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Rorschach Movie Review : A layered psychological-philosophical thriller

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Sanju Pb 89 427 days ago

What a movie

Sunil Nambiar 32 485 days ago

It's out and out copy of Anil kapoor's and Harshwardhan's web series "THAR"....I seriously amused that, no one Talking on that part might be coz, it's in Hindi and Marwari language..!! but This particular malayalam film isn't a novelty thing. It's complate copy...!!

User RAGHU 110 542 days ago

A Mind Bending Nio-noir Psychological Thriller.

Sylent Screamer 626 543 days ago

Amazing movie , Mammoka carry the movie on his shoulder along with all the supporting characters of the movie, the direction , storytelling, camera work and location was worth watching

sahadtp 543 days ago

Its like an foriegn movie there have an improvement in malayalam industry and i like it

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Home » Review » Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s slick psychological revenge thriller makes for an engaging experience »

Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s slick psychological revenge thriller makes for an engaging experience

The makers of Mammootty's Rorschach seemed to have made no compromise when it comes to the production values of the film and that helps even when the plot strays a bit, like the mind of its protagonist

• Sanjith Sidhardhan

Last Updated: 08.59 AM, Oct 09, 2022

Story: UK citizen Luke Antony drags himself to the police station in a village and claims that his pregnant wife has been missing after his car met with an accident. What follows is a few weeks of futile search with him being the only person who believes that she is still alive. Luke decides to stay on and his path crosses with another family, whose members might have a connection with his past and his current ordeal, a cop, who is out to seek the truth behind Luke’s presence, and a youngster, who doesn’t believe a word Luke says.

Review: A scene in director Nisam Basheer’s sophomore venture has the protagonist Luke Antony (Mammootty) listening to the plight of a woman, who has to take care of her ailing husband. She complains that her husband had never given her peace after their marriage and continues to push her to the edge. Luke asks her about considering divorce, to which she replies that that was never an option for financially-backward women, who are considered a burden by the families. Luke then suggests why not let him get married to her daughter. In a split second, she entertains this and approaches her daughter, a widow, with the request of a stranger who she has met for the first time. This is probably one of the many dramatic sequences where the writing shines in a movie, which sets the bar high in terms of its storytelling, visuals, sound and performances – all making for a riveting and novel theatrical experience in recent times.

Nisam keeps a tight grip on the proceedings of the film, which begins with a mystery and then slowly reveals its cards. Sure, by the end of the first half, audiences can figure out the why and who in Luke’s past, but it’s about how he goes about his revenge and core purpose that makes it entertaining. The reasons for each action here are about the mind – be it the manipulation within a family, the quest for something more or just lack of control over thoughts. The greatest challenge for the writer, Samir Abdul, and the filmmaker here was to showcase this on screen and also make the audience connect the subtle dots, and Rorschach succeeds this past without a blot or blemish.

Huge credit to this goes to the casting department as well as some superlative performances. Mammootty, as Luke Antony, brings the intensity as well as keeps the mystery behind his purpose alive. It’s a character that needed to be consistent and the star once again shows why he is a master at playing conflicted protagonists. 

Also read: Exclusive! Mammootty’s Rorschach demands the audience’s undivided attention to be engaging: Nisam Basheer  

While a riveting performance is expected from Mammootty every time, the surprise packages in Rorschach are Bindu Panicker, Jagadeesh and Kottayam Nazir. All three veteran actors put on an acting workshop on restrained performances while showing the two ends of the emotional spectrum. Bindu Panicker, in particular, has some great moments. Actors Sharafudheen, Grace Antony and Sanju Sivram do their parts well in taking the story forward. In fact, all the characters in Rorschach are grey – and within that some of them serve as moral compasses.

Considering that Luke, a stranger with a haunted past, is often grappling with his mind and most of his scenes are set inside a house that is half-constructed and half in ruins, the movie is a visual experience. It takes the audience for a ride right from the first scene. Nimish Ravi’s frames are cool and grey, mirroring its deceptive characters and the village. Midhun Mukundan’s English tracks and thrilling background score also adds a different layer to the movie, which stands out due to its tone and compelling storytelling. The makers of the movie seemed to have made no compromise when it comes to the production values of the film and that helps even when the plot strays a bit, like the mind of its protagonist.

Verdict: This year seems to be the megastar’s as he looks set to continue his winning run and that too by being part of new-age thrillers that bank on setting a high benchmark. Rorschach is slick and smart, and is technically superlative. It’s a must watch in theatres just for the unique experience and great performances from each member of the cast.

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'Rorschach' movie review: Mammootty captivates in a refreshingly twisted gothic revenge thriller

A few months before the release of Rorschach , I had heard little whispers of its plot from a couple of industry insiders. I found the concept interesting, and I was curious not only to see how director Nisam Basheer -- who made his debut with the polarising Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha -- would pull it off but also how Kerala audiences would react to it. Now, I'm not someone who looks at the initial reactions on social media before writing a review -- because I don't want anyone else's opinions colouring my own -- so I'm not aware of others' Rorschach experience. I'm only sure of mine: fulfilling, not only because it tickled the film buff in me that loves an unconventional genre fusion but also because the makers have pulled it off without making it seem too inaccessible. Oh, and I promise not to spill any spoilers.

What is Rorschach? Well, many things. Off the top of my head -- part revenge thriller, part gothic ghost story, part dysfunctional family drama, part dark comedy, and part crime noir... I might find more on a revisit. Anyway, it's incredible how all of these elements come well together in this film; but look beneath the veneer of genre-blending, and we see three different families with ideological and temperamental differences and an astonishing capacity for evil. By the time we get to the finale, most of these characters evolve into people they were not at the story's beginning.

In the opening scene, when Mammootty's Luke Antony walks into a police station and reports being in an accident and his wife missing, we and every character who comes into contact with him believe him. But we'll soon learn there is a much larger story behind it. Luke isn't hasty to tell it, and neither is the film. It wants to go at the same pace as him. It throws at us disparate images that at first glance seem disjointed, but if you're patient and attentive enough -- don't look at the phone and complain later -- everything will begin to make sense. You'll see the significance of some juxtaposition choices or why some scenes were so brief and sparse with the revelation of information.

