Movie: Jonaki
"Jonaki" (Firefly) is a pure Bengali art film which is first premiered at Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2018. It is directed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta. He has already won our heart with the silent drama "Labour of Love". This film was screened at several international film festivals. Aditya was influenced from the classic "The Mirror", a beautiful creation of Russian filmmaker, Tarkovsky.
Jonaki is an old woman who is in comatase state and she's lost in her decaying memories at her deathbed. Late Lolita Chatterjee and Jim Sarbh are the protagonists here. Cinematography, sound design and light effects are amazing. Each frame is like a poem itself. This film has minimal dialogues. Metaphors (like toy soldiers, fire and many more) are used in this movie to symbolise love, pain and loss. Mainly oranges are used as metaphor several times. Visual representation of memories were shown in a haphazard way.
This movie is no doubt experimental. Do not get me wrong, but I must say that "Jonaki" is not everyone's cup of tea. Some of you may find it slow and boring. If you're planning to watch this movie just to entertain yourself then I will suggest you to look for other options. "Jonaki" is not made for mass audience. If you're comfortable with art films then I highly recommend you to watch this. Last but not the least, Jim Sarbh's performance was phenomenal. "Jonaki" is indeed a hidden gem. If you already watched "Labour of Love" then do not miss "Jonaki".