Paradise (2024) :
Brief Review -
Indian Cinema's subversive attempt at thematic adaptation of the western classic "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943) that destroys human conscience in a modern way. Set in Sri Lanka, Paradise has a beautiful name, beautiful locations, beautiful people, and beautiful language, but the impact that film leaves on you is exactly what you call "beautiful." Prasanna Vithanage has written the script and directed the film, with Anushka Senanayake coming in to help with the screenplay, so I'll give most of the credit to Prasanna. I don't know how many of you have seen old Hollywood's Western classic "Ox Bow Incident" (based on the novel of the same name), but for me, it is one of those powerful classics that destroys human conscience in the highest order. Imagining that film, that topic, and that kind of subversive thought in the 1940s, when rom-coms, screwball comedies, biopics, dramas, and world war films were ruling over audiences' hearts, is itself a victory. Hollywood did that when people were not ready. I say, today we are ready, and finally something like Paradise pops up to make us realize that yes, Indian cinema is still alive and can attempt such subjects that many overlooked because they were too intellectual. Paradise sort of extends the Ox Bow Incident from the point it strikes to human conscience and adds an extra layer of another destructive human instinct. I am not sure how many of you will get it, but when in the final scene, Amritha finally asks Mr. Andrew, did he really believe what he said, and he keeps mum. Now, he is the same man who has been selling fake stories to earn money, and that too on Ramayana. It's a next-level elimination of human conscience when you realize that if he can destroy a known epic like the Ramayana with his words, just imagine how much he would destroy one private event to save the woman. This subjective thought has led me to overcome the messy killings in the climax and add an extra half star. Strongly recommended!
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