I mentioned earlier about Rorschach being a portrait of families. The film gives us more information about them than it does about Luke, and I don't mean this in a negative way. The title also makes sense once the end credits roll. Luke was on a mission, but his arrival also brought out the distasteful facets in some individuals. In that sense, its behaviour is similar to that of a Western. You know, the story of that lone mysterious stranger arriving at a small town to shake things up?

In this film, we learn about a family with a devilish streak running through them for generations. They carry it around like a curse. At one point, a mother declares that her children are her carbon copies and they are capable of everything she is. As this mother, Bindu Panicker gives us a profoundly unsettling performance that eerily recalls Jacki Weaver from the Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom. And there is Jagadish as a quietly functioning police constable whose true intentions, once evident, gives his character a whole new dimension. It takes a while for him to say something, but when he does, he makes you more curious. It's the most impressive I've seen the actor in a long time.

The film's storytelling, too, reflects the idiosyncratic nature of its protagonist. Rorschach reveals information about Luke in an incremental fashion. Sometimes the film catches us off guard by simultaneously running past and present events from his life. There are films where this approach -- where no title card informs us which event is past or present -- failed miserably, but in Rorschach , it works perfectly. It's a classic case of relying more on visual storytelling than exposition. That said, the film has its share of moments where the characters say things that guide us, but at the same time, the script is careful not to say it all at once and ruin the fun. Just as he does with every character he meets, Luke taunts us until it's time for him to tell us what happened in his life and his plans.

The only information we know about Luke initially is that something tragic has befallen him. And then we ask: Who is he? How can he fight so well? What's his interest in two particular families? Why does he want to live in a haunted house? Why is he using someone's skull as an ashtray? We get the answers, all in good time, but it also doesn't forget to keep some things open-ended. That's where the fun is, right?

Speaking of fun, for a film about unlikeable characters and tragic events, Rorschach is not overwhelmingly depressing -- at least, not for me. It seems to relish its dark energy and revel in its gothic environment, just like its leading man. And Mammootty plays Luke with a measure of mischief, creepiness, and daring that you begin to remember some moments from Vidheyan , Thaniyavarthanam , Bhoothakkandi , or Munnariyippu .

Cinematographer Nimish Ravi, who has already proved himself adept at working comfortably with dark subjects ( Luca, Kurup ), once again demonstrates his supreme abilities in Rorschach with a work that's remarkably not repetitive. He bathes characters in enough shadows and amber to make them seem like they are Satan's children. Blacks and greys dominate the colour palette, starting with Luke's luxury car. His residence resembles more of a grim mausoleum than a home -- like a sort of 'limbo' in which 'the man in black' can pronounce his judgement.

I also found the choice of using English songs in the soundtrack -- by Midhun Mukundan, who recently worked on the brilliant Kannada gangster drama Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana -- refreshing. The makers' attempt at ignoring the usual tendency of having music "relatable" for Malayali/Indian audiences is admirable. Perhaps this choice suggests a character trait of Luke. What if these are his favourite songs? After all, we are in his world, aren't we?

Director: Nisam Basheer

Casting: Mammootty, Grace Antony, Bindu Panicker, Jagadish, Sharafudheen

Rating: 4/5 stars

(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

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Rorschach Movie Review: A cerebral, unique experiment

In a recent interview, Mammootty had spoken about how Malayalam cinema is always known for its experiments, and he pointed out the example of the State award winning ‘Aavasavyuham’, a fascinating genre-bender. Well, the megastar’s latest film ‘Rorschach’ is one such interesting fusion of genres. Mammootty deserves huge respect for his unending passion to shoulder such projects time and again.

‘Rorschach’, directed by Nisam Basheer, is completely in contrast to the filmmaker’s previous film ‘Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha’ (also his debut). It begins with Luke Antony (Mammootty) filing a missing complaint in a police station about his wife. The mystery element begins from there. Minutes into the film, one can understand that Luke is in this quaint, remote village for something else. He buys a house there and begins his trail. From here, the narrative sprangs quite a few spoilers, which is best experienced without knowing as much as possible.

Sameer Abdul’s story is something that has been successfully explored several times in world cinema. But it his wonderfully written screenplay that keeps the viewer interested all through the runtime. Nisam Basheer, rightfully, opts for a dark treatment. Literally, everything is dark in the film. The visuals, the humour, the characters and their motives.

Mammootty is terrific in his portrayal of a distraught, revenge-obsessed man. It is an absolute treat to watch him switch shades, particularly the grey portions. Despite being a star of such stature, Mammootty doesn’t show any qualms in portraying an immoral character. This is also a film that doesn’t celebrate the star. He doesn’t get a proper introduction shot. The film’s opening scene has him casually walking (without any slo-mo, or background music) towards a police station. There is no pointless mass moments. Though couple of action scenes seemed forced, it’s effective with some smart choreographed.

Mammootty is ably supported by a brilliant ensemble. Bindu Panicker gets the role of her lifetime and she proves her range as a performer. Kottayam Nazeer and Jagadish also show what showcase their true potential. Grace Antony, Sharafudheen and Sanju Sivaram also impress.

‘Rorschach’ is one of the most technically sound films to have come out of Malayalam cinema in recent times. Right from its absorbing cinematography and atmospheric sound design, everything is top-notch. Midhun Mukundan’s stellar music is one of the film’s major highlights. The choice to use English tracks is so refreshing and makes this film stand apart from the template Malayalam thrillers.

Overall, ‘Rorschach’ is a great theatrical watch if you’re in the mood to watch something ‘unique’ and ‘gripping’.

Movie Ratings

• Direction - 8.5/10 8.5/10
• Artist Performance - 9/10 9/10
• Script - 8.5/10 8.5/10
• Technical Side - 8/10 8/10

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Rorschach movie review: Revenge redefined with Mammootty v Grace Antony v Bindhu Panicker leading the charge

How do you punish a dead person who ruined your happiness? Rorschach challenges our notion of life itself with a tale of an unprecedented, seething desire for payback.

