The faith journey is not for the faint of heart, especially in relationships. Walking in faith requires community and Biblical wisdom in marriage, parenting, and establishing lasting relationships with your extended family or friendship. In this article, I will share my thoughts on The Forge, a movie review.

The Difficult Reality Of Being A Christian Parent

The Forge shows the ups and downs of a single mom trying to launch her young adult son into the world. It also shows the importance of mentorship, friendship, prayer, and discipleship.

You will leave this movie wanting more for your life, faith, marriage, church, and community.

The beginning of The Forge tugged at this mama’s heart. As a mom of three young adults, I could relate to the dialogue. Cynthia Wright is a single mom to 19-year-old Isaiah Wright. In one of the beginning scenes, Cynthia is talking to Isaiah, and her frustration is palpable. I think we can all relate to this when it comes to dealing with the stage of launching your young adult into the world.

Having faith and parenting young adults is a whole new ballgame. I have never prayed more in my life and I have entered a new level of surrender in my walk with Jesus. The Forge portrays the struggle of being a Christian mother to a young adult so well. There is also a lot of guidance on what to do when you don’t know what to do in this highly complex season of life.

It is evident that being a Christian parent to a young adult requires:

1. Faith and trust that God has good plans for your child and your family.
2. Surrendering your will and control over the life of your child who has the same free will you have.
3. Lots of prayer and prayer support from those around you.

God Has Good Plans For You And Me

God is the perfect Father, and his plans might not be ours. In The Forge, Cynthia quickly learns that she doesn’t have to parent her son alone and calls on her prayer partners. Cynthia is surrounded by friends and believers who want what is best for her and her son.

Being surrounded by people who pray for and believe in the best for your family is a blessing.

The Forge shows the viewer that to be a good friend, you need to pray for your friends, believe in your friends, and bless your friends with your words. It is so easy to get lost in the pain of this world, your life, and what you don’t have. However, The Forge shows us the value of wanting more for your life.

Growing Up Is Hard To Do If You Don’t Have Someone To Invest In You

In The Forge, we can see how to make time for mentorship despite life’s demands.  Additionally, we see the fruit the investment of time into someone else’s life will bring—not only in the mentee’s life but also in the mentor’s life.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. – John 15:16 (ESV)

As a Christian, your most extraordinary mission is to share the gospel and be fruitful. Every action you take, and word you speak will bear fruit. Understanding the seeds you are planting and the fruit you will bear from them is essential in determining your next steps in life.

In The Forge, Isaiah has difficulty growing up because he does not have a male role model to whom he can look up. However, as the story unfolds, we can see God working in his life and helping him become the man God created him to be. This is not done through one person or one prayer but through many prayers and many people planting seeds in his life that will bear good fruit.

Overcoming Excuses

The Forge is a movie with many lessons told in a two-hour time frame. One of the biggest lessons that stood out to me was to overcome the excuses in your life.

Overcome the excuses that are:

1. Holding you back from serving God with your whole heart.
2. Keeping you in a place that you don’t want to be.
3. Preventing you from finding the relationships that are good for you.
4. Building relationships and authentic community.
5. Investing in and serving other people.

Life is undoubtedly busy and difficult, and there are many obstacles and trials to overcome. But the key is to find the purpose in the journey. The Forge shows us Isaiah’s journey to overcoming his excuses. He makes the effort to get rid of all that is holding him back from God’s best for him.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Everyone who watches The Forge will gain new insight and ideas on living a fruitful life and building an authentic community.

The story was relatable, although there were moments that seemed unrealistic. While I believe in the power of mentorship and the need for discipleship, the viewer needs to keep an open mind on how that may play out in real life. I loved the idea of everyone in The Forge getting a sword; however, I think we can all lower our expectations and realize discipleship can be done in a small group hosted by our church. However, I appreciate the symbolism and the honor the writers of The Forge gave to the beauty of being in an authentic community of believers.

Like most movies, The Forge had drama and action built into every scene, making some of the events unrelatable. However, that does not take away from the fact that discipleship is important and necessary and will help us all become who God created us to be. It is essential to believe in yourself and others. Overall, the story of The Forge encouraged my heart, which will determine the next steps in my faith walk.

