Mathilukal (1990)

Mathilukal is one of those rare movies which are slow, heavy and full of depth, and yet feel like a wholesome hug, but you also never forget the grim realities of life. There is so much beauty in every frame of Adoor Gopalakrishnan's, while also never hiding the fact that the movie is taking place within a prison, a place where no one actually wants to be ever. I'm not going to try and pretend that I understood everything, but what I will say is that it touched me in a way that will make me think about it for a long time to come.

Mammootty as Basheer is what cinematic dreams are made of. He imbues the role with gentleness and determination that makes one adore him unconditionally. The movie shows the struggles that he faces in prison with a poignancy- we are always all too aware of how Basheer is on the cusp of losing his humanity and humaneness, but he perseveres to not let the external world get the better of him. I can't stop seeing the shot where he is walking in the prison corridor- his face articulates everything so well that words would have been superfluous. And the way his romance with Narayani blooms? The way his roses bloom?? And the way he throws his beedi away???? And his final "freedom" monologue???????? This man deserves every single award he got ever, for this movie and others.

Goddamnit, I need months to recover from it all. Will probably watch a Mammukka mass movie in the meantime, before I jump onto another National Award winner, Vidheyan.

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