Language: Malayalam

Cast: Mammootty, Grace Antony, Bindhu Panicker, Jagadish, Sanju Sivram, Kottayam Nazeer, Sharafudheen, Ira Noor, Cameo: Asif Ali

Director: Nisam Basheer

Star rating: 3.5/5

There’s something not quite right about Luke Antony ( Mammootty ). In the opening chapter of Rorschach , when this wealthy NRI walks into a rural police station to report his wife Sofiya’s disappearance, the situation smells dubious. Not surprisingly, Luke’s claim that they were in a car accident and she was gone by the time he regained consciousness, does not sit well with at least one perceptive observer, the policeman Ashraf (Jagadish).

When Luke refuses to leave the place till Sofiya is found, speculation about his intentions runs rife among the villagers. His indefatigable quest for his missing spouse turns out to be nothing that anyone could have predicted – not Ashraf, not the local factory owner Sujatha ( Grace Antony ), nor her mother-in-law Seetha (Bindhu Panicker). Rorschach – written by Sameer Abdul and directed by Nisam Basheer – is unpredictable in more ways than anyone could guess.

The spark for the events in this film is an individual who destroys another’s happiness, but does not live to suffer a vendetta. How do you punish the dead? Rorschach redefines revenge and challenges our definition of life itself as it tells a tale of excruciating loss and an iron will deployed to satisfy an unprecedented, seething desire for payback.

Rorschach takes its name from the Rorschach Test that – to explain it with a layperson’s understanding – assesses a subject’s psychology based on their perceptions of visual patterns created by inkblots. The title refers as much to Luke’s tortured and possibly broken mind as to his notions of living, dying and when exactly a human being is truly finished, and our own perception of who is who, who is dead and who alive by the end of this saga.

Though Rorschach is eerie and evokes curiosity from the beginning, I took a while to get fully immersed in it, partly because I was torn between finding the pace tedious and intriguing, partly because the music and sound design sometimes get overbearing, and partly because the use of English for the song accompanying the narrative is a misfit in this rustic Kerala setting. There is a tendency in a certain kind of Malayalam cinema to feature English and Hindi where they are out of place, thus detracting from a film’s rootedness. The awe in which some Malayalam filmmakers hold these two languages is one undesirable extreme of a spectrum at the other extreme of which is the Hindi supremacism that enables most Hindi filmmakers to ignore India’s language diversity in all locations, including when they set their plots outside the Hindi belt. Thankfully, Rorschach ’s lyricist does better than the writers of the cringeworthy English lines sung in the likes of 12th Man and Love Action Drama , and the tunes, their occasional unnecessary volume notwithstanding, match the mood of the film.

Besides, Rorschach is as unrelenting as Luke, and is designed to chip away at a viewer’s skepticism bit by bit until she succumbs to its lure. I can pinpoint the moment when my antennae shot up and I got hooked. It came about 40 minutes into the 150 minutes running time when I realised that what seemed like a sound artificially stuffed into the film’s audioscape was in fact an actual memory from Luke’s past. This revelation comes in a flashback slipped so seamlessly into the narrative that it made me sit up.

Rorschach swoops from the past to the present, into Luke’s imagination and out into the real world, with a smoothness that does the screenplay proud and should put Kiran Das in contention for several Best Editing trophies when the next awards season rolls around. Equally laudable is Nimish Ravi’s cinematography capturing the interiors of gloomy homes, troubled faces, the giant mountains and lonely forests where Rorschach roams, and the production design team’s construction of an intimidatingly spacious, half-built home.

There are few joys in life as great as the joy of watching Mammootty submit himself fully to a script. The star who risked his macho reputation by playing a hesitant policeman in Khalidh Rahman’s Unda (2019) and starred as a despicable casteist bigot in Ratheena P.T’s Puzhu earlier this year, here takes up a grey character. Mammukka’s weakness for the past couple of decades has been an unwillingness to acknowledge his real-life age on screen. In Rorschach though, both camera and makeup are employed to let fatigue show on his skin and gracefully portray Luke as an elderly man – not the 71 that Mammootty is in real life, but certainly much older than the pretending-to-be-young boyfriend of young women that he has been in many of his low-brow commercial films. Mammukka lets tiredness seep into every line of Luke’s frame, while his eyes are by turns vacant, weary, sorrowful, determined and burning with anger.

Predictably though, an artiste who looks young enough to be his (grand)daughter acts as Sofiya. I have a dream, that one day, the director of a Mammootty starrer will recognise the ageism that leads to the casting of only 20/30-somethings as his sister, lover and wife, will abjure the patriarchal, damaging view that women of Mammootty’s age are unworthy of these roles, and will put her/his foot down on seeing the absurdity in the resultant pairings. I have a dream…

As it happens, the snatches of conversations between Sofiya and Luke are the only ordinarily written dialogues in Rorschach .

That apart, it is a measure of Mammootty’s respect for the writing and the director of Rorschach that, despite being the megastar of this project and its producer, he does not monopolise screen time here. Every member of the cast is outstanding, and half a dozen are given plenty of space with Mammootty nowhere in the frame. In fact, though Rorschach is Mammukka’s film, it belongs too to the formidable performances by Grace Antony as a gritty woman trying to figure Luke out and Bindhu Panicker as a mother who will go to any lengths to preserve her family’s social standing. The film is nothing without their Sujatha and Seetha, both roles written with a keen eye for detail.

The treatment of women in Rorschach is a vast improvement on Nisam’s earlier directorial work, Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha (2019). That film was a milestone in the sense that it recognised the existence of marital rape and clearly described it as a crime, which is rare not just in Indian cinema but in the overall public discourse, but it messed up by giving the man’s journey primacy over the woman in a storyline that called for both to be given equal room.

Malayalam cinema has already given us a couple of solid revenge dramas in 2022, Puzhu and Innale Vare . Rorschach is different from them in the way it resists genre boundaries with its paranormal elements and existential questions in a psychological thriller. This film teases the brain from the moment Luke enters that police station. It is not scary in a conventional way, yet presents a terrifying vision of the depths of a vengeful, probably fractured psyche. The director is so confident of the written material he’s working with, that he does not speed up matters at any point to heighten the excitement. Instead he moulds Rorschach into a slow burn that initially tested my patience but paid incremental dividends as each minute went by.

