Barefoot To Goa

A mother sends her son a letter, hinting at her impending treatment for lung cancer. The reality of this is unknown because his wife hides the letter. When their two children find the hidden letter, it is as if they have been given a chance to save the grandmother they are not able to see. So a journey is undertaken, under which much will be discovered and lost.

This film has been noted as a parable on the moribund human bonds in a fast-paced world. What I would describe is what I saw, a film that was at once tender and heart warming and deeply truthful. This is a film that wants not to explore the life of the family but also be smaller turns, the life of modern India. The reality of modern India is not as many illustrate it to be, many that is from the country and many more from outside. Having been to this country and it taken to my heart, I found often the world of say Mumbai was treated as an illustrative tool, often constructed to juxtapose the past and the modernity. What was really revealed was the film maker on the defensive. Scared of the extend to which truth can be refreshing and also embracing. It seemed that in the 50s and 60s, Indian cinema engaged with these truths. Then the behemoth of Bollywood came into being and all was altered, truths were replaced by mixtures of saccharine and spice. Parallel cinema helped challenged this but lost its vim and fizzled out. Now gone is the world of Ray, his majesty having opened a door and then closed on the real.

So now we have Mochhale work. It has flashes of Kaul and Ray in some of its measure, framing and tone. Truth is in its DNA and has started to open the door again on to a world that has moved somewhere far. A new realm of modernity and futility. The world crafted around the cast is excelled by his skilled hand and dynamic use of color. White for the city space and a rich palette for the country. So what is revealed in this film is Mochhale is an artist, with shot compositions that are superb. But wait there is more, he also crafts great performances from two younger actors, framing them in close and mid shots to exploit and explore these. His script has economy, soft but intense as it lays the story out. Here is the life of the town and the city which for the most part are direct opposites to each other. Both are treated at a distance enough to keep actor as focus but also to keep the space as meta, a meditation of its relation to us.Contrast is key here and given that one is at a rush to erase or sedate the other, we see how the traditional wife is also a metaphor for much more.

So why has such a film not been given a wider release and explored by film fans in the west? Well in truth it is that it is crowd funded and this has meant business hasn't been interested ( the film ones you really want to notice you.) It is a touching piece, so some run from that. It is strongly Humanist and does transcend age and culture. I will also add its a film that embraces the truth that India has changed and plays on the conflict of town vs city, also ticks against it from big studios. The money for them is hard to make from such a venture and they stay clear. What I would hope is that some reader of this magazine gives us a call and says we want to help, then make it possible for more people to see a film that isn't visceral claptrap and is humanism great champion.