Monkey Man
close your eyes and you will find yourself sitting atop a mighty tree. this is your home. you are a beast. look beneath the surface and you will see roots deep under the soil, reaching far and wide. these are the roots of your ancestors, the soul of your mother. listen to her. you have nothing to fear. you've been here for time.
this movie is genuinely one of my favorite watch for this year, if not all time (definitely all time). dev patel was already amazing as an actor, but as an actor AND director ?? thank god his mother carried him for nine months because she blessed us with him on this earth and time period.
the movies tells so, SO much in only two hours. firstly, it's truly so well made and beautiful. it's honestly one of the few movies that handles flashbacks very well (in my option, it's something that I think can be risky in films but it's so so well managed here). the photography is gorgeous, the COLORS omg I loved it. the dialogue were absolutely beautiful, it was lyric and poetic without falling on the trap of pseudo-mysterious-riddles, and so impactful and raw as well. gosh, even the fights scenes were orgasmically satisfying to watch. and please don't even get me started on the soundtrack. the Indian music were so fucking amazing, and even the western choices were perfect (the use of red sex is genius). I also loved the references to western vendetta movies (like john wick, kill bill etc) while implementing some bollywood essence. it's not just western vengeance story that happens to have an Indian aesthetic but actually embodies it completely to almost create a knew step in the genre (the exception perhaps being the use of english that targets it to a western audience, but there's a fair amont out hindi here so it's forgiven).
but this movie truly is wonderful, not just for how well made it is or how it's cinematographic mechanics work, but because the message is just heartbreaking and hearthealing at the same time. I did everything watching this ; cried, laughed, fell in love with dev, enraged with pure hatred for rana and that fuckass guru, and much more. emotionally it's not just engaging; it's raw and honest. dev really did an incredible job here both as an actor and director. I was astonished by how he shows how hatred, pain and vengeance co-exist (if not co-habit) in the same heart and world as beauty, love, friendship. the symbolics are amazing. yes, god is a mother because the creation is love and the beginning of everything is in the worshipping love of a mother for her child and a child for her mother. let me say it again in this movie GOD IS A MOTHER. MOTHER EARTH IS TO BE WORSHIPPED. this whole time the gods we talk about, yes they are tales and tradition and the oldest whisper of earth, but the gods are alive, not because they created us, but because we worship them through the person who brought us into this world with love and pain ; our mothers (and to an extent, our land and our people) (this is my personal take on this movie I might be wrong).
on an other note, there is here a socio-political portrayal here that just gives it SO much depth and realistic anchor. the theme of indian nationalism and how it destroys all minorites (right now!!! it's happening right now!!!) is so important. there's an active propaganda to uplift a polished and "traditional" image of what is India and what Hinduism is supposed to be, and behind the war of monkey man vs rana/guru who killed his mother, there's actually a parallel with a REAL war between Indian nationalist and the people, communities they oppress. and what I find beautiful is that they convey this by uplifting the true beauty of indian culture and Hinduism, especially through the hijras. I could talk for hours how beautiful, profound and human it is to give such an important place in cinema to hijras, to make them sublime, holy, beautiful, funny, heartwarming and give them agency. this line particularly hit me :
beautiful, isn't she ? parvati and shiva. one half devotion, the other destruction. male. female. neither. both. some people find that strange. but we hijras understand it completely.
the lore and hindu culture is beautifully represented here and I'm just in awe about how it's not just an aesthetic choice but a true engagement from dev to give them voices. aarrrrrgggghh I love this so much I will read the bhagavadgita and sadhana and hindu sacred texts.
now. I'm going to hold the mic for a few more seconds. if I say I watched this movie biting the back of my hand... I won't elaborate on what this means but if you know, you know. the ricebag scene was just... FUCK. im NOT joking when I'm saying that when I saw him shirtless (of course he was) and sweating (of fucking course he was this bitch) I was LITERALLY like a monkey in a cage shaking my barrels screaming ouh-ouh-ouh-RAH-RAH-RAH.
also the puppy scene ??? okay guys listen to me. I can't prove it, but I swear... I SWEAR he 100% knew EXACTLY what he was doing feeding that little puppy and saying "good girl" and "you like that". I can't prove it but I KNOW. I'm going to stop here for legal reasons but yeah dev ily.