Early in Rorschach when a search party walks across a rocky river bed, Nimish Ravi’s camera pulls out, rising higher and higher until those human beings are no longer visible. The image mirrors the theme of the film: if I can’t see you, does that mean you do not exist? Conversely, like the human faces we imagine when we look up at the moon, the people we spot staring at us from mosaic tiles or the figures we perceive in ink stains, just because I see you, does it mean you do exist? These questions linger long after the credits roll away, much like Rorschach itself, which is not playing on a screen before me as I write this but is still playing in my head.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)  

This review was first published when Rorschach was released in theatres. The film is now streaming on Disney+Hotstar.

Anna M.M. Vetticad is an award-winning journalist and author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic. She specialises in the intersection of cinema with feminist and other socio-political concerns. Twitter: @annavetticad, Instagram: @annammvetticad, Facebook: AnnaMMVetticadOfficial

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The Movie is about Luke Anthony who has a mysterious past and is out on a mission to seek revenge from someone who has destroyed him deeply The Movie is about Luke Anthony who has a mysterious past and is out on a mission to seek revenge from someone who has destroyed him deeply The Movie is about Luke Anthony who has a mysterious past and is out on a mission to seek revenge from someone who has destroyed him deeply

• Nissam Basheer
• Sameer Abdul
• Grace Antony
• 60 User reviews
• 7 Critic reviews
• 1 nomination

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Did you know

• Trivia Lead cast Luke (Mammootty) reel surname and his reel wife Sujatha (Grace) real surname are same: Antony.
• Alternate versions The UK release was cut, the distributor chose to make cuts to scenes of strong violence, injury detail and threat in order to obtain a 12A classification. An uncut 15 classification was available.
• Soundtracks In My Arms Written by Sameer Abdul Produced by Midhun Mukundan Performed by Sameer Abdul

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• nidhunmoviebuff
• Oct 7, 2022
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• October 7, 2022 (India)
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• ₹120,000,000 (estimated)

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• Runtime 2 hours 30 minutes
• Dolby Atmos

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Mammootty's Rorschach hits all the right notes, except in the end | Movie Review

Ever since the movie was announced, Rorschach, directed by Kettyolaanente Maalakha -fame Nisam Basheer, had been grabbing headlines. The teaser and posters made it clear that the film is a psychological thriller. Pre-release publicity was centred around the fact that the film was different from the usual formulas used in Mollywood so far.

In that aspect, Rorschach starring Mammootty, has done well playing into the human psyche, slowly and subtly, in ways a normal viewer would seldom imagine. It has found its niche between the paranormal and normal.

The unique style of cinematography is clap-worthy. The English tracks are powerful and in tune with the genre of the film.

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That said, it is the first half that does justice to the entire film. The build-up of the plot is what intrigues the most -- a mystery man arrives in a hilly terrain declaring that his wife has gone missing. He purchases a house that belonged to a dead man. From then on, his intentions are unclear. But that's the beauty of the first half, which says a lot by showing little.

. @RorschachMovie In Cinemas Soon Watch Trailer : https://t.co/uMSpxIrcIs @MKampanyOffl @DQsWayfarerFilm @Truthglobalofcl #Rorschach pic.twitter.com/LbfaLAwlXI — Mammootty (@mammukka) September 11, 2022

The film attains more clarity as we enter the second half. But it also disappoints a little as it starts treading some predictable paths, especially when the intention of the protagonist becomes clear.

The moment when Luke Antony (Mammootty,) comes face to face with his enemy is a defining moment in the film. But that moment loses its sheen when both Luke and the enemy start behaving predictably.

Rorschach is not your regular, run-of-the-mill film, in treatment and style. Hence there is a chance that you might find the climax a tad unsatisfying, though we know the antagonist has achieved his ends. Who gains and who loses in this mental game is for the viewer to decide.

The makers, however, have done justice to the title. Not a very familiar word to the layman till recently, Rorschach is a psychological test used on subjects to identify their personality. In the movie, each incident unravels the psyche of each individual and it is up to the viewer to decide his/her traits.

Mammootty as Luke Antony, once again proves that age is just a number. His movements are swift, the mysterious aura is intact and the dialogues are enough to thrill you till the end. What he has achieved onscreen is pure brilliance.

If Bheeshma Parvam had elevated Mammootty's style, Rorschach has added only to the actor's class. Bindu Panicker, who has been satisfied playing sentimental and humorous characters for a long time now, gets to do exceptionally well in this movie, as a mother and widow of a dead son and husband, respectively. Grace Antony, Sharafudeen, Kottayam Nazeer and Jagadish are also in their element.

The first-look poster of the film showed an intense-looking Luke (Mammootty) staring from beneath the mask with two holes. The mask definitely is prominent and almost even sums up what the film really is. But, overall, it may be overlooked for some obvious reasons.

The film, bankrolled by Mammootty Kampany, is written by Sameer Abdul. Nisam Basheer, who has also worked as assistant director in Parava , proves again that he is an impactful filmmaker.

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Rorschach review: రివ్యూ: రోషాక్‌.. మమ్ముట్టి నటించిన సినిమా ఎలా ఉందంటే?

ప్రముఖ నటుడు మమ్ముట్టి నటించిన సైకలాజికల్‌ థ్రిల్లర్‌ సినిమా ‘రోషాక్‌’ ఎలా ఉందంటే..?

Rorschach Review చిత్రం: రోషాక్‌, నటీనటులు: మమ్ముట్టి, జగదీష్‌, గ్రేస్‌ ఆంటోనీ, కొట్టాయం నజీర్‌ తదితరులు, రచన: సమీర్‌ అబ్దుల్‌, ఛాయాగ్రహణం: నిమిష్‌ రవి, సంగీతం: మిథున్‌ ముకుందన్‌, కూర్పు: కిరణ్‌ దాస్‌, నిర్మాణ సంస్థ: మమ్ముట్టి కంపెనీ, దర్శకత్వం : నిషమ్‌ బషీర్‌, ఓటీటీ వేదిక: డిస్నీ+ హాట్‌స్టార్‌.

