’s atmospheric sound design for crafting much of its appeal.
When the overarching message arrives about the human impact of climate change on other living creatures, it hits like a strong emotional punch.
Agent of Happiness
Is it possible to measure happiness? What’s the barometer to capture human emotions? Heck, what is happiness anyway?
In Agent of Happiness, film-makers Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbo draw on an interesting case study of Bhutan’s happiness index calculation that leads to a searing portrait of life as we know it.
Through a number of fun and touching interviews, the documentary takes various accounts into consideration to gently anatomise what it means to be REALLY happy.
Along the way, we also learn more about Bhutan’s culture and lifestyle and the prevalent issues that the country is dealing with.
This one is an ultimate food for thought!
Little Jaffna
A throbbing heart of a sleek Bollywood entertainer with a mind of a smart western noir, that’s how I’d describe debutant Director Lawrence Valin’s smashing Little Jaffna.
Valin, who also plays the lead, shows the Sri Lankan Tamil ghettos of Paris and crafts a heady mix out of crime, politics and betrayal.
The cherry on the top is Maxence Dussere’s electrifying score! Hope they release the album soon.
A Fly on the Wall
Who knew a film about death would be so uplifting?
Director duo Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar’s A Fly on the Wall is a compassionate documentary that chronicles final days of Chika Kapadia, Bose’s dear friend of three decades, who had chosen to put an end to his life after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Bose and Maniyar accompany Kapadia during his final days in Switzerland where he approaches physician-assisted suicide at the Swiss organisation, Dignitas. The camera constantly films the emotional and moral complexity of the situation, and presents us nuanced, non-exploitative stand on the topic of an individual’s right to die.
The film reminded me of the French film Everything Went Fine which tells the story of two sisters who decide to fulfill their unwell father’s last wish.
But A Fly on the Wall isn’t all heartbreak and despair. The film renders a moving experience that finds incredible beauty and humour in the midst of melancholia.
We become friends with Chika as we get closer to his high-spirited persona that exemplifies Anand‘s iconic line: ‘Babumoshai, zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi.’
By the time we reach the inevitable conclusion, the film leaves its scar, beautiful enough to last.
