Bebe Tiger is one of those indie fiction movies that have a very documentary movie feel to them. I saw it yesterday in Goa (India) as part of the International Film Festival of India. The movie is about the life of a young refugee in France. Another movie around refugees that I had seen just few weeks ago was a movie called Deepan (both these movies are doing their rounds in film festivals and are yet to release commercially). Both the movies are essentially about bringing out the day to day lives of these refugees and yet, they generate such different emotions. Personally, I liked Bebe Tiger better. It was more subtle and the focus on plot was minimal.
Because I don't like to talk too much about the plot in my movie reviews, let me just focus on the things that left an overall impact on me as a member of the audience (so that those who haven't yet seen it, can decide if they want to see the movie or not).
Bebe Tiger is a fast moving movie. Almost feels like an editor's movie. Because the focus is not too much on the plot, the fast edit actually helps keep the pace just right. I also loved the acting by everyone (and the lead actor did total justice to the role). The visual language throughout the movie is very consistent. And I think that is the only real problem with the movie. Nothing really happens. Things happen of course, but they are too mild to distract you from the idea that what the film-maker really cares about is for you to feel how Many (the young refugee from India) feels on a day to day basis in France. And so, though I liked the movie, it left me with a slightly hollow feeling of something amiss.
Bottomline - definitely a good movie but so much potential to be better.
