Rating: 
Summary: Malli's final decision not worth all that navel gazing
Review: The film is sure darn nice to look at but it couldn't prevent all the introspection from grating on me after awhile. The film also lacks any hint of subtlety as the plot steamrolls through one complication after another, all designed to give Malli even more to mull over. Perhaps I'm being too harsh. Maybe the film would resonate with me more if I had a brother who had been the victim of a political assasination. But I don't. Or maybe if I could imagine just one benefit of martyrdom. But I can't. About the only thing I did notice, and this was very early on, was that the payoff for all this agonizing introspection will clearly come at the end of the film when we witness Malli's final decision. Although I genuinely wanted to know Malli's ultimate choice, I felt I was forced to wait too long and sit through too much melodrama for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much Face Time
Review: The idea was excellent, some of the scenes were excellent, but too much time is spent on the girl looking at herself. She almost comes across as vain or narcisisstic by the end of the film, and she is too beautiful and soft. She is quite convincing in the military garb and the war scenes, plus the interview scenes are excellent with all the Tamil women vying for the position of honour, but the shower scenes and in her bedroom, would a woman who's been fighting a guerrilla war in the jungles for her whole life really be so soft and unscarred? Simply focusing on her facial expressions does not do enough justice to the inherent drama of her situation. She does act well, and her look is mesmerizing. You see her coldness slowly fading away, and this is what is happening in the film. But I liked her more in the earlier stages. I do like the silence of the film, the quiet, the two "friends" helping her plot the assasination are also good actors, unjudging and unjudgeable. The scenes with the soldier that she saves and loves are the best parts of the movie, but I don't know that I liked the way they would just cut and go to those scences. The scenes are physical and they build, and there could have been an opportunity for an excellent desparate love being built on the screen, which there are glimpses of. It wasn't so creative. The cinematography was great, you really get a picture of Tamil life on the farm, but I think the direction left something to be desired. In all, it's a good film, but somewhat disappointing. Rajiv Gandhi was actually killed when a woman jumped on to the hood of his car and then blew herself up. The story of the woman in the movie is not the same one.
Rating: 
Summary: DESTROY OR CREATE=TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Review: The major attraction of this film for THE MAN WITH THE KINOAPPARAT is the sound design. Any serious sound guys out there, you need to read this book as a text book.The person who picked this particular film up for distribution in the US is an amazingly familiar name to those serious film these people; John Malkovich! Well, I did not expect you to know this but it is the truth! At the initial screening at NUART theatre, the tie and suit guys fled so fast that one could easily gage the ultimate uniqueness of the film just by looking at the speed of these guys! It is a fascinating journey into the shady area where ethics and higher ideals clash/where animal nature and intellect clash, depends on the way you would like to phrase it! Filmmaking, artistry and authenticity at its best! I watched it breathless knowing that it would not get a national theatrical release. It was that good. Don't hesitate, go for it.
Rating:
Summary: DESTROY OR CREATE=TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Review: The major attraction of this film for THE MAN WITH THE KINOAPPARAT is the sound design. Any serious sound guys out there, you need to read this book as a text book. The person who picked this particular film up for distribution in the US is an amazingly familiar name to those serious film these people; John Malkovich! Well, I did not expect you to know this but it is the truth! At the initial screening at NUART theatre, the tie and suit guys fled so fast that one could easily gage the ultimate uniqueness of the film just by looking at the speed of these guys! It is a fascinating journey into the shady area where ethics and higher ideals clash/where animal nature and intellect clash, depends on the way you would like to phrase it! Filmmaking, artistry and authenticity at its best! I watched it breathless knowing that it would not get a national theatrical release. It was that good. Don't hesitate, go for it.
Rating:
Summary: Body Language
Review: The story addresses civil unrest within India, and focuses on a young woman (early twenties) who is chosen as a suicide bomber, and the few days that transpire until the final event. The director chose not to use all of the special effects available in today's technology to present his film. Special effects people aren't needed here. The story is so very powerful that special effects would ruin it. I was impressed with the way that blurred lenses were used to show bloody, torture, scenes, and how off-camera, with sound effects, were used to present scenes of killing or rage. The photography was used to show emotion through body language, and it was superb. I don't how well it did in the American box office, but I know that I found this film to be very thought provoking. I'm glad that I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Poignant
Review: The Terrorist is a great movie and takes on a special context given the times we are going through. The movie is inspired by the assasination of Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE (the strongest Sri Lankan Tamil separatist group). The star character is Malli, a 19 year old girl, who is part of a terrorist/resistance group. While the movie never goes into specifics, you as basically to assume that she is a Sri Lankan Tamil and is a member of the LTTE. She is selected to perform a suicide bombing and goes on a trek to the location where the VIP will be assasinated. Again, the VIP and the location is never specified, but you can assume she is targetting an important global politician and travels to Tamil Nadu. I won't give away the rest of the movie. The director does a magnficent job humanizing Malli, and setting up the context for why someone would do something that we in the West could never envision. After watching the movie, I was left with some key realizations to pipe back into today's headlines. I think you will too. As for the DVD specifics, there are no real special features, just be glad you have subtitles. The sound is all over the map, so sometimes you can understand what people are saying, other times the dialogue is totally drowned out and Tamil speakers will have to use the subtitles. For those like me whose Tamil is not so good, you will find the dialogue pretty simple and minamalist. I was able to follow without the subtitles as long as I could hear the dialogue. I found an interesting website recapping the Rajiv Gandhi assasination after I watched the movie which others might find useful as well: (...)
