Movie Reviews
Vaazhai Movie Review: Powerful performances shine in an otherwise black-and-white tale
Vaazhai Movie Review: Vaazhai, based on true events from Mari Selvaraj’s life, is a film deeply rooted in his land. It tells a tragedy that unfolds through the eyes of Sivanendhan, a school kid living with his mother and sister in Puliyankulam village near Tirunelveli. Mari wastes no time introducing the back-breaking labour of carrying banana plantains, a task doubly taxing for Sivanendhan and his best friend, who juggle this work with school, leaving them without a single day off.
The film presents picturesque snapshots of the countryside, with affecting sounds that marry the harshness of their lives with the mud that they come from. From the outset, it’s clear we’re in for an earthly affair that’s firmly grounded in the backgrounds of its characters. It follows Sivanendhan (Ponvel), a young Rajini fan, as he splits his time between studies and weekend labour. His best friend Raghul (Sekar), a Kamal fan, works alongside him to help repay a loan left by Sivanendhan’s late father. Despite the constant pain from their heavy labour, the boy remains focused on his studies and finds moments of joy, like his crush on teacher Poongkodi (Nikhila Vimal).
Kani (Kalaiyarasan), a local, fights for better wages and clashes with the upper-caste landlord, showing the village’s struggles. As the story progresses, a missing cow leads to a confrontation with a broker. The narrative thus shows the consequences of missing a day’s labour, juxtaposed with the relatively normal childish joys that these kids find in school.
True to Mari Selvaraj’s style, the film dives into caste dynamics. It sets up a whole ecosystem: villagers breaking their backs in the plantation, a broker playing middleman, and when Kani tries to organise a strike, the big boss shows up to smooth-talk their demands away.
Mari tries to win the audience over with some neat little moments. There’s a hilarious debate between the kids about Rajini versus Kamal that’ll crack you up. Then, there’s Siva’s cheeky move of swiping his teacher Poongkodi’s kerchief, which turns into this sweet bond. Cue a breezy scene of Siva hitching a ride on Poongkodi’s two-wheeler to the rice mill, complete with a catchy tune. These lighter bits, sandwiched between the tough stuff, are meant to hit you right in the feels. When it works, it’s a gut-punch — both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
But there’s only so much sympathy to go around. The film’s so busy painting this black-and-white picture of the downtrodden versus the village bigwigs that it forgets to add some shades of grey. Sure, Siva’s a great kid with potential, and yes, the villagers have it rough. But when the baddies are just your typical moustache-twirling landlord types who seem to own people, it’s hard not to roll your eyes a bit. The film’s begging you to feel bad, but by making everything so cut-and-dry, it actually makes it tougher to stay connected.
The acting in Vaazhai is a standout. Ponvel and Raghul, the young leads, deliver stellar performances that keep you glued. Their on-screen chemistry is top-notch, with Ponvel especially shining as he carries the bulk of the emotional weight. Nikhila Vimal nails her role as the kind, sympathetic, and attractive village teacher. Kalaiyarasan and Dhivya Duraisamy round out the cast nicely, helping to establish the film’s social dynamics.
Craft-wise, the film holds its own. Theni Easwar’s cinematography is a highlight, capturing the countryside and banana plantations with an eye for earthy details like animals and insects. Santhosh Narayanan’s score complements the visuals perfectly, alternating between airy lightness and oppressive heat to mirror the story’s emotional beats.
Vaazhai has got heart and looks the part, but it could’ve used a bit more grey in its village tableau.
Written By: Abhinav Subramanian
Desert Warrior, 2026.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt.
Starring Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley, Ghassan Massoud, Sharlto Copley, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Géza Röhrig, Numan Acar, Nabil Elouahabi, Hakeem Jomah, Ramsey Faragallah, Saïd Boumazoughe, and Soheil Bostani.
SYNOPSIS:
An honorable and mysterious rogue, known as Hanzala, makes himself an enemy of the Emperor Kisra after he helps a fugitive king and princess in the desert.
With aspirations of being a historical epic harkening back to the sword and sandal blockbusters of yesteryear, Rupert Wyatt’s seventeenth-century Arabia tale is about as generic and epically dull as one would expect from a film plainly titled Desert Warrior. Yes, there appear to be real locations here, and there are some admittedly sweeping shots of various tribes storming into battle on horseback and camels, but it’s all in service of a mess that is both miscast and questionable as the work of a filmmaking team of mostly white creatives.
The story of Emperor Kisraa (Ben Kingsley, a distracting presence even with only one or two scenes) rounding up women from other tribes to be his concubines, which inevitably became the catalyst for a revolution led by Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart), uniting all the divided clans and strategizing battle plans for flanking and poisoning, is undeniably ripe for cinematic treatment. The problem is that what’s here from Rupert Wyatt (and screenwriters Erica Beeney, Gary Ross, and David Self) is less than nothing in the primary creative process; no one seems to have a connection to Arabic heritage or culture, but they have made a flat-out boring film that is often narratively incoherent.
