Greetings again from the darkness. London-based Indian artist Karan Kandhari chooses a misfit couple’s arranged marriage as the basis for his debut feature film. As writer and director, Kahdhari delivers a psychological comedy that goes a bit dark at times, yet the abundance of creativity and a terrific lead performance keep us anxious to see what happens next.
Uma (Radhika Apte) and Gopat (Ashok Pathak) are obvious misfits as spouses as evidenced by their first night as husband and wife. Uma is eager to consummate the marriage, but Gopat either has no interest or is so intimidated by his assertive and forward-acting bride that he prefers to ignore her – other than asking her, “Why can’t you just be normal?” With no sexual activity, and the inability to cook or clean, Uma becomes bored and frustrated, resulting in her proclaiming sarcastically, “I’m a domestic Goddess”. This leads her to take ‘wife’ lessons from her neighbor Sheetal (Chhaya Kadam). It’s here where we learn that husbands will eat any dinner if enough chili and salt is added, and more insightfully, “men are dim.”
Ms. Apte brings a physicality (as well as deadpan mastery) to her terrific performance and her wide eyes convey much of her thoughts, especially as her transformation takes place. She admits, “This is just how God painted my face”, yet as time rolls on, she’s clearly not well physically or emotionally. This causes Gopat to step up, while also allowing filmmaker Kandhari to infuse some stop-motion animation as the level of bizarreness jumps. Cinematography from Sverre Sordal and film editing by Napoleon Stratogiannakis perfectly enhance the oddity, as does the choice of music … including songs by The Stooges, Buddy Holly, Marty Robbins, Howlin’ Wolf, and even The Band’s “The Weight”.
Between the stifling heat and the less-than-elegant accommodations, it’s doubtful Mumbai’s Tourism Bureau appreciates the setting, but for movie lovers, there is significant entertainment value with this one as it exposes the misery of being trapped. Just be careful with that cookie tin.
Opens in NYC May 16, LA May 23, nationwide May 30, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson
Greetings again from the darkness. ‘Keep Austin Weird’. That’s one of the more popular and fitting city slogans in the United States. For five plus decades there has been an ongoing battle of conservationists versus developers … or the little guy against big money. Over those years, the city’s population has quadrupled to around one million. On the surface, it appears big money won … but there have been a few ‘little guy’ victories as well.
Greetings again from the darkness. For most of us, the worst thing that happens at a dinner party is the pork loin is a bit dry or the wine selection is a bit lacking. Among the worst occurrences are the friction and hurt feelings caused by a joke-gone-wrong, or God forbid, someone brings up politics. It’s just such a dinner party that kicks off this film from writer-director Matt Winn and his co-writer and frequent collaborator, James Handel.
Greetings again from the darkness. It’s feasible for a filmmaker to have the best intentions with a project, and for whatever reason, the end result just not be satisfying. This appears to be the case with this latest from Heather Graham, who wrote, directs, and stars in a film meant to inspire us to take control of our own life and stop blaming others for the obstacles or our own poor decisions.
Sometimes a getaway to a Greek isle is meant only to be a good time. Such is the ongoing popularity of the stage production “based on the songs of ABBA”. The Swedish band’s global success was first derived through these songs in the 1970’s. In 1997, British playwright Catherine Johnson wrote the story that led to the smash stage musical (1998), followed up by the blockbuster film in 2008 (starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried). Both the stage production and the film were directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The most recent of many incarnations of the stage musical continues this year with a United States tour, a six-month stint on Broadway (beginning in August 2025), and finally, an international tour.
Greetings again from the darkness. Some folks just kind of float through life feeling ‘not seen’ … even though their inner voice speaks to them incessantly. This describes Clementine/Clem, a Pharmacy Technician who specializes in holding her tongue in most social and family situations. When her beloved dad dies, Clem is forced to cohabitate with her less than warm-hearted stepmom. This is the set-up for the first feature film from writer-director Miv Evans.
Greetings again from the darkness. While I’m unsure whether this qualifies as a tetraology, this oddball and zany film consists of four separate yet interrelated stories with crossover characters. Previous collaborations from the film’s co-writers and co-directors, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, include CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019), the underrated IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY (2010), and SUGAR (2008).
Greetings again from the darkness. When most people think of unicorns, they picture something along the lines of “My Little Pony”, or some other lovable, cuddly animal from a kids’ story. This feature film debut from writer-director Alex Scharfman is definitely not that. In fact, the inspiration from the classic JURASSIC PARK (1993) is quite evident in these unicorns (and one of the main themes). Welcome to a fantasy-comedy-slasher with more than a dash of social commentary.
Greetings again from the darkness. Penguins are darn cute. A penguin that follows you around and chooses to live with you is almost too cute for words. But in this story inspired by true events, that’s exactly what happens. Directed by Peter Cattaneo (THE FULL MONTY, 1998), the film was adapted by screenwriter Jeff Pope (PHILOMENA, 2014) from Tom Michell’s 2015 book.
Greetings again from the darkness. Bob Trevino is the kind of father we all wish we had. He’s the kind of father that would raise kids who would grow into good citizens, resulting in an improved society. Only that Bob Trevino is not Lily Trevino’s dad. Her dad is a raging narcissist, or more accurately, a self-centered jerk. This feature film debut from writer-director Tracie Laymon is ‘inspired’ by her true-life story, albeit with enough elements changed to avoid a lawsuit from her dad. That part doesn’t make for such a warm-fuzzy story, but the film she delivers wraps us in a coat of kindness and niceness and feel-goodness (not really a word, but it fits).