First of all I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Abinandhan Ramanujam for such a great cinematography. Amen as it claims itself, is a divine comedy, directed by Lijo Jose Pallissery. The primary objective of the films which comes under this art-movement called "magical realism" is to create an illusion to the viewer despite the existence of some supernatural being or something bizarre to be blended with. Spontaneously the user would hesitate to think that the visual clusters are purely hypothetical. In spite of fabricating the VIRTUAL REALITY to end-user, the director could emphasize the same chunk of conditions in the story-plot as well as makeup aspects. It could extrapolate an extraordinary time-period of Kerala that I guessed it might be around 1980's.Even though the script was dull at the beginning, audience forgot to notice it because of the consistent sitcom. Regarding the essence of comedy throughout this movie, is inherently related to the culture of Kerala especially the middle-aged Christian culture. So I presume, even if some non-native people of Kerala try to see it with subtitles it's not going to hit at the comical point that's supposed to be. Apparently audience adopted the situation comedies as in dialog as well as in trace movements of camera like zooming and panning which was captured with a mediocre high definition camera and was often shown it in extremely slow motion. I've seen a lot of internet-memes of this movie in social media networking sites so far. Peculiar twist at the climax was another highlight.Twist No.1 : Although some of the audience could predict what was going to happen after the instrumental extravaganza, a significant part of audience remained stunned especially when the remarkable character(Kalabhavan Mani) eventually died keeping the statue of the Saint beside him. Yes! Have you noticed the silence a few seconds after the instrumental climax? It's rather picturesque and bizarre chunk of clip at the same time. It was good way of representing as the breeze of calm air to the countryside up next. Twist No.2 The metaphor of God as a representative of the new Bishop to be in charged. When the foreign girl realized whether it was a dream or illusion, I literally felt an experience resembling to Deja Vu at the denouement part especially when the new Bishop was rendering in front of the local store at the bay of the lake that has already been shown before at the arrival of the same Bishop.Evidently the movie "Amen" is subjecting magical realism into theistic objectives, Optimistically it's been blended smoothly with the mesmerizing sitcoms. Music was innovative, the first song uses minimal instruments while the ending is embellished with a lot of instruments. I'd say music would be a mediocre attempt. Now I'm more anticipated and looking forward to watch phenomenal extravaganzas like this in Malayalam as well as Indian movies. In short I'm absolutely convinced by what a new generation film looks like. NEW GENERATION film is not just an blurred imitation of modern life in hallucinations of drugs or sexual euphoria as a dignity or an extraordinary love story of an ordinary nerd.PS: The peculiar cinematographic style reflected in this film was adopted from a french movie "Amelie(2001)". So is style of narration. Having said that assertion I might have watched it for 5 times. Obviously I have to emphasize that Amen can be recommended as a typical example of a NEW GENERATION movie. Once again thanks to the entire team of Amen in this regard.
... View MoreThe movie is made to good entertainment package for all age group. Its a movie which has moved away from conventional way of making Malayalam movies in recent times. The plot revolves around the lives of few people around an ancient Syrian Church in a Kuttanadan village called Kumarangeri. Solomon (Fahadh Faasil) is in love with Shoshanna (Swati Reddy) who is the daughter of a wealthy contractor. All the characters have played well and story moves logically well except one scene where the character eats liquor glass. Movie is packed with good humor, romance and a very good climax.The movie moves slowly but suits the story line. Whole story revolves around musical folk band which is struggling for its survival in parallel with a love story which is also struggling to survive. It also depicts the politics of church priests and trusties.Songs are good with a different style. Choreography of the movie is well appreciated. Fahadh Faasil had done with the character with Mani as per the expectation .A Malayalam movie fan of Old days will not be disappointed with Amen,
... View MoreIt is actually a divine drama which has ounces of good humor, great music & melodrama. It talks about a small town which is running under a tension of church-renovation. All the corruption & illegality involved is related to the band contests and a love story.The direction & camera work is fabulous. It reminded me of Qeuntin Tarantino. Lijo Pallissery is a stalwart with the camera. SFX is terrific, while the screenplay is amazing. Slow-mo scenes, spur-of-the- moment impulses and impromptu music performances blew my mind out. Performance by Fahadh Faasil, Swati Reddy & Indrajtih is scintillating. Supporting cast is energetic.The plot goes flip-flop throughout the movie but as it reaches climax, Amen will prove to be gob-smacking. The level of details is good, locations are exotic, and angles are best. They just increase the inquisitiveness. Only the story seemed a bit low, otherwise Amen has ample stuffs to make you go gaga over it. Elements juxtaposed in a running time of 150 minutes is a let-down, but you should feel every bit of it in order to enjoy the play. It starts off with comedy and ends with you experiencing goosebumps.BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended. It gives something new. Powerful & rare execution. A gem of Malayalam cinema. One of the best climaxes ever.Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YESProfanity: Mild | Sex/Foreplay/Nudity: No | Violence: Strong | Gore: Very Mild | Smoking: No | Alcohol: Critical
... View MoreTaken in a previously unseen manner, Amen promises what it gives by the title, a pure divine comedy. The story has all what is needed in optimum level, along-with an excellent performance by an ensemble cast. The technical brilliance in camera and every other aspect of the film are to be noted. Director Lijo Jose, who had already shown his class with the critically acclaimed movies "Nayakan" and "City of God" proves he is a man to look out for in the future. Fahadh Faasil, Indrajith, Swati Reddy did their roles with full commitment, and so did the film's entire crew. The audience will surely be surprised at the film's way of making, and undoubtedly, the climax was one of the best in Malayalam cinema!
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