Noob Film Review - METRO MAALAI by Haran Kaveri and Shobaan

The loneliness of a person dedicated himself to art. He lives in poverty in the middle of the metropolis Kuala Lumpur, ditched by his gf for his failure to fullfil the social demands of the marriage institution.

Nitrhya (pardon the spelling) a city housewife has all of those social demands of marriage with a career husband, yet void inside.

At a brink of suicide and loneliness, both looked up to same the full moon. A sign of the divine intervention. Yet in the end of the film it is our very own choices that make the difference. The sign has been given by the one above and from the story of old.

I have missed the correct spelling of Nitrhya which in the film refer to a old Hinduism love story? And the main protagonist is ‘an anonymous man’ (have not realised it till the end!) The connection and relationship between the two might be a mirror of the old love story, where ones should look deep inside and not just the materialism to sync ourselves with fate and beyond.

The machineries of the city takes and and seldom or never returns. The dehumanization of the anonymous man reduced to pawns living in a grilled cages of a flat. Pretentious politics comes first and his talents in art n music is just for the streets.

Yet the two from different sides of the society meets because they vibrates in harmony. But just for so long...

Her husband might’ve caught the Gudang Garam smell on his wife anyways...so off to Berlin.

Beautiful cinematography. At one point the main cast were walking slowly forward while the rest was in reverse timelapse. Unforgetable frame of the waterfall, and the tree at the end. The drone shot looking straight down while moving up from the void of the flat showing the dirt and mess where Capitalism feeds on.

A very long take of a riverside walk with dialogue is very well done. They might have shared the same reality with Anton from Shadowplay in Masjid Jamek at one point perhaps. Both looking for answers.

One of highlight in Malaysian cinema for me in 2019.

Thanks for dropping by!
#teammalaysia
@teammalaysia