Marattam

This is a Malayalam language dance drama. While it is structured as a movie, the story is portrayed via Kathakali performances.

Lovers of Kathakali and film connoisseurs alike are in for a treat with the story and the quality performances - both the acting and dances.

While the premise might be simple - police investigating the death of a performer, the mystery only gets deeper when each set of suspects they speak to claim to have committed the crime.

There is a bit of confusion around when the story moves into flashbacks, but bear it for half hour and you'll get the hang of it and start loving the film!

The twist at the end is also adds to the enigma. The film narrative peppered by written scene commentary in English ensures that none end up missing the flow of the story.

Urmila Unni, Kalabhavan Kesavan and most of Kathakali maestro Sadanam Krishnankutty give memorable performances. I wonder why the beautiful Urmila hurried into playing aged roles in mass films so soon after.

Loved the experience overall!

This movie is so gimmick free, yet so dense and absorbing. Watching the movie late night would feel like watching a kathakali performance live.

Aravindan is my favorite movie director of all time. If I had to list my top three, Aravindan would figure. It has been a while since I have re-watched any of his movies. Watching "Marattam" now just re-established his stature as the best of the best in my mind.

The movie has layers of surreal tracks. The structure of the script is itself a piece of art. The script is based on a short story by Kavalam Narayana Panicker, a who is who in the artists genre in Kerala, which probably explains why the script essence is so masterful and universal.

The movie uses stage performances to convey the story. Various dance forms are used to flow through the story layers. And all the artists were real artists. Not actors acting as artists, which reflected in the quality of the plays. Their expressive eyes, studied movements, all had a mastery all through.

The stage performances are accompanied by ear catching ethnic songs with nostalgia evoking vocals and tunes. The movie can be heard through and enjoyed just as well.

Of course, you need to be sitting with a "kathakali" watching mindset. This is not a typical movie at all. It can seem like just a string of stage performances. However, the narration of the theme through these stage performances is very well engineered.

All of the actors have done exemplarary work. These artists have arguably been through much more intense training than movie actors and that reflects in the movie.

Ethereal natural scenery has always been an attractive element of Aravindan's movies. As I watched the credits, I realized that the man behind these amazing photographs was the legendary photographer N L Balakrishnan.

Having recently watched the movie "Trance" with great anticipation, the quality of layering and surrealism that "Marattam" brings forth more than matches the expectation that "Trance" had failed miserably at.

Aravindan has most likely not seen anywhere near as much wealth as the box office focused film makers. However, like Keats said "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever". Each of Aravindan's movies has that quality.