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Bhavana in a still from ‘Hunt’
| Photo Credit: @GOODWILLENTERTAINMENTS/YouTube

Shaji Kailas’ brand of cinema has been a favourite for those cine-goers who celebrated the larger-than-life heroes taking centre stage with lengthy, pompous monologues, heavily choreographed action sequences and unwarranted camera angles and shots. But success has been long overdue for the director who has delivered some of the biggest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema.

After a series of misfires at the box office — despite KaduvaandKappa that celebrated alpha male heroes being declared hits — the director is back at the marquee with Hunt, headlined by Bhavana, with whom he is collaborating after the 2005 release, Chinthamani Kolacase.

Shaji has added supernatural horror to his oeuvre with the movie scripted by Nikhil Anand. Bhavana plays Dr Keerthi, a postgraduate student specialising in forensic medicine. A bold and outspoken individual, Keerthi is left with too much on her plate when the corpse of a woman (Aditi Ravi) is recovered from a river stuffed in a concrete-filled bin. Soon she starts feeling someone’s presence around her, forcing her to get involved in finding the identity of the woman and the circumstances that led to her murder.

For a change, the director has gone for a woman protagonist this time and there is enough meat in the initial scenes to keep the audience interested in the narrative, thanks to the pace of the scenes and the build-up to the situations.

Bhavana in a scene from ‘Hunt’
| Photo Credit:
@GOODWILLENTERTAINMENTS/YouTube

But that’s all you get; the script gradually loses grip and the viewers’ interest soon fizzles out. That too despite the introduction of a bevvy of characters and attempts to create an eerie ambience with a thumping soundscape. At no point does the viewer feel invested in the characters or the situations.

Bhavana does her part well, and so do the other actors — Chandunath, Anu Mohan, Suresh Kumar, Nandu, Ajmal Ameer, Rahul Madhav, Dain Davis etc. But there are no major takeaways from the film; be it in terms of scenes or performances. One gets less and less invested as the story progresses. The plot feels underwhelming, especially when the motive behind the woman’s disappearance is revealed.

With the inclusion of elements such as parapsychology, spirit and props to make it a horror thriller, the script could have had so many layers to give us a gripping narrative. That does not happen and even the attempts at creating an exciting climax fall flat. The film might be a one-time watch for those who prefer horror thrillers, but don’t expect it to blow your mind.

Hunt is currently running in theatres

The premise

In Kottukkaali, which is set in a small village near Madurai, we meet Meena (Anna Ben) whose family believes she is ‘possessed’ and is all set to take her to a shaman to drive away the evil spirit. They pack themselves into an auto for the journey and the group led by Meena’s fiancé, her maternal uncle Pandi (Soori), head out on this trip. Meena’s angry family thinks she has been possessed by her lover, who they believe is from a lower caste; this road movie takes us through Meena’s journey.

PS Vinothraj is a master storyteller. who has supreme control over his craft and the characters he presents to us on screen. Meena is someone, who has just one dialogue in the film and her entire story is told through her expressions and emotions. For her, silence is power, and through this she retreats into a world that no one else can break into. She is trapped and the director depicts this using the rooster that thinks it roams free yet it is caught in a trap.

On the other hand, Pandi is a typical, petty yet aggressive, entitled male who epitomises patriarchy and the belief that women are objects that are owned. Caste plays a key role here as well as regressive beliefs that keep women in check. Unfortunately, the women also perpetuate these regressive beliefs because they don’t know any better or anything different. We see how the men think they are all-knowing and can’t get a simple thing done, like deal with the fly, and how the women are smarter by comparison.

The performances

Anna Ben and Soori have lived out their roles in this film and their performances need to be applauded. They are the heart and soul of this film. Soori, who started off as a comedian and proved his mettle with director Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai, has shown once again that he is a highly talented performer, who needs to be given the right role.

Kottukkaali is an experience and not just a film

Visually too, the film is a piece of art as Vinothraj takes us on a beautiful road trip with a family steeped in regressive, patriarchal beliefs from a small village in rural Tamil Nadu. The director’s writing is impeccable, while the shots and cinematography by B Sakthivel and editing by Ganesh Siva is top-notch.

Tamil star Sivakarthikeyan and producer Kalai Arasu must be congratulated for choosing to back this gem by Vinothraj, who has proved that he is an extremely talented director, whose best work is yet to come. Kottukkaali is an experience and not just a film.