'Barzakh' Movie Review: Theatrical limboland worth a visit

Asim Abbasi’s ‘Barzakh’ is an ode to love, loss, and everything in between. It is haunting, yet mesmerising, and equally puzzling.

The six-episode series follows a dysfunctional family’s ‘spiritual’ journey as they vacillate between grief and hope. However, the journey is hampered by its own excesses and as the show progresses, it becomes arduous to appreciate Abbasi’s vision. Much like his characters, Abbasi leaves viewers in a state of limbo.

Barzakh’s story is set in the Land of Nowhere, a breathtaking valley, where Jafar Khanzada (Salman Shahid), a wealthy patriarch, invites his estranged sons — Shehryar (Fawad Khan) and Saifullah (Fawad M Khan) — to partake in his third wedding. The catch? Jafar has set out to marry his first love Mahtab, who is long dead. While his sons call him out on the absurdity of the situation, it is his caregiver Scheherezade (Sanam Saeed) who shows faith in him. She urges everyone, including the viewers, to have faith in the unknown.

Worth a special mention are the performances of Sanam and Salman — both eloquent and enthralling. The two possess the power to skilfully guide a nonbeliever towards the tumultuous world of faith.

‘Barzakh’, which loosely translates to being in a state of limbo between death and resurrection, evokes the feeling of being stuck in a purgatory. Almost every character in the show is a sinner of varying degrees, and yet incapable of self-reflection. The self-reflection only begins at the Land of Nowhere. The story, characters, cinematography, and every aspect of the show draw heavily from works of literary phenomena — from Gabriel García Márquez to Khalil Gibran. And of course, you’ll find some Shakespeare sprinkled along the way.

The show does a good job of portraying several difficult topics such as toxic masculinity, repressed sexuality, postpartum depression, the burden of parenting and caregiving and the fragile nature of familial bonds. This, put together with the phenomenal acting by the entire cast, would have produced a splendid series, if only Abbasi had stopped and asked himself: How much is too much?

What also holds the series back from reaching its potential are the excessive supernatural elements — the trapped souls with stones on their backs, the red-draped fairies, the all-knowing painter, the girl with serpent skin… the list goes on. Plus, a plethora of metaphors and symbolism. Despite having a strong cast and an engaging plot and narrative, ‘Barzakh’ only hurles riddles at the audience. While this is exciting in the beginning, it gets tiresome as the show progresses.

However, none of this takes away from the fact that ‘Barzakh’ remains one of the most interesting shows to come out of Pakistan in recent times. It explores topics that the country has often stayed away from and brings us a mythical world where there remain no boundaries between love and life. Abbasi’s ambition only leaves one waiting for his next project.

Cut-off box – Barzakh
Hindi (Zee5 Youtube)
Director: Asim Abbasi
Cast: Fawad Khan Sanam Saeed Salman Shahid Khushhal Khan
Rating: 3.5/5