TIFF Movie Reviews: ‘A Death in the Gunj,’ ‘Cinema Travelers,’ and ‘Queen of Katwe’

Mira Nair's "Queen of Katwe" was a TIFF second runner-up for the People's Choice Award.

[Photo Credit: Facebook/TIFF]

By Swati Sharan

“A Death in the Gunj”—3/5

Starring: Vikrant Massey, Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Deviah, Tanuja Mukherjee, Ranvir Sheorey

Directed by: Konkana Sen Sharma

“A Death in the Gunj” takes us back to 1979 in an isolated hill station area called McCluskiegunj in Bihar. McCluskieganj is a town with defunct Anglo-Indian remnants, so the traditions and habits of our characters play out accordingly in the course of the seven days in which the story is set.

Shutu (Vikrant Massey) is a highly introverted and aspiring PhD student who is mourning the loss of his father. He has come to visit his relatives and friends for the holidays . He is ridiculed immensely for not being louder and boisterous like them and is used as a babysitter for his cousin Nandu’s (Gulshan Deviah) kid, Tani (Arya Sharmav), or ordered around by his aunt (Tanuja Mukherjee). He is also made fun of immensely by so-called friends, Mimi (Kalki Koechlin) and Vikram (Ranvir Sheorey). One night, the ultimate game of ridicule is played in the form of a nasty ouija board game. Little do our protagonists realize, however, the eerie turn the seance takes.

From an art direction and costume perspective, the film has brought the time period and the Jharkhand terrain to life vividly, in a way that will take viewers back to the nostalgic 80s. All the actors do a great job and are extremely in line with their characters. The story, as some Westerners have termed it, even has a Chekhovian twist to it. As a film, though, it falls short because it was based on Sen-Sharma’s father’s short story and at 104 minutes, it stands too long. The story and characterization stretch out too much without any real depth and things don’t tie in as neatly.

The film is still worth a watch for its experimentation and realism. At the TIFF screening, Sen-Sharma explained her childhood fascination with this story of her dad’s, which was loosely based on a true story. For the film’s period recreation, she said that “I would ask my parents about all kinds of details.”

As for how the actress-turned-director viewed Shutu’s studious character, she added, “I think if he were around today, he would be able to fit in much better.”

“Cinema Travelers”—4/5

[Photo Credit: TIFF]

Directed by: Shirley Abraham and Amit Madhesiya

With funding from the Sundance Institute, “Cinema Travelers” tells the tale of a withering technological trend and its impact on human and socio-cultural levels. For decades, people would take cinematic reels to towns and villages and show films in different languages in India—it would be a great thrill for everyone. Now, things have taken a sharp turn as the reels become outdated and it becomes hard to repair the technologies and people don’t crave these as much.

Instead, we have digital means of projecting films and more people have access to electricity, televisions, and cell phones where they can see digital images or access the internet. The public, in fact, now has higher expectations of image sharpness. Where does this leave those who relied on these cinematic reels for their livelihood? According to the film, where you stand depends on where you sit.

For a person who is nearing retirement, it can be seen as an evolution that’s always in progress, so there’s nothing to fret over. For someone who has most of their life behind of them. when this technology changes over, it can be a source of great disorientation. Yet, for someone who has the future ahead of them, change is perhaps happening too rapidly so it’s unpredictable where things will go—yet, adapting may come more easily to this person who is beginning their life.

At the TIFF screening, the directors traced the cinematic reel-traveling culture throughout India for three years before they zoned in on Maharashtra as a core focus. Their reason? According to the filmmakers, “Maharashtra was one of the places where this flourished as much as it did for the last 60-70 years because there was a culture for having a fair in villages where people were already congregating and the cinema was made a part of that.”

The film is delightful viewing and touches upon many valid micro and macro aspects surrounding the livelihoods of those in the line of traveling to project cinema. It can, at some points, feel a bit extended. Overall, though, it’s a fantastic time capsule of Indian cinematic heritage.

“Queen of Katwe” – 5/5

Starring: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o Directed by: Mira Nair

Directed by: Mira Nair

Through “Mississippi Masala,” we witnessed Nair’s love affair with Uganda in the depiction of Indians who left it in the 1970s to come to America. Almost 25 years later, she’s back with a punch. Based on the biography by Tim Crothers, “Queen of Katwe” chronicles the rise of chess champion Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) from the slums of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda. Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) is an unemployed engineer who teaches slum kids in Katwe how to play chess for the Sports Outreach Ministry.

From the onset, Phiona displays a phenomenal prowess for this and Robert decides to take her as far as he can with it. But for someone who lives in abject poverty with multiple siblings and a struggling single mother (Lupita Nyong’o) who sells vegetables on the street to survive, the path is fraught with challenges. She doesn’t fit in with the elite in her own country—so forget playing at an Olympiad. She ends up practicing chess using bottle caps on a run-down cardboard. Furhtermore, her mother perceives the foray into competitive chess-playing as a risky venture and one that takes away from household chores.

In spite of this, through great ingenuity, Phiona wins at the national level in Uganda as well as at the international level at the chess Olympiad—but we must remember, she’s only a kid. How much can we push someone like her and do we make her expect too much from herself? Even when Phiona does manage to win or visit outside her country, she starts feeling like a misfit in the slum dwellings when she comes back. The pressures and volatility of slum living make it challenging for her to excel in chess. Simultaneously, she seeks to give her family a better life. So, how can she do it all?

Phiona’s story is awe-inspiring and makes us question what we take for granted. It gives us cause for introspection on how we can best make use of the gifts we have. Nair has aptly portrayed the smallest of details and wrapped the tale in a ribbon so that we may unfurl it precisely. The acting and characterization by the entire cast are also extremely strong. It’s no wonder, then, that this film was a TIFF second runner-up for the People’s Choice Award.