ఓ భాషలో తెరకెక్కి విజయం అందుకున్న కొన్ని చిత్రాలు ఇతర భాషల్లోకి డబ్‌ అయి మరోసారి థియేటర్లలో విడుదవుతుంటాయి. మరికొన్ని.. ఓటీటీ వేదికగా పలు భాషల్లో ప్రేక్షకుల ముందుకొస్తుంటాయి. అలా అక్టోబరు 7న మలయాళంలో థియేటర్లలో విడుదలైన ‘రోషాక్‌’ (Rorschash) చిత్రం నవంబరు 11 నుంచి ‘డిస్నీ+ హాట్‌స్టార్‌’ (Disney+hotstar)లో స్ట్రీమింగ్‌ అవుతోంది. మమ్ముట్టి (Mammootty) ప్రధాన పాత్ర పోషించిన సినిమా ఇది. మలయాళ ప్రేక్షకులను మెప్పించిన ఈ సినిమా కథేంటంటే?

ఇదీ కథ: లూక్‌ ఆంటోనీ (మమ్ముట్టి) ఓ ఎన్‌. ఆర్‌. ఐ. విహారయాత్రలో భాగంగా భార్యతో కలిసి కేరళకు వస్తాడు. అడవి మార్గంలో వాళ్ల కారు ప్రమాదానికి గురవుతుంది. కాసేపటికి స్పృహలోకి వచ్చిన ఆంటోనీకి తన భార్య ఎక్కడుందో కనిపించదు. దాంతో ఆయన పోలీసులకు ఫిర్యాదు చేస్తాడు. కేసు విచారణలో పోలీసులకు ఎలాంటి ఆధారాలూ లభించవు. వాళ్ల ప్రయత్నం విఫలంకావడంతో స్వయంగా ఆంటోనీనే తన భార్య ఆచూకీ వెతికేందుకు నిర్ణయించుకుంటాడు. అడవి నుంచి బయటకు రానని భీష్మించుకుని కూర్చొంటాడు. అతడి ప్రవర్తనపై పోలీసులకూ అనుమానం కలుగుతుంది. ఆంటోనీ రాకతో సమీప గ్రామంలో ఎన్నో ఘాతుకాలు జరిగాయని చాలామంది భావిస్తారు. అసలు అతనికి భార్య ఉందా? అనే ఆలోచనకు వస్తారు. మరి, ఆంటోనీ కేరళ ఎందుకు వచ్చాడు? అంతా అనుకున్నట్టు ఆయనకు భార్య లేదా? అనే విషయాలను తెరపై చూసి తెలుసుకుంటేనే మజా వస్తుంది.

ఎలా ఉందంటే: ఇదొక సైకలాజికల్‌ థ్రిల్లర్‌. భార్య కనిపించడంలేదంటూ హీరో పోలీసు స్టేషన్‌లో ఫిర్యాదు చేసే సన్నివేశంతో సినిమా ప్రారంభవుతుంది. ఫస్ట్‌ షాట్‌ ఆసక్తిగా అనిపించినా అసలు కథను చెప్పేందుకు దర్శకుడు చాలా సమయం తీసుకున్నారు. ఈ క్రమంలో వచ్చే సీక్వెన్స్‌ బోరింగ్‌గా అనిపిస్తుంది. మనిషి తనకు బాగా కావాల్సిన దాన్ని కోల్పోతే ఎంత బాధపడతాడో, దానికి కారణమైన వారిపై ఎంతటి పగ పెంచుకుంటాడో ఈ కథ ద్వారా చూపించే ప్రయత్నం చేశారు సమీర్‌ అబ్దుల్. దాన్ని తెరపైకి తీసుకురావడంలో దర్శకుడు కాస్త తడబడ్డారు. కథానాయకుడిలోని పలు పార్శ్వాలను చూపించే క్రమంలో కథలో స్పష్టతలోపించింది.

అడవిలోని ఓ ఇల్లును హీరో కొనుక్కుంటాడు. ఆ ఇంటి యజమాని డబ్బు తీసుకుని వెళ్తుండగా హత్యకు గురవుతాడు. హీరోనే ఆ హత్య చేశాడా? అని ప్రేక్షకుడు భావించేలోపు హీరో కాదా? ఇంకెవరో ఆ మర్డర్‌ చేశారా? అనే ఉత్కంఠ కలుగుతుంది. ఇలాంటి సన్నివేశాలు సినిమాలో చాలానే ఉన్నాయి. అయితే, జరిగిన దాన్ని రెండు కోణాల్లో ఆవిష్కరించడం వల్ల ఆయా సీన్లు అందరికీ అర్థంకావు. ప్రథమార్ధం, ద్వితీయార్ధంలోనూ ప్రేక్షకుల ప్రశ్నలకు సమాధానాలు దొరకవు. క్లైమాక్స్‌ విషయంలోనూ అంతగా సంతృప్తి ఉండదు. సీక్వెల్‌ ప్లాన్‌ చేసే క్రమంలో పలు చిక్కులు ముడులను ఈ సినిమాలో విప్పలేదనుకోవచ్చు. 1950ల్లో ప్రముఖ సైకో అనలిస్ట్‌ హెర్మన్‌ రోషాన్‌.. మనుషులు ఎలా ఆలోచిస్తారు? ఎలా ప్రభావితం అవుతారు? అనే అంశాలపై పరీక్ష చేశారు. దాన్ని ఆధారంగా చేసుకుని సినిమాని తీయడమంటే అంత సులువైన విషయం కాదు. ఈ విషయంలో దర్శకరచయితలకు మంచి మార్కులు పడతాయి.

ఎవరెలా చేశారంటే: ఇది మమ్ముట్టి వన్‌మ్యాన్‌ షో. స్టార్‌ హీరో ఇలాంటి పాత్రలో కనిపించడం విశేషం. లూక్‌ ఆంటోనీ పాత్రలో ఒదిగిపోయారు. ఇన్‌స్పెక్టర్‌ ఇన్‌ష్రాఫ్‌గా జగదీష్‌, భర్తను కోల్పోయిన సుజాత పాత్రలో గ్రేస్‌ ఆంటోనీ, ఇల్లు అమ్మే వ్యక్తి.. బాలన్‌ పాత్రలో మణి షార్నుర్‌ చక్కగా నటించారు. సందర్భానుసారం వచ్చే కానిస్టేబుల్‌, నర్సు, బాలన్‌ కుటుంబ సభ్యుల పాత్రలూ ఆకట్టుకుంటాయి. మిథున్‌ అందించిన నేపథ్య సంగీతం సినిమాకు ప్రధాన బలం. బీజీఎంతో ఆయా సన్నివేశాలను ఆయన మరోస్థాయికి తీసుకెళ్లారు. నిమిష్‌ రవి సినిమాటోగ్రఫీ మెప్పిస్తుంది. కిరణ్‌ దాస్‌ ఈ చిత్రాన్ని ఇంకా ఎడిట్‌ చేస్తే బాగుండేది. బషీర్‌ టేకింగ్‌ కొత్తగా ఉంది.

