chand-suhas

Simon McNally witnesses an young woman getting kidnapped and is determined to save her. The problem is his condition where he is diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a tough childhood with his tormenting father. He was released from a mental hospital recently and is living with his sister. As he struggles to fight back his hallucinations, he firmly believes the young girl's abduction is real and seeks help from his neighbour, Ed Deerman who is a former campus security guard. Simon needs Ed's help as the cops do not believe him and how do the duo get to the bottom of this case with just Simon's memory of the van's number, forms rest of the story.

I definitely did miss these films and Sean Farley has come up with an engaging script that keeps the story move in a brisk pace. The short runtime is of major help and there aren't much sub plots to have any sort of deviation. The focus is on Simon's condition as he battles his hallucinations, with the help of Ed who gets a decent arc as he ends up being the one who understands Simon. There are no big action blocks but the narrative is still very entertaining. The subtlety of the scenes is another added advantage and though the climax is rather convenient, it still pays off to see the duo solve the case all by themselves.

This indeed was a random selection to watch and I was not familiar with any of Mikio Naruse's work. The film narrates the tragic tale of Reiko Morita who had dedicated her life to run the grocery store for her dead husband's family. The raise of supermarkets is threatening the very livelihood and her sister-in-laws want the grocery store to be sold so that a supermarket could be build. Reiko is forced to give up the one thing she held onto so dedicatedly and the only one to support is her brother in law Koji Morita. He is a drunk wayward who refuses to take any responsibility and yet he is the only one to acknowledge Reiko's sacrifices.

The film like it's title, is a slow burner as the life of Reiko unfolds. It is post war Japan after all and the changes were inevitable. For 18 years, Reiko holds onto the one thing which kept her going and it was about to get snatched away from her. The dramatic greedy sister-in-laws and the helpless mother-in-law characters get the usual character arc. While they are not enough to kill the spirit of Reiko, it's Koji's revelation about his feelings which eventually breaks her. This is very maturely handled and as the story progressed, it did get quite evident that an happy ending was not in store. The performances still kept the proceedings engaging and the short runtime contributed too.

Anbu is a lonely child who is spending his summer classes online while being locked at his home. This is because his parents are hardworking individuals, running their own business. Burdened with their financial constraints, Gokul and Glory want the best for their son Anbu while he yearns to make friends as well as the little joys in life which he misses in their busy city life. Anbu requests Gokul to take him out and when an EMI recovery agent spots them, the short trip turns into an unplanned road trip while Glory is in Coimbatore, selling her sarees at an expo. How the experiences they have, make them realize the value of real joy in life which can be achieved without a dinosaur hatching out of a duck egg, forms rest of the story.

Ram's story is exceptional as it gives an extremely personal touch by basing the story on these 3 main characters. While Anbu and Gokul go on a journey together, Glory gets to have her own moments alone in another city. The inter-faith couple have been living separately, raising their son all on their own and without any support from either of the families. Ram showcases the beautiful bond the 3 have with each other and how their life is impacted by their financial stress. The 8 year old Anbu and his honesty is a perfect plot tool where the beauty is how his tantrums result in the best moments. The segment involving Gokul's school crush, Glory and her employee, Anbu and his crush, are woven together so beautifully that they actually stood out in that order. As the voice over says in the end, it is important to spend time with your family no matter what. You may get a dinosaur or just a duck to hatch out of that egg, what you will always have are the moments you spend with your loved ones. Financial stability is important but so is building that emotional core and thanks to Ram for delivering such a sweet gem.