Review of Kannathil Muthamittal

Introduction

This is Mani Ratman`s latest film dealing in the themes of war and innocence trapped together. His last trilogy of films; Roja (1991), Bombay (1993) & Dil Se… (1998), which had similar themes, was all about the war problems people faced in north India, with its sub-themes surrounding the topic of both the Hindu and Muslim religion and their differences. But for Kanathil Muthamittal Mani Ratman goes closer to his home to examine what is become more of a bigger problem for Sri Lanka and its people.

Essentially Sri Lanka is divided into two parts. Each has their own culture, historical background & religion; the Singhalese`s and the Tamil`s. Both had their major differences in the past that resulted in the segregation of many Tamil`s from employment, education and government positions. As a result war broke out and the Tamil`s continue their fight against the government.

Mani Ratnam is one of Indian cinema`s top director. If nothing good comes from him then it`s a seriously worrying time for Indian cinema on the whole. While every single one of his films are dubbed or remade in Hindi for the wider Indian market (currently his pervious Tamil film Alay Payuthey is being remade in Hindi as Saathiya), he has chosen this film not to be dubbed or remade for the Hindi audience as the themes and issues dealt with here are quite unconventional from normal Indian cinema.

What he does with this film is he looks at another country`s problem, which is linked with India and its closeness due to its Tamil population. That itself is quite a rarity, as Indian cinema tends to be quite patriotic about "Mother India!" The genius of this film is that it doesn`t really say which side is good and which side is bad. Instead it just throws you into the situation and lets you see what is happening…through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl.

The film has much further context within its screenplay, from the wonderfully scripted five-minute short love story that is shown as a flashback, to the climax war scene that shows young children fighting against a trained army.

The film contains fine performances from the both South and North Indian actors that includes: Madhavan (Alay Pauthey), Simran (Tere Mere Sapne, PKS), Nandita Das (Aks, Fire) & J.D. Chakravarthy (Satya)…indeed a talented bunch. But the finest performance comes from actress P.S. Keerthana as the young child Amudha. It`s a performance that does leave an impression on your mind; from her bratty-child expressions, to her eyes seeing war violence for the first time.

The technical aspects of the film is also very well done, despite this film being shot on a low budget. It stands with even Indian cinema`s most expensive film to date Devdas (2002), and still looks better! The locations are real-like, cinematography is spell bounding and the music from A.R Rahman (of Bombay Dreams fame) is one that is melodious and helps with the narration of the film. I should also point out for the die-hard film buffs out there that this is India`s first ever THX certificated film.

Some have argued that this is Mani Ratnam`s weakest film. I sense that they have only viewed the surface and have not actually dwelled into the deep rims of what it offers through its screenplay and visual display. I would agree that this is not Ratnam`s best work to date, but it is one of the best Indian films from the year 2000/2001.

My verdict on this film is quite obvious from my review, however if you want to experience a top world cinema title or you want to experience a top quality Indian film, then this is one title you view.

Video

The DVD is presented in a director`s approved aspect ratio of 2.20:1 that is anamorphically encoded. The DVD has its ups and downs in terms of the picture quality. While the source used for this disc is good, the way it has been encoded on this disc is quite questionable. At times the picture breaks up with pixilation, despite a high average bit rate. The pixilation is hard to spot on regular television sets but on home cinema systems and projection units it is another story.

The colour saturation, contrast and black details are quite good. I suspect that the original 35mm THX negative was used for this transfer. It`s a shame that the DVD encoding and authoring wasn`t THX supervised as that could have eliminated the pixilation problem on this disc. The disc has no other ill issues about the quality and everything else seems fine.

Audio

The sound is the best aspect of this DVD and I can say it is perhaps the finest Indian DVD with a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, or at least certainly reference quality. Given that the film was shown on cinema in DTS, I was glad to hear no difference in the sound heard on cinema, and on this DVD. I feel that the original mix master tape was used for this disc, hence the excellent quality.

It`s all you expect from Rahman and his team of India`s best sound engineers, great expansive 360-degree soundfield filling your room with the atmosphere of whatever you see on your screen.

Features

The English subtitles are good, and even goes as far as to subtitle the start credits and texts seen during the film. The DVD has nice motion menus, and packaging and has a thematic feel to the overall product. No other supplements are to be found on this disc, as with most Mani Ratnam films on DVD.

Conclusion

The DVD is one worth purchasing despite having minor problems with its picture compression as with most Indian DVD`s on the market. The DVD on the other hand offers a great film, from a well-defined negative source, and an excellent 5.1 soundtrack.