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చివరగా: రోషాక్‌.. కొందరికి మాత్రమే నచ్చే ‘సైకలాజికల్‌ థ్రిల్లర్’

గమనిక: ఈ సమీక్ష సమీక్షకుడి దృష్టి కోణానికి సంబంధించింది. ఇది సమీక్షకుడి వ్యక్తిగత అభిప్రాయం మాత్రమే!

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గమనిక: ఈనాడు.నెట్‌లో కనిపించే వ్యాపార ప్రకటనలు వివిధ దేశాల్లోని వ్యాపారస్తులు, సంస్థల నుంచి వస్తాయి. కొన్ని ప్రకటనలు పాఠకుల అభిరుచిననుసరించి కృత్రిమ మేధస్సుతో పంపబడతాయి. పాఠకులు తగిన జాగ్రత్త వహించి, ఉత్పత్తులు లేదా సేవల గురించి సముచిత విచారణ చేసి కొనుగోలు చేయాలి. ఆయా ఉత్పత్తులు / సేవల నాణ్యత లేదా లోపాలకు ఈనాడు యాజమాన్యం బాధ్యత వహించదు. ఈ విషయంలో ఉత్తర ప్రత్యుత్తరాలకి తావు లేదు.

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రివ్యూ: ప్రణయ విలాసం.. ‘ప్రేమలు’ హీరోయిన్‌ నటించిన సినిమా ఎలా ఉందంటే?

రివ్యూ : బాక్‌.. తమన్నా, రాశీఖన్నాల హారర్‌ మూవీ ఎలా ఉంది

రివ్యూ: ఆ ఒక్కటీ అడక్కు.. అల్లరి నరేష్‌ ఖాతాలో హిట్‌ పడిందా?

రివ్యూ: శబరి.. వరలక్ష్మీ శరత్‌కుమార్‌ నటించిన థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: ప్రసన్నవదనం.. సుహాస్‌ ఖాతాలో హిట్‌ పడిందా?

రివ్యూ హీరామండి: ది డైమండ్‌ బజార్‌.. సంజయ్‌లీలా భన్సాలీ ఫస్ట్‌ వెబ్‌సిరీస్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: క్రాక్‌.. విద్యుత్‌ జమ్వాల్‌ స్పోర్ట్స్‌ యాక్షన్‌ ఫిల్మ్‌ ఎలా ఉందంటే?

రివ్యూ: రత్నం.. విశాల్‌ నటించిన యాక్షన్‌ డ్రామా మెప్పించిందా?

రివ్యూ: ఆర్టికల్‌ 370.. యామి గౌతమ్‌, ప్రియమణి నటించిన పొలిటికల్‌ థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: మై డియర్‌ దొంగ.. అభినవ్‌ గోమఠం నటించిన సినిమా ఎలా ఉందంటే?

రివ్యూ: సైరెన్‌.. జయం రవి, కీర్తి సురేశ్‌ యాక్షన్‌ థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: పారిజాత పర్వం.. క్రైమ్‌ కామెడీ థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: ఆట్టం.. మలయాళ సస్పెన్స్‌ డ్రామా ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: డియర్‌.. భార్య గురకపెట్టే కాన్సెప్ట్‌తో రూపొందిన ఈ మూవీ మెప్పించిందా?

రివ్యూ: శ్రీ రంగ‌నీతులు.. సుహాస్‌, కార్తీక్‌ రత్నంల కొత్త మూవీ మెప్పించిందా?

రివ్యూ: బ‌డే మియా ఛోటే మియా.. అక్షయ్‌, టైగర్‌ ష్రాఫ్‌ నటించిన యాక్షన్‌ థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: గీతాంజలి మళ్ళీ వచ్చింది.. హారర్‌ కామెడీ థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: లవ్‌గురు.. విజయ్‌ ఆంటోనీ మూవీ ఎలా ఉంది?

రివ్యూ: మైదాన్‌.. అజయ్‌ దేవ్‌గణ్‌ కీలక పాత్రలో నటించిన స్పోర్ట్స్‌ డ్రామా మెప్పించిందా?

రివ్యూ: ప్రాజెక్ట్‌-Z.. సందీప్‌ కిషన్‌, లావణ్య త్రిపాఠి సైన్స్‌ ఫిక్షన్‌ థ్రిల్లర్‌ ఎలా ఉంది?

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'Rorschach' review: Mammootty's performance only saving grace in a below-average thriller

Nisam Basheer's film is confusing at multiple levels

A strange man comes to a village with a revengeful mind. The basic plot of Mammootty-starrer Rorschach is something that has been explored in world cinema multiple times. But a difference here is that the protagonist’s revenge is towards a dead man.

Rorschach is a confusing movie at multiple levels. It does not really fit completely into the boxes of either a psychological thriller or a horror thriller. There are some supernatural elements in the film. But the narrative did not help this writer to understand whether the presence of those elements can be attributed to the protagonist’s psychiatric issues. In other words, can the protagonist be seen as a person suffering from schizophrenia? The film does not answer it.

What the film’s title has to do with its plot or narrative is another question that came to the mind of this writer after watching the FDFS. Rorschach is a projective psychological test used by some psychologists to examine a subject's personality traits and emotional functioning. This writer failed to capture the connection this test (or the title) has with the storyline.

Mammootty is an actor who is not hesitant to take dark-shaded characters. In Rorschach , his character is literally in the ‘dark’ for almost the entire stretch of the film. There is injudicious use of dark colours. The colour scheme followed by Rorshchach is in such a way that every frame’s colour ends up feeling the same as every other frame.

Directed by Nisam Basheer—whose debut film was the problematic Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha —and written by Sameer Abdul, the scenarist of Iblis and Adventures of Omanakuttan , Rorschach felt like a wasted opportunity. The script offers some interesting characters, but it fails to apply ‘common sense’ at multiple places while exploring their actions and crimes. It leaves multiple loose ends in its narrative.

