MIFF Day 15
A detective story with no resolution and a crime thriller with no clue.
THE BENGALI DETECTIVE
Rajesh Ji is a fascinating guy. He runs a private detective firm in Kolkata (Calcutta) specialising mainly in brand protection, but also covering affairs and murders. And in this hugely entertaining documentary, we get to see all three types of investigation. Rajesh is also a huge dance nut, and enters his entire detective team into a television dance competition, so in between investigations they turn up to the dance studio to practice with their choreographer. This really is a one of a kind story, and it doesn't flinch from showing the state of crime in Bengal. The police are disinterested in pursuing the murder case they're covering, so that runs into a dead end. The wife has her suspicions confirmed and is left trying to decide what to do about a broken marriage. And the brand protection is possibly the saddest of all. Rajesh is quite candid about the fact that carrying out raids on people selling counterfeit goods doesn't do anything except hurt the poor, the people selling the goods. But he's stuck in the middle, with no way out besides going out of business. It's a broadly comic story peppered with sad moments and genuine tragedies, and it's really worth a look.
KILL LIST
Umm, yeah. In short, first half is a bit dull, second half is just weird. It begins as a domestic drama about a former soldier (or mercenary, it's never made clear) whose marriage is falling apart as he hasn't worked in eight months and the bills are piling up. Then his mate shows up with a job offer, assassinate a bunch of people. He takes the job with his wife's blessing, and off they go killing what turns out to be a paedophile ring. But there's something weird about the whole thing, they were chosen for the job for a reason, and then a bunch of satanists get thrown into the mix and it turns into a weirdarse horror flick that clearly wants to be a modern version of The Wicker Man. I can't say it's a good film, because it really isn't, but I didn't hate it. I'm just nonplussed by the whole experience. It's a nothing story that's sort of entertaining most of the time, but it never feels like anyone has a clue what they're doing. Mystery can work if it intrigues, but when it's as bloody-minded and pointless as this, it smacks more of ineptitude.
THE BENGALI DETECTIVE
Rajesh Ji is a fascinating guy. He runs a private detective firm in Kolkata (Calcutta) specialising mainly in brand protection, but also covering affairs and murders. And in this hugely entertaining documentary, we get to see all three types of investigation. Rajesh is also a huge dance nut, and enters his entire detective team into a television dance competition, so in between investigations they turn up to the dance studio to practice with their choreographer. This really is a one of a kind story, and it doesn't flinch from showing the state of crime in Bengal. The police are disinterested in pursuing the murder case they're covering, so that runs into a dead end. The wife has her suspicions confirmed and is left trying to decide what to do about a broken marriage. And the brand protection is possibly the saddest of all. Rajesh is quite candid about the fact that carrying out raids on people selling counterfeit goods doesn't do anything except hurt the poor, the people selling the goods. But he's stuck in the middle, with no way out besides going out of business. It's a broadly comic story peppered with sad moments and genuine tragedies, and it's really worth a look.
KILL LIST
Umm, yeah. In short, first half is a bit dull, second half is just weird. It begins as a domestic drama about a former soldier (or mercenary, it's never made clear) whose marriage is falling apart as he hasn't worked in eight months and the bills are piling up. Then his mate shows up with a job offer, assassinate a bunch of people. He takes the job with his wife's blessing, and off they go killing what turns out to be a paedophile ring. But there's something weird about the whole thing, they were chosen for the job for a reason, and then a bunch of satanists get thrown into the mix and it turns into a weirdarse horror flick that clearly wants to be a modern version of The Wicker Man. I can't say it's a good film, because it really isn't, but I didn't hate it. I'm just nonplussed by the whole experience. It's a nothing story that's sort of entertaining most of the time, but it never feels like anyone has a clue what they're doing. Mystery can work if it intrigues, but when it's as bloody-minded and pointless as this, it smacks more of ineptitude.
posted by Andrew Lee at 11:14 PM
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