Barbaro e spietato nel contenuto, affascinante nella forma, Saani Kaayidham è una stella cometa che illumina il vituperato sottogenere rape/revenge movie. Pur seguendone religiosamente la struttura, pur rischiando di sconfinare nello splatter e nel torture porn, SK colpisce per la decisa artisticità e per il valore delle interpretazioni.
L'arte impregna inquietanti sequenze oniriche e inquadrature incastonate come quadri su una parete, inquadrature che restringono la realtà e catturano l'occhio. Frammenti in bianco e nero connotano lo struggimento del ricordo, la dolcezza ingannevole del miraggio. Le riprese in notturna sono magnetiche, lavano via la luce scabra del giorno, ammorbidiscono l'orrore.
Keerthy Suresh, totalmente conquistata dal suo personaggio, è eroica. Keerthy si produce in un ricco ventaglio di espressioni e trasformazioni. Dialoghi sussurrati e battute espulse come proiettili, sguardi acuminati, gesti che squarciano lo schermo e si incuneano nella carne. Mi ci vorrà del tempo per dimenticare la sua interpretazione. Considerando la natura cruenta del film, difficile che l'attrice si aggiudichi un National Award (e già m'indigno). Selvaraghavan è sgualcito e sottotono, spontaneo e credibile. Il suo Sangayya si confonde con lo scenario e sembra chieder scusa di esistere. È privo di compiacimento, imperturbabile, si comporta come chi ha un compito da assolvere, in assoluta, serena neutralità. Tutto il cast è di primissimo ordine.
SK è un angoscioso, brutale bagno di sangue. Gli effetti speciali non sono all'altezza della qualità tecnica della pellicola, ma per fortuna non la pregiudicano. La regia è originale, sofisticata, con i denti caparbiamente conficcati in ciascun fotogramma. La sceneggiatura, ben segmentata, di un femminismo implacabile, va oltre l'aspetto truculento ed esplora le feroci dinamiche che governano la discriminazione castale. I personaggi, disumani e crudeli, si muovono in un abisso tossico, maschilista. La forza femminile è dirompente, inesorabile, uno tsunami punitivo di sadico sterminio.
TRAMA
Un uomo di bassa casta commette l'imperdonabile errore di occuparsi di politica. L'episodio innesca una catena di atrocità. Ponni, la moglie, agente di polizia, viene attirata con l'inganno, picchiata e ripetutamente stuprata. [Spoiler] L'uomo e la figlioletta vengono bruciati vivi. I colleghi di Ponni sono collusi. Fallita la giustizia, resta solo la vendetta. Con l'aiuto del fratellastro Sangayya, vittima di un crimine analogo, Ponni si vota al massacro con furia cieca.
ASSOLUTAMENTE DA NON PERDERE
* Il breve, toccante monologo di Ponni nel secondo segmento (Ponni, the curse, and society). Ti strappa il cuore per ridurlo in poltiglia. Keerthy Suresh è immensa.
* Ma cos'è, nel finale, quel delizioso vecchio film di fantascienza, in bianco e nero, con tanto di tutine argentate e dischi volanti??
RECENSIONI
The Hindu:
'There is a rare pessimistic look that Arun Matheswaran brings about in his films through the use of monochrome visuals as a means to convey despair and suffering. Arun uses this black and white cinematography only at intervals, especially for the characters’ flashbacks. (...) The pessimism in Arun’s films comes from powerlessness. The monochrome, in other words, is intended to convey the stillness of the characters and the absence of colour in their lives. This, of course, can be attributed to the narrative choice with a very specific purpose: to tease us with a flashback. But the backstory never becomes the forefront, it is only a reminder. There are at least two absolutely stunning shots in the flashback that do remind you of Bergman - just in terms of its choreography. First is an extreme long shot of a deserted hut and a boy who looks deserted. Second, also an extreme long shot, of a (deserted?) mother and her daughter in focus, while the boy becomes a shadow figure in the background. (...) Cinematographer Yamini Yagnamurthy does a fantastic job; her work is very formal. She opens with a wide, a mid and a close-up shot. This sort of a composition is what you would find in classic films. Yamini is especially terrific when it comes to filming scenes of sexual violation, but more about that later. Arun Matheswaran is a fascinating talent, no doubt. He looks at cinema not just as a means of telling stories but epics. Hence, he is not satisfied with making films, but epics. (...) The politics in Saani Kaayidham is direct and closer to reality with caste-based violence. (...) If you take revenge as a genre, most filmmakers would look at it from the prism of cause and effect. And hence, they would be content with having three big moments in the narrative. Or maybe four. But in Arun’s films, these big moments are what they are about. These big moments aren’t exactly “big” in the conventional sense. (...) These are big in thoughts, choices and the scale with