Following the death of her father and escaping the clutches of oppression, the honorable Princess Hind joins forces with a troubled, nameless bandit played by Anthony Mackie (he totally belongs here…), who seems to be here solely to give the movie some star power boost without running the risk of white savior accusations. Whatever the case may be, it’s jarring, but not quite as disorienting as how little screen time he has despite being billed as the lead and how little characterization he has. It is, however, equally disorienting as some of the other names that show up along the way.
As for the other factions, Princess Hind talks to them one by one, giving the film an adventure feel that fails to capitalize on using beautiful scenery in striking or visually poignant ways at almost every turn; the leaders of these tribes also often have no character. There also isn’t much of an understanding of why these tribes are at odds with one another. This movie is filled with dialogue that consistently and shockingly amounts to vague nothingness. Nevertheless, each tribe doesn’t take much convincing to begin with, meaning that not only is the film repetitive, but it’s also lifeless when characters are in conversation.
That Desert Warrior does occasionally spring to life, and a bloated 2+ running time is a small miracle. This is typically accomplished through the occasional fight scene between factions that also serves to demonstrate Princess Hind coming into her own as a warrior. When the tribes are united in a massive-scale battle, and that plan is unfolding step by step, one certainly sees why someone would want to tell this story and pull it off with such spectacle. However, this film is as dry as the desert itself.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist
‘4’, the opening track on Richard D James’ (Aphex Twin) self titled 1996 album is a piece of music that beautifully balances the chaotic with the serene, the oppressive and the freeing. It’s a trick that James has pulled off multiple times throughout his career and it is a huge part of what makes him such an iconic and influential artist. Many people have laid the “next Aphex Twin” label on musicians who do things slightly different and when you actually hear their music you realise that, once again, the label is flawed and applied with a lazy attitude. Why mention this? Well, it turns out we’ve been looking for James’ heir apparent in the wrong artform. We’ve so zoned in on music that we’ve not noticed that another Celtic son of Cornwall is rewriting an art form with that highwire balancing act between chaos and beauty. That artist is writer, director and composer Mark Jenkin who over his last two feature films has announced himself as an idiosyncratic voice who is creating his very own language within the world of cinema. Jenkin’s films are often centred around coastal towns or islands and whilst they are experimental or even unsettling, there is always a big heart at the centre of the narrative. A heart that cares about family, tradition, culture, and the pull of ‘home’. Even during the horror of 2022’s brilliant Enys Men you were anchored by the vulnerability and determination of its main protagonist.
This month sees the release of Jenkin’s latest feature film, Rose of Nevada, which is set in a fractured and diminished Cornish coastal town. One day the fishing boat of the film’s title arrives back in harbour after being missing for thirty years. The boat is unoccupied. And frankly that is all the information you are going to get because to discuss any more plot would be unfair on you and disrespectful to Jenkin and the team behind the film. You the viewer should be the one who decides what it is about because thematically there are so many wonderful threads to pull on. This writer’s opinions on what it is about have ranged from a theme of sacrifice for the good of a community to the conflict within when part of you wants to run away from your roots whilst the other half longs to stay and be a lifelong part of its tapestry. Is it about Brexit? Could be. Is it about our own relationships with time and our curation of memory? Could be. Is it about both the positives and negatives of nostalgia? Could be. As a side note, anyone in their mid-40s, like me, who came of age in the 1990s will certainly find moments of warm recognition. Is the film about ghosts and how they haunt families? Could be…I think you get the point.
The elements that make the film so well balanced between chaos and calm are many. It is there in the differing performances between the brilliant two lead actors George MacKay and Callum Turner. It is there in the sound design which fluctuates from being unbearably harsh and metallic, to lulling and warm. It is there in the editing where short, sharp close ups on seemingly unimportant factors are counterbalanced with shots that are held for just that little bit too long. For a film set around the sea, it is apt that it can make you feel like you’re rolling on a stomach churning storm one minute, or a calming low tide the next. Dialogue can be front and centre or blurred and buried under static. One shot is bathed in harsh sunlight whilst the next can be drowned in interior shadows.
Rose of Nevada is Mark Jenkin’s most ambitious film to date yet he has not lost a single iota of innovation, singularity of vision or his gift for telling the most human of stories. It is a film that will tell you different things each time you see it and whilst there are moments that can confuse or beguile, there is so much empathy and love that it can leave you crying tears of emotional understanding. It is chaotic. It is beautiful. It is life……
Rose of Nevada is released on the 24th April.
Mark Jenkin Instagram | Threads
Released through the BFI – Instagram | Facebook
Review by Simon Tucker
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