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and Moving
Review: The Terrorist is an unconventional film, providing a beautiful, quiet, almost meditative look into the mind and heart of a woman rebel about to commit a suicide terrorist act. Almost every week now we can read about similar bombings in the Middle East or elsewhere. Most of us probably read the headlines and recoil in disgust at the violence, while some individuals may perceive the events as courageous acts of freedom fighters. The genius of this movie is that it does not promote either but instead focuses on the interior life of a very real human being. The film is photographed beautifully primarily in lush areas of India. The actors are all unknown and are excellent in their innocent portrayals. The film was supposedly made for the ridiculous amount of $30,000 and thus there are no special effects or grand action sequences -- which I found refreshing. Instead the camera explores the faces and feelings of the characters which are sometimes intense, always interesting. I found the main character fascinating. She is in some ways an inexperienced girl, but in others a courageous adult who has seen much in her life. She is shown to be both a trained rebel/killer and a sensitive woman. I became more and more anxious for her as she approached the day of the assassination and her death. In response to some of the criticisms of the movie: I liked that details surrounding the rebellion were not given as this was not a movie about a particular rebel movement but about the conflict inside a generic rebel who is devoted to her cause but is also growing in appreciation of life. I did not find the main character self-absorbed, but instead growing in awareness of herself and of the world in response to the unique situation she finds herself. Also there are no signs of trouble during the 2nd half of the movie because she has traveled two days away from the source of the uprising to the mainland where the assasination is to take place. It would have interesting to not show the ending of the movie, but leave it up to the viewer to decide if she chose to carry out the terrorist act or not, but I loved the ending that was shown; suspenseful, inspiring but not contrived. In summary, this was a visually wonderful and emotionally absorbing film that I believe will gradually gain much acclaim.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Review: the terrorist is one of the best movies ever to come out of india. the movie is totally unlike the normal indian bollywood movie. part-inspired by the events surrounding the assassination of late prime-minister rajiv gandhi, terrorist takes a look into the minds of an assassin. the movie moves at a steady pace giving us time to understand the protagonist and sympathise with her. this bond is accentuated by ayesha dharkar's terrific acting, she clearly is a unique talent and hopefully the whole world will get to appreciate her in star wars II. santosh sivan who is essentially a cinematographer takes to directing and comes up with a gripping tale. the movie shines with his brilliant work behind the camera as well, capturing every beautiful raindrop & the subtleties in dharkar's expressions. the movie stands out as special, intelligent & warm, among its peers. a truly significant movie a fantastic 10 out of 10
Rating:
Summary: A great film from India
Review: This film does a brilliant job of juxtaposing those who have experienced "nornal" life and all it represents with those whose lives are fanatically devoted to the single purpose of war. The title character, a 19 year old Indian girl, has not known much about life as it is lived by common people. Instead she has dedicated herself to revolution and killing. Yet the scenes of her butchering her enemies play down the violence, as if to show that the focus is more on her own psychology of resisting rather than a typical American focus on the act of violence itself. Eventually, she questions her intense and decidedly narrow focus as the film progresses, and she encounters people who live simple lives--i.e., with family and day-to-day concerns, who know much more than she does about living life for life itself, rather than living only for the purpose of dying at whatever time is appropriate for the eternal fight. Life and death--a great theme for any film--is here handled so skillfully and with such insight that it is a truly gripping experience watching this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The human face of terrorism
Review: This is a starkly sad and beautiful film by the Indian filmmaker Santosh Sivan, in the Tamil language with English subtitles. It was shot in 17 days on locations in Kerala and Madras with a cast made up entirely of nonprofessional actors on a small budget. The theme, however, is large. The lead character, Malli, exquisitely played by Ayesha Dharkar, is a 19-year old woman who lives in a terrorist camp, fighting for her unnamed country. Her eyes are large and her expressions innocent and strong and even though we see her actively participating in an execution, she wins the audience's heart immediately. She is honored by being chosen to become a suicide bomber. A very important person will come to the town, she will put a garland around his neck, and blow him and herself up by pushing a button which will ignite the bombs strapped to her body. But will she really do it? When she leaves the guerilla camp she is led through minefields by a young boy named Lotus. We glimpse the horror of the war through his eyes and his boyish bravery. Then she is taken on a boat to spend a few days with a elderly farmer named Vesu who doesn't suspect her mission. As she dresses for the final event, she is torn with conflict. By subtle complexities in her acting, the audience is drawn in to Malli's dilemma. However, the director sometimes gets a little too arty, with too many close-ups with raindrops on her face. And, in order to show every single emotion, the action of the story moves too slow for my taste. However, the beauty of the film lies not as much in the actual story, but in the director's ability to put a human face on terrorism. The mood is somber, the cinematography beautiful and the emotions of the individuals caught up in the drama are captured well. I recommend this video for serious film buffs only who are willing to incorporate sadness and starkness into their movie-going experience. Others will find it too harsh.
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