Movie review – "Road, Movie" is a young man’s journey from indifference to enlightenment

“Road, Movie” is the journey of a young man who travels from indifference to compassion, from confusion to purpose, arguing that there is more to life than money and materialism.

The film starts when Vishnu (Abhay Deol) is encouraged by his father to join his hair oil business as a salesman. The hugged young man wants no part of this boring job and instead volunteers to drive a 1942 Chevy pickup truck to a faraway city. Along the way, he reluctantly picks up a young drifter (Mohammed Faizal) who is on the run hoping to find work in a big city. Before long, the old truck breaks down and the boy disappears, then returns hours later with a wise old man (Satish Kaushik) who barters to fix the truck in exchange for taking it to an elusive desert fair.

Vishnu resents his two passengers, however in order to deliver the truck, they become a necessity. He is later arrested by the desert police for not having his papers in order. It is more a case of extortion than justice and Vishnu has nothing to bargain with. That is until the policeman discovers that the truck is a traveling theater complete with a projector and canisters of film. The policeman wants to watch a movie and Vishnu, with the help of his female passengers, projects a variety of unrelated film reels. Suddenly, the projector breaks down, and the old man finds a bottle of scented oil to fix it.

The next morning, after Vishnu leaves without his passengers, his truck breaks down again. Now walking, the old man and the young man pass by and they want nothing to do with Vishnu’s delusions. He prevails, the truck is fixed, and they continue together again.

There are two stories in this movie. One is the poetic journey of these travelers and the other is related to the inhabitants of this desolate but beautiful desert. In this lifeless landscape, women continually search for water while a mafia leader controls all the wells. A lonely seeker is a beautiful widow played by Tannishtha Chatterjee and she becomes another passenger on this journey. The mafia’s water lord executed her husband, a victim of lawlessness, for stealing water. She recounts and symbolizes the plight of these forgotten people of the desert.

Numerous encounters test his resilience and compassion. These travelers bond at first out of necessity, but later develop a true fondness for each other. “Road, Movie” is a memorable odyssey that reminds us how truly wonderful life can be; and that magic can be found in the most unexpected places. A magical moment is when these country people see movies for the first time. It’s a lighthearted event filled with laughs and makes the trip and the movie truly worth it.

While entertaining, one small weakness of this road movie is that it goes in too many directions at once. It lacks the cohesion of a convincing story, which emotionally builds and connects with all the facets presented. The social and political problems, the confusion among the youth and the plight of those who live in this desert require a more integrated story. There is also the ambiguity between what is reality and what is fantasy, and perhaps the director purposely allows the audience to determine which is which. The performance is truly believable and polarizes the adversarial behavior as well as its gradual progression towards caring and trust.

Visually stunning, this film captures the beauty of a vast, open, barren landscape. The cinematography is exquisite and the music emotionally moving. Also worth mentioning is the Chevy pickup, a battered old vehicle that is a character unto itself as it travels to its ultimate destination, a museum. He’s a treasure in production design, visually showing his age and the benevolent history of him. As for the film, some may wonder what it is, a poetic fable, a road adventure or a social commentary. Maybe it’s all three.

CREDITS: Stars Abhay Deol, Satich Kaushik, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Mohammed Faizal. Directed and written by: Dev Benegal; Producers: Ross Tatz, Susan Landau; Cinematographer: Michel Amathieu; Publisher: Yaniv Dabach; Composer: Michael Brook.. In Hindi and English with English subtitles. Reviewed at the Los Angeles Indian Film Festival. Not Rated. 95 minutes Available on DVD.