Even then, the film should be lauded for some fine performances. Mammootty excels as creepy, eerie Luke Antony. Senior artists like Bindu Panickar, Kottayam Nazeer and Jagadeesh also deliver great acting. Grace Antony and Sharafudheen should be appreciated for their controlled performance.

A major issue Rorschach faces is that its narrative does not help the audience to empathise with Luke Antony or the tragedy that he faced in Dubai. It also takes the approach of hiding the antagonist—Dileep— behind a mask, even though there have been multiple close-up shots that reveal who is the actor who played the role of Dileep. The cinematographer and director could have thought of a more imaginative way to portray the antagonist. The film fails to give depth to this particular character, around whom the entire narrative revolves around. It won’t be an overstatement to say that Dileep is one of the badly written characters in the script.

There are some stylised action sequences in the film. It also tries to explore mind games that people play. However, Rorschach lacks the pace demanded by its storyline (this writer had some occasional yawns while watching it). Overall the film was a below-average, boring experience for this writer.

Movie: Rorschach

Director: Nisam Basheer

Cast: Mammootty, Bindu Panickar, Kottayam Nazeer, Grace Antony, Sharafudheen, Jagadeesh

Rating: 2/5

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• ENGLISH HINDI MALAYALAM TAMIL TELUGU KANNADA BENGALI  

Rorschach Malayalam Movie

Director Nissam Basheer's Rorschach is an unusual Malayalam thriller, and I mean that in a good way. Right from the title to the music by Midhun Mukundan to the visual grammar of the film, Rorschach is unconventional for Malayalam cinema. Some may call it genre-bending cinema for the twists and turns in the plot that subvert cliches.

The protagonist of Rorschach is Luke Antony, played by Mammootty. Luke walks into a police station on a rainy night in a village and files a missing complaint for his wife. However, this is a man shrouded in mystery. The villagers wonder where he is from and whether he even has a wife. It does not take us long to realize that Luke is in the village with some ulterior motive.

Basheer explains how and why Luke is there through a series of flashbacks instead of an info dump, which makes the character that much more intriguing. We learn that Luke has been through white torture and that he is experiencing a deep sense of loss. He is a man on a mission who descends into madness slowly, yet steadily.

Most revenge thrillers focus a lot on the protagonist and the antagonist and include a lot of mano-a-mano moments between them, but some are more complex. Take a movie like Thazhvaram, for instance. In Thazhvaram, Mohanlal's character goes to a hill station to find the man responsible for his wife's death and kill him. The plot seems quite straightforward, but the execution is complex. Rorschach is similar in that it is straightforward in its plotting but complex with regard to its narration.

This means that the supporting characters here have a lot of depth and satisfying arcs. Sameer Abdul's layered script packs in potent themes, such as people with greed and single-mindedness who go to great lengths to achieve what they want. You have to pay careful attention to know why some people survive here while others fall by the wayside after the mayhem that follows the arrival of a stranger in the village.

As suggested earlier in the review, Rorschach has a visual language that is so out-there for Malayalam cinema. Rorschach is sometimes a bit showy in terms of how it is presented visually, but the overall output is fascinating. Take, for instance, the scene where a character puts a cigarette into a dead man's skull. Nimish Ravi's camera splendidly captures the eeriness of the moment and gives us a constant sense of foreboding that permeates the remote house at the heart of the plot. Even the scenes with a man in the mask have a visual grammar that gives an extra dimension to the idiom, "a ghost from the past".

If Rorschach has some holes as a thriller, it is probably because the aim here is to be as unconventional as possible. What makes the film more compelling is the performances. As Luke Antony, Mammootty is flawless in how he portrays a man consumed by obsession who slowly descends into madness. Kottayam Nazeer gets to showcase his acting chops as he aces the role of an elder brother with a sense of conscience. Grace Antony again excels in the role of a strong-willed woman who gets to make a lot of big calls. But the one who walks away with the film is Bindu Panicker, who is terrific as the mother in a family who molds her children into human beings with a similar thought process to hers.

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Rorschach Movie Review: Mammootty captivates in a refreshingly twisted gothic revenge thriller

Rating: ( 4 / 5).

A few months before the release of Rorschach , I had heard little whispers of its plot from a couple of industry insiders. I found the concept interesting, and I was curious not only to see how director Nisam Basheer -- who made his debut with the polarising Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha -- would pull it off but also how Kerala audiences would react to it. Now, I'm not someone who looks at the initial reactions on social media before writing a review -- because I don't want anyone else's opinions colouring my own -- so I'm not aware of others' Rorschach experience. I'm only sure of mine: fulfilling, not only because it tickled the film buff in me that loves an unconventional genre fusion but also because the makers have pulled it off without making it seem too inaccessible. Oh, and I promise not to spill any spoilers.

Director: Nisam Basheer

Cast: Mammootty, Grace Antony, Bindu Panicker, Jagadish, Sharafudheen

What is Rorschach ? Well, many things. Off the top of my head -- part revenge thriller, part gothic ghost story, part dysfunctional family drama, part dark comedy, and part crime noir... I might find more on a revisit. Anyway, it's incredible how all of these elements come well together in Rorschach ; but look beneath the veneer of genre-blending, and we see three different families with ideological and temperamental differences and an astonishing capacity for evil. By the time we get to the finale, most of these characters evolve into people they were not at the story's beginning.

In the opening scene, when Mammootty's Luke Antony walks into a police station and reports being in an accident and his wife missing, we and every character who comes into contact with him believe him. But we'll soon learn there is a much larger story behind it. Luke isn't hasty to tell it, and neither is the film. It wants to go at the same pace as him. It throws at us disparate images that at first glance seem disjointed, but if you're patient and attentive enough -- don't look at the phone and complain later -- everything will begin to make sense. You'll see the significance of some juxtaposition choices or why some scenes were so brief and sparse with the revelation of information.

I mentioned earlier about Rorschach being a portrait of families. The film gives us more information about them than it does about Luke, and I don't mean this in a negative way. The title ' Rorschach ' also makes sense once the end credits roll. Luke was on a mission, but his arrival also brought out the distasteful facets in some individuals. In that sense, its behaviour is similar to that of a Western. You know, the story of that lone mysterious stranger arriving at a small town to shake things up? 