which frames are painted with blood. In other words, Arun Matheswaran’s films don’t build up to violence. They are designed to begin and end in violence, even at the conceptual level. This rare conviction that Arun possesses is what makes him a committed filmmaker. That commitment is even rarer to find these days, when films are increasingly becoming corporate-controlled and filmmakers needlessly pandering to the tastes of the market. Having said that, this writer definitely feels Arun needs to put the practice of his stylised violence to better use. He needs to direct his violence towards the audience and not be content with exploiting it for “shock” value. He needs to direct his violence towards making standout sequences. (...) The brutal sexual assault (...) is very, very disturbing and chilling. Yet, the sequence eschews the usual sensationalism. (...) Props to Arun and Yamini for filming the assault with minimum details. The sequence, yes, is cruel. But Arun is careful not to exploit the assault, unlike our commercial filmmakers. At the same time, Arun is equally careful when it comes to writing the bad guys. They are not bad because of what they do, but how they think. (...) But this is to not say that Saani Kaayidham is entirely brilliant. (...) Yes, violence is graphic, but it is not real. (...) This happens because violence is stylised. Sometimes the film does make you feel it was conceived for these “big” moments and not the other way round. (...) Keerthy Suresh’s eyes never looked more powerful. Selvaraghavan, on the other hand, is a great choice'.
Srivatsan S., 06.05.22
Galatta:
'Arun [Matheswaran] has a wonderful eye for composition, (...) he likes to hold his shots for a long time, without quick cuts, (...) he makes superb use of locations, (...) he loves frames within frames, and (...) he really gives super-precise instructions to the composer. Sam C.S.'s work is easily the highlight of the film. (...) These sounds do a lot to give the film the emotional undercurrents that are not there in the writing. (...) The main attraction of the film is the cast. Stripped of makeup, Keerthy Suresh dives into a difficult role. There are still some "mainstream" touches in her performance, but overall, she's quite effective. And Selvaraghavan is wonderful. He is almost like a child. He wears half-pants and seems more comfortable around children. But when hell breaks loose, he becomes a demon. The transition is remarkable. (...) Arun seems to be a better director than writer, and his characters feel one-dimensional. There are no shades. The arty black-and-white flashbacks (...) aren't enough. But a bigger problem (...) is the lack of a strong antagonist. (...) The killings happen almost too easily, and at no point do we feel the dangers in the path Keerthy Suresh and Selvaraghavan set out on. The mission feels like ticking items off a to-do list, and this lack of variation in scenarios becomes numbing after a point. The basic narrative about two people - the leads - coming together through a horrific set of crimes is certainly interesting. At first, they barely interact. By the end, they forge a bond. (Hence the more conventional, sentimental music.) Another interesting thread is that of the oppressed caste as all-out avengers. (...) But all of this would have come through better with stronger writing, both in terms of characters and situations. The film is filled with touches. (...) But what's missing is the primal emotion of rage. We don't feel what the characters feel. They stay at a distance, and so does the film'.
Baradwaj Rangan
Cinema Hindi: **** perché ci vuole audacia e visione tragica per affrontare un rape/revenge movie con tanta convinzione e senso artistico.
Punto di forza: la desolazione come forma d'arte, Keerthy Suresh (*****), Selvaraghavan (****), il cast, la regia, la fotografia in stato di grazia, i dialoghi affilati, il montaggio.
Punto debole: gli effetti speciali.
SCHEDA DEL FILM
Cast:
* Keerthy Suresh - Ponni
* Selvaraghavan - Sangayya
Sceneggiatura e regia: Arun Matheswaran
Colonna sonora: Sam C.S.
Fotografia: Yamini Yagnamurthy
Montaggio: Nagooran Ramachandran
Lingua: tamil
Traduzione del titolo: pulp paper, low-quality paper.
Anno: 2022
CURIOSITÀ
* SK fa parte di una trilogia sulla vendetta. Il primo capitolo, Rocky, distribuito il 23 dicembre 2021, è stato accolto con clamore dalla critica (trailer). Nulla è trapelato sul terzo capitolo. Il prossimo lavoro di Matheswaran è Captain Miller, un film d'azione ad alto budget ambientato negli anni trenta del secolo scorso, interpretato da Dhanush.
* Keerthy Suresh ha vinto il National Award come miglior attrice protagonista per Mahanati (telugu).
* Selvaraghavan è un regista. Nel 2022 debutta come attore in Beast, ma in un ruolo di supporto. Dhanush è suo fratello.
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