A Story of Their Lives

A friend convinced me into watching this Malayalam movie, I finally gave in when I had some time during the lockdown.

Luckily the movie had subtitles in English, yes, the language helped relate better with the characters and locale. 

Set completely in a small fishing island village named Kumbalangi, this movie is about a dysfunctional family. Living in a run down, incomplete house.

My roots draw me to movies and books set in in villages which thrive on fishing. Those scenes take me back to memories of holidays, watching the boats come in, the vastness of the sea, the argumentative villagers.

There are no heroes, though I fell in love with Franky the youngest sibling. The brothers share a love hate relationship, the oldest brother is wasted, the next one is a mute, loves his life and his brothers, the 3rd sibling is a happy go lucky person, waiting for no one and nothing in particular, the youngest a school kid trying to keep the family together.

There are no stereotypes, yes the men all love their drink anytime of the day, they kick each other around, the women are strong characters who are not there to save the menfolk, but to live their own lives. By being themselves, the women encourage the men to change and improve their ways.

The story touches upon mental illness, toxic masculinity, where one of the men calls himself a " complete man" and we can feel his anger, his male supremacy, his ego and finally how holding it all in makes him lose his mind. 

It shows a grown man asking for help and breaking down and how that moment of acceptance changes his life. 

I can relate to how the action of your parents and upbringing can reflect upon your behaviour later in life, It can be the good or the bad that you learn from your parents. This is so beautifully depicted in the movie where it all turns out good.

The movie moves from being a slow motion life where each one lives for himself, a feeling of abandonment and hopelessness, to a fast paced fight for survival, filled with purpose, support and coming together, silently doing things for each other. 

Love is the binding force between the brothers, though not all are born of the same parents. The movie moves from the brothers sharing such a small space and being small minded selfish people, fighting for even a bed to sleep on, the space expands when their hearts open up, take on so many more lovingly giving them everything they own.  

Finally a home is built.

The soundtrack is soothing, the background music is timely and lifts the movie up 2-3 notches. 

The cinematography takes you on boat rides, still waters, calm nights, stolen glances, innocent love.

Makes me wonder why I waited so long to watch this masterpiece.

Kumbalangi Nights - A Movie