Digital Village

I absolutely loved the film and the creative choices made by the directors. Any shortcomings seamlessly transformed into assets, such as the intriguing ambiguity around whether the actors were intentionally portraying mediocre characters or if they were, in fact, exceptional actors brilliantly embodying such roles. The storytelling and narration were captivating, guiding the audience seamlessly through the entire movie. The film carried a unique, low-budget charm that, surprisingly, complemented the storyline exceptionally well. Overall, I am thoroughly impressed and eagerly anticipate the directors' future endeavors.

The film Digital Village, directed by Ulsav Rajeev and Fahad Nandu, can be classified as a cinematic work belonging to the comedy drama genres.

The narrative is set in Panjikkal village, a locale that has not been touched by modern development, with the exception of a few smartphones, which few villagers know how to use. The village is depicted as being in a state of stagnation, lacking any significant development. The film's narrative is driven by a character named Shajahan, who, leveraging his purported influence in the film industry, deceives the villagers into believing that he has directed movies. The narrative recounts how three young men, Vishnu, Gokulan and Prakashan, approached Shajahan with a proposal for a webseries, seeking his guidance in bringing their concept to life. They selected artists from within their community to participate in the project. However, the concept of a webseries remained alien to the majority of the village. Shajahan, leveraging his authority within the community, deceived everyone, ultimately amassing funds intended for the webseries. Subsequently, the three men decided to embark on their own webseries project. They filmed the webseries with limited knowledge, relying on their community's trust. However, after completing the webseries, they encountered difficulties in finding a suitable platform for its release. Unacquainted with the process, they opted to establish a YouTube channel for uploading their content. The village's subsequent uploads and promotional efforts led to global teasing and mockery. This is primarily due to the perceived inadequacies in the quality of their webseries, resulting in a lack of assurance regarding the creation of a commendable webseries. Notwithstanding this humiliation, the creators garnered views and the YouTube play button, thus concluding the film.

The concept of the film was commendable, yet the narrative fell short of excellence. Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that the direction and performances, even from the newcomers, were noteworthy, and the musical score merited recognition. The film holds considerable value for individuals seeking a one time watching experience.

We were looking forward to watching Digital Village as the plot sounded very interesting, but overall, it was in desperate need of authenticity at every level

DELICIOUS

-Super cool concept, a nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city environment, annnnd there was no heroine!

-The movie was realistic in showing the hardships of making and distributing a movie: we got a glimpse of the rejections, humiliation, and doubts that the friends endured

-The unity of the villagers was admirable in the way they supported the filmmakers😃

BLAND

-The movie's synopsis on IMDB says that the villagers were 'sticking firmly to their traditional belief system' when the friends were trying to spread digital literacy.

We didn't see any of that. The friends were not even trying to spread digital literacy but make a film. Besides, the people were not resistant to the digital system. They immediately bought into the idea

-Digital Village being a simple production needed to balance it out with a rich screenplay, outstanding acting, and powerful storytelling to excite the audience.

Very very unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

Plus, the lack of parallel story made the pace flat.

-Why was the web series named "Dark"? That title could have been used as a symbol for the story but it feels like it was just randomly picked.

I don't know how to write a review for this movie. Kudos to the creators for achieving the big task of making a mediocre film and releasing that on an OTT platform. There are many people who don't get an opportunity like that.

Coming to the film- this is a low-budget movie and the story is all about 'digital enlightment'. There are remote places like the village shown in the movie in India where people are not aware of the power of the internet and digital media. They don't even know things like the internet exists in the world. Android smartphone, broadband connection, and a good PC are inevitable for many people these days and in the future, it's going to be a necessity for everyone. Simply put 'digital is the future' and everyone no matter where they are living should be aware of all this and that can make a big difference in their lives. I guess that's what the creators were trying to convey to the audience.

All the faces in the movie were new to me except N. C. Mohanan's face. He had a small role in the movie. The lead characters were just fine. For me, this movie was a small trip to Kasargod. The creators were good at creating a good production design for the movie.