The movie starts out with a burial procession, which is nice to see. It's nice to see how it's done in other countries, a reason I love foreign movies.
We are introduced to Siva who we later find out is an ex-convict looking for his family as seen in the parole officer scenes. It is interesting to note that he can still smoke weed which shows drug tests are not part of probation in India I’m presuming.
I just want to say if you go to jail do you expect your partner to wait for you? I get he got married but still, is the marriage vow covering this part too?
We find out the mother still hasn’t forgiven him completely and his house is rented to Chinese men whom he hates.
The movie diverts from his search for his family to his connection with a coworker turned business partner, who is also an illegal prostitute. She suffers a series of bad events, such as not being able to see her baby and having her money stolen. The only good thing to happen to her might be the few hours she spent with Siva before she was captured by the immigration. The movie did try to capture how hard it is for an illegal worker and sex worker.
Then a series of weird things happen:
He was going to steal his mother’s money (I say 'going to' because he stole it, but since she was caught by the immigration, he returned the money) after she let him into the house. This was before throwing him out. I find this scene weird because it shows he really is a criminal at heart, considering his mother is a cleaner.
The lady who works at the parole office and who gives him the address of his family is so lonely that she wants him to be her lover and cohabite together . It is a good offer for him as he has nowhere to go to, but the need to see his family drives him away or maybe he is not just interested in her.
In my opinion, he could have faked it and just lived a good life with her.
He goes to his family address and finally sees his wife but she is not happy to see him and for some reason not explained in the movie, his daughter is in need of oxygen as she is sick. He later breaks into the apartment when the wife is not around and takes his daughter running into the forest.
(section written by the Baker)
My review:
In the first minute of this film, it dawns on you–much sooner than you’d anticipated that this film is going to be one of those films with washed out colors, a title with false symbolism and even more worrisome, it’s going to drag.
The scenes drag on too long. We wait and wait and wait as the camera focuses on Sivakumar Palakrishnan’s face, his ear, his constant scowl. He plays the role of Siva, an ex-convict whose burning mission in the the life of the film is to find his wife and daughter. The emotions in this film are extremely heightened. At every moment, there are constant questions posed in your mind such as “What is a black man doing in Singapore?”, “What crime did he commit?”, “What is he so sweaty?”, “Are they really bathing in the same river Siva just washed his bike in?”, “Are they wearing condoms?” “Is this office girl really lusting after him?” Nooo.
The question of what crime Siva committed is completely ignored. He speaks very little and when he does, he blurts expletives at the Chinese probation officer and storms out regularly because for a reason no one will disclose, he is not allowed to know the whereabouts of his family. His mother barely looks at him and is very cold and unsympathetic to his search for his family. This continues until he meets a Chinese prostitute played Huang Lu who asks him for protection from her clients. Like him, she’s separated from her daughter and has had to sell her body to make money to send home.
This story is meant to be an exposition of the dark side in the lower strata of society. It is frustrating to be poor. It reeks of helplessness, of struggle, and gloom. And it ends very inconclusively.
And that's it from us!