{"id":169,"date":"2021-05-26T16:02:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T20:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/?p=169"},"modified":"2021-05-26T16:03:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T20:03:00","slug":"the-films-of-lijo-jose-pellissary-an-overview-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallyfilmi.toutes-directions.com\/totallyfilmi-wp\/2021\/05\/26\/the-films-of-lijo-jose-pellissary-an-overview-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Films of Lijo Jose Pellissary: an Overview (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post first appeared on Totally Filmi on September 4, 2019.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans of director Lijo Jose Pellissery (LJP) were delighted to finally see one of his films turn up at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) \u2013 and a recent article in the Toronto Star<\/a> devoted to \u201cbuzz picks\u201d for this year\u2019s festival revealed that Pellissery\u2019s film, Jallikattu<\/strong>, was one of only three films (out of forty total) to earn three votes from the twenty-seven panelists asked to give their choices of what to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long-time fans of Malayalam cinema are no stranger to LJP\u2019s films, though he certainly has garnered more acclaim outside his home state of Kerala with more recent films such as Angamaly Diaries<\/strong> and Ee.Ma.Yau.<\/strong>  But what is it about his films that make them such compelling viewing, and have assured their place in the critical landscape?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always meant to write about LJP\u2019s films \u2013 I\u2019ve been a fan since the beginning, and have been delighted to see his films spread to wider audiences \u2013 but I\u2019ve also felt a little bit daunted at that task.  LJP\u2019s films are rich and complex and interesting.  Even when he misses the mark (and he has), there\u2019s still something compelling about what he\u2019s tried to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here\u2019s a bit of an attempt to just briefly examine LJP\u2019s filmography, give a little bit of insight, and maybe whet the interest for those folks looking for an interesting film experience at TIFF 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Game<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Game<\/strong> was one of two short films LJP made prior to making his feature film debut.  It\u2019s a four-minute short featuring a group of children.  There\u2019s one boy on a bicycle facing off against a group of boys, also on bicycles.  The boy turns and rides away, and the chase by the other boys begins.  The film is most remarkable, I think, because it shows us several things that will become staples of the director\u2019s work.  First, the use of cameral work and camera angles to add to the impact of what\u2019s happening on screen.  Second, the way sound and background score are used \u2013 again, to create an impact, which means that the silences are just as important as the sound.  Third, the setting:  there is no doubt that the film is set in Kerala, as the boys race past a church with architecture so distinctive to Kerala\u2019s Christian churches.  And, finally, the use of the absurd\/humour to diffuse a potentially violent situation.  We see at the end of the film that the boy has assumed he\u2019s being chased so they can hurt him \u2013 he even gets off his bike and raises his fist as if to prepare for a fight.  But the boys are there merely to give him a card and some flowers \u2013 for his birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nayakan (2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LJP\u2019s first feature film was Nayakan<\/strong> (\u201cHero\u201d), about Varadan (Indrajith, who would act in LJP\u2019s first four films), the son of a Kathakali master, who joins the underworld in order to avenge the death of his father and his sister at the hands of Shankar Das (Siddique) evil magician and underworld don.  The fact that I can actually write a phrase like \u201cevil magician and underworld don\u201d in all seriousness is also something that will become a hallmark of LJP\u2019s films:  things that seem totally disparate and non-sensical somehow seem to make perfect sense in the context of the story he\u2019s trying to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nayakan_Final_Makeup\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But Nayakan<\/strong> is also interesting because it sets up yet another thing that is important in LJP\u2019s films:  he uses the framework of a Kathakali performance to structure his film.  LJP will *always* draw on important features of Malayalam culture as part of his films, one of the ways in which he firmly roots his films in their Kerala setting.  In Nayakan<\/strong>, inter-title cards are inserted at various intervals in order to alert us to the parts of the Kathakali performance referenced in the film, from Purappadu right at the beginning (to signal the beginning or preparation for what is to come), through Thodayam (a rite to please the gods), to Kalasam, the actual and most expressive part of a performance, corresponding to the part of the film where Varadan puts his revenge plot fully into action.  The ending is magnificent, with Varadan adopting red and black face make-up suggesting the Navasara \u201croudram\u201d or wrath (Navarasas are the traditional nine ways of expressing emotion in Indian classical dance) as he finally exacts his revenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

City of God (2011)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"City<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For his second feature, LJP turned to a hyperlink or non-linear style in order to tell the stories of several people whose paths will cross and re-cross throughout the film.  Writers are usually careful to mention that the film has nothing to do with the Brazilian film with the same title \u2013 I like to think that this was LJP way of playing on the fact that the state of Kerala is often referred to as \u201cGod\u2019s Own Country\u201d, so setting the film in its capital city, Kochi, would seem to lend itself to seeing that city as the city of God in God\u2019s country.  The film follows Tamil migrant workers (one of whom is again played by Indrajith, another by house fave Parvathy), the local land mafia (one of the enforcers is played by Indrajith\u2019s brother, Prithviraj, who would also star with him in LJP\u2019s Double Barrel<\/strong>), the widow of a real estate businessman (Shweta Menon), a Mollywood starlet (Rima Kallingal).  There are two things that are generally referenced when people talk about this film:  the first, that LJP was at the forefront of the New Generation film movement in Kerala with this film; the second, that the film was a massive flop (apparently pulled from cinemas within a week of opening).  As for the former, I\u2019ve got lots of thoughts about the roots of Malayalam New Gen cinema, but this isn\u2019t the place for them.  As for the latter, it truly stumps me why the film was well-received critically, but made no impact at the box office.  Yes, the hyperlink style requires more attention on the part of the viewer, but Malayalam cinema had already seen one film that utilized that format in 2011, Rajesh Pillai\u2019s popular film Traffic<\/strong>.  But City of God<\/strong> is full-on LJP, from a vast cast of characters, stories that are compelling and draw on important themes and Kerala culture, often using humour or a sense of the absurd.  Once again, Prashant Pillai (who has been the music director for all of LJP’s films) created a score and songs that were used rather creatively:  the songs are used more organically in the film, playing from radios or as part of a wedding celebration.  Perhaps my favourite moment is when Marathakam (Parvathy) arrives at Swarnavel (Indrajith)’s room, in the rain, after her short-lived and odd marriage to another man has been interrupted by his arrest.  Because of the storm, the power is out.  The two of them fight, and then the fight turns to romance as the power suddenly comes on and the radio plays a song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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