deltaop

Just came back from seeing this movie and it was good entertainment. The story, special effects and costumes were pretty good. Hania and Neeru played their parts well, Diljit also had good screen presence but failed as a character. He had to rely on pop culture tropes to try to get some laughs but failed miserably.

That said, it was Nasir Chinyoti who carried this film so hard with his witty one-liners and impeccable comedic timing. All scenes involving him were fun and belly-laugh inducing, rest of the comedy was just barely there in comparison. If I would recommend this film to anyone, it would solely be on the basis of Chinyoti's fun fireworks.

The trailer of the film was a breath of fresh air among the usual rom-coms during Eid season. However, I was disappointed by the actual movie due to it not being scary at all. The audience was laughing through most of the film's horror sequences which is a testament to poor buildup and atmosphere development. Both elements essential to a good horror flick.

To make matters worse, the CGI was shockingly BAD. They could have done better through working with extras in makeup or they could have used the black mist they used at the end if they wanted to go down the CGI route. The 3D models they used for most of the film were laughably non-scary.

Meanwhile, the script wanted to use all the usual horror tropes from the The Conjuring (2013), Poltergeist (1982), with a bit of Siccin thrown in instead of actually trying to work on originality, pacing, character development, and overall atmosphere. All the while, leaving a lot unanswered until the final 5 minutes of the film. The audience just wasn't able to relate to anything beyond the usual Sas-Bahu tropes.

That said, I won't take anything away from the excellent performances of Samina Peerzada, Faisal Qureshi, and Sonya Husayn. They literally carried a weak film through their acting prowess, otherwise I would have left the theater after the first 3D Jinn.

First, let me get this out the way, the movie is aesthetically a masterpiece. Would have never believed that such a beautiful, hand-drawn animation could come out of Pak. The Urdu voice actors were fantastic too, especially the person who voiced Vincent's Dad.

Beyond that I felt the film severely lacked in storyboarding, character development, and overall character arcs. It got tedious and boring at times in between the usual Ghibli tropes. They could have definitely perfected the script in the 10 years the film spent in development. But, in the end they drew stunning animation for a very weak story. Despite that, I was totally on-board with the pacifist message that formed the crux of the story.

Also, they market the film as made-in Pak, but the characters and setting look ostensibly western. I mean, I get it that they wanted to appeal to a global audience, but they could have incorporated more of the local culture apart from token mentions. After all, the film's core viewership and theatre-going base was to be in Pak.

Despite the weak story, I would commend the score of the film. It was hauntingly beautiful and executed masterfully within scenes.

In conclusion, despite it's obvious flaws, The Glassworker is a film to watch for art lovers & Ghibli fans. You might be bored by the story and characters, but the the visuals and music score will keep you there till the end.

P. S: I have heard that the English voiceover is not as good. I watched it in Urdu, so can't comment on that opinion. The Urdu version was quite well done.