The Terrorist
She's A Natural Born Killer
Inspired by the events surrounding the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi, The Terrorist focuses on the making of a suicide bomber marching toward the end of her life.
Malli (Ayesha Dharkar) has spent most of her nineteen years in revolutionary training. A hardened killer, she interviews for and wins the coveted bomber position. However, the path to the VIP's assassination allows her to examine her own emotions for the first time. Those she meets along the way affect her in ways she never thought possible. In meditation she reflects on a moment of true love that places her in a psychological divide as she contemplates her future.
Member Reviews
Cinematic prosaism - shikasta
The Terrorist (India, 1999, dir: Santosh Sivan, Tamil w/ English subtitles)
** (out of five)
Let me start off by saying that this movie does have some redeeming features - if you can manage to sit through what seems like an eternity of platitudinous montage and utterly monotonous scoring.
The good news is that Ayesha Dharker is superb as the 19-year-old Malli, a terrorist selected to assassinate an undisclosed "VIP" in her people's fight for independence. Malli's parents were killed by agents of the unamed state when she was merely a child, her brother is likewise a martyred hero and she has herself become a fierce militant in their struggle for independence. The Terrorist also takes on an interesting premise in examining the internal unfolding of a female suicide bomber's motivation. It is not nearly as commendable in its treatment of the accompanying moral issues.
Although there is no overt discussion of politics in the film, the story is said to be based on the suicide bombing by an associate of the Tamil Tigers which killed former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi in 1991. Nevertheless, The Terrorist does occassionally play like Tamil propaganda. The state savagely suppresses Malli's people and neither her cause nor her actions are ever interrogated. She is held to be beyond reproach and even her final decision whether or not to carry out the mission is taken from a purely self-interested perspective.
To be fair, The Terrorist makes no pretense of being an objective evaluation of political motives or mores. Regardless, when judged exclusively on cinematic criteria, it fails to merit a positive recommendation.Overrated in my opinion - toad
I've been cruising the foreign film section of my local video store recently, primarily because I've seen just about everything that Hollywood has to offer and I just can't bring myself to rent "The Stepford Wives" or "Timeline".
Then I see the words "John Malcovich Presents" above the title of this film. I like John. He's a bit quirky but overall I consider myself a fan of his. If John says this movie is good then dammit all I'm willing to risk my 5 bucks and see what's going in India.
It's low budget but I actually found myself mezmerized by the cinematography. That's your first warning sign. Anytime I start discussing the aesthetics of the film and not the story then it's strolling down the "artsy and boring" path. Granted it IS beautiful but it's so sloooooow. This is about a woman who chooses to be a sucide bomber. How can this be boring?!! You'd have to practically TRY to make this dull wouldn't you? I mean, how gripping a concept can you have? There's the back story about what drives this beautiful woman to want to end her life, and when she moves in to live with an unsuspecting older man, there's the risk that she'll be discovered. Sounds like a winner to me.
Unfortunately the movie just never gets going. It spends too much time gazing at the tropical rain as it hangs on the swaying grass (like that pretentious Hollywood film "The Thin Red Line").
John.... you let me down.beautiful - fennel
Slow, graceful, rich, scathing, deeply moving. I love this film. An appropriately ponderous meditation on the experiences of a young woman in an extremist revolutionary group in India. Unique narrative, and beautiful imagery which is given ample time to breathe, thank God. Inspiringly crafted. I will always remember the scenes by the river.
Member Reviews
Read All...
Cinematic prosaism - shikasta
The Terrorist (India, 1999, dir: Santosh Sivan, Tamil w/ English subtitles)
** (out of five)
Let me start off by saying that this movie does have some redeeming features - if you can manage to sit through what seems like an eternity of platitudinous ...Overrated in my opinion - toad
I've been cruising the foreign film section of my local video store recently, primarily because I've seen just about everything that Hollywood has to offer and I just can't bring myself to rent "The Stepford Wives" or "Timeline".
Then I see the words ...beautiful - fennel
Slow, graceful, rich, scathing, deeply moving. I love this film. An appropriately ponderous meditation on the experiences of a young woman in an extremist revolutionary group in India. Unique narrative, and beautiful imagery which is given ample time to breathe, ...