In Rorschach , we learn about a family with a devilish streak running through them for generations. They carry it around like a curse. At one point, a mother declares that her children are her carbon copies and they are capable of everything she is. As this mother, Bindu Panicker gives us a profoundly unsettling performance that eerily recalls Jacki Weaver from the Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom. And there is Jagadish as a quietly functioning police constable whose true intentions, once evident, gives his character a whole new dimension. It takes a while for him to say something, but when he does, he makes you more curious. It's the most impressive I've seen the actor in a long time. 

The film's storytelling, too, reflects the idiosyncratic nature of its protagonist. Rorschach reveals information about Luke in an incremental fashion. Sometimes the film catches us off guard by simultaneously running past and present events from his life. There are films where this approach -- where no title card informs us which event is past or present -- failed miserably, but in Rorschach , it works perfectly. It's a classic case of relying more on visual storytelling than exposition. That said, the film has its share of moments where the characters say things that guide us, but at the same time, the script is careful not to say it all at once and ruin the fun. Just as he does with every character he meets, Luke taunts us until it's time for him to tell us what happened in his life and his plans. 

The only information we know about Luke initially is that something tragic has befallen him. And then we ask: Who is he? How can he fight so well? What's his interest in two particular families? Why does he want to live in a haunted house? Why is he using someone's skull as an ashtray? We get the answers, all in good time, but it also doesn't forget to keep some things open-ended. That's where the fun is, right?

Speaking of fun, for a film about unlikeable characters and tragic events, Rorschach is not overwhelmingly depressing -- at least, not for me. It seems to relish its dark energy and revel in its gothic environment, just like its leading man. And Mammootty plays Luke with a measure of mischief, creepiness, and daring that you begin to remember some moments from Vidheyan , Thaniyavarthanam , Bhoothakkandi , or Munnariyippu .

Cinematographer Nimish Ravi, who has already proved himself adept at working comfortably with dark subjects ( Luca, Kurup ), once again demonstrates his supreme abilities in Rorschach with a work that's remarkably not repetitive. He bathes characters in enough shadows and amber to make them seem like they are Satan's children. Blacks and greys dominate the colour palette, starting with Luke's luxury car. His residence resembles more of a grim mausoleum than a home -- like a sort of 'limbo' in which 'the man in black' can pronounce his judgement. 

I also found the choice of using English songs in the soundtrack -- by Midhun Mukundan, who recently worked on the brilliant Kannada gangster drama Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana -- refreshing. The makers' attempt at ignoring the usual tendency of having music "relatable" for Malayali/Indian audiences is admirable. Perhaps this choice suggests a character trait of Luke. What if these are his favourite songs? After all, we are in his world, aren't we?

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‘Let It Be’ Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg on His Beatles Documentary Finally Shedding Its ‘Orphan’ Status: ‘You Don’t Always Get the Second Chance in Life’

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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If you’re looking for depressing moments in “Let It Be,” there aren’t many overt ones; the famous tiff in which Paul McCartney tries to direct a frustrated George Harrison in his guitar playing is over in about 30 seconds. (George quitting the group for a short period after that is documented only in “Get Back,” not “Let It Be,” which remains focused primarily on the music.) Apart from that… is John Lennon secretly resentful, or actually sort of cheerful, in the time frame being captured? Is Ringo Starr bored, or just focused on his job, in-between a couple of cut-up moments? What you bring to the film from your own knowledge of late-period Beatles lore will surely affect your interpretation of the prevailing mood. But beyond being proof that the Fabs were a great jam band as well as a fist-tight playing unit, “Let It Be” is ultimately the story of a collective that gets its shit together after an uncertain start. And whatever stairs the film takes gets to the top of the Apple building, is there any happier 20-minute ending in the history of the movies than the rooftop concert?

Following is an Q&A, edited for length and clarity, conducted with a very pleased and vindicated-feeling Lindsay-Hogg on the eve of the restored film’s Disney+ release.

I have to tell you, I had bought a DVD bootleg of your film at some point, just to have it, but then I never watched it because I really wanted to wait for the chance to see it in a proper experience.

It was a long wait, though, wasn’t it?

Yeah, I’ve been sitting on that bootleg for decades. Well, what’s it like for you this week? Your life wasn’t depending on this movie coming out again, but it had to have been a thorn in your side, to some extent, that people were judging it in absentia.

A thorn in my side and anywhere else you can put a thorn. I was experiencing a variety of emotions for 50 years. I mean, I was frustrated. I was sad. I was feeling an opportunity had been missed all the way around. I mean, it wasn’t so much anybody’s fault what happened at the beginning. It was like collateral damage from the Beatles’ breakup. But I always knew there was something there, and that the first time out, because of all that was going on at the same time, people were not giving it a proper shake. I mean, could you imagine if, when the Beatles that broken up, we had social media? At least we didn’t have that! But we had a lot of snarky remarks about it  — people who completely misunderstood it, or may not even have seen it. So I’m thrilled and quite moved by the fact it’s available again.

I saw it a year ago, because we’ve been working on it slowly for for the past couple of years, Peter’s team in New Zealand, and then the DP, Tony Richmond, and me in Los Angeles. And there it is again, and so we don’t have to worry about people getting the wrong idea, because times have changed. People know what really happened. And also, it just looks so good. It looks so fresh. It looks the way I’ve always wanted people to see it.

You’ve said that you didn’t want this remastering to look too digital, as cleaned up as it obviously looks. But it is very bright and crisp compared to what everyone remembers.

Yeah. Partly what Peter and I talked about is that, when he worked on “Get Back,” he wanted it to have a slightly more digital look. And then when we talked about “Let It Be” coming out, we talked about wanting it to be a little different from “Get Back,” for a lot of reasons, and also to have maybe a little more cinematic sense to it, a little more grain in it. And I think that’s what we’ve got. He’s got this studio in New Zealand, which can pretty much do anything. I mean, if you want a shave 6,000 miles away, he can do it for you.

There’s one shot in the film where there’s like a piece of hair hanging off the microphone or something, and that’s something we probably wouldn’t have expected to see quite so clearly in the old prints of “Let It Be.”

That’s in “Across the Universe,” I think. At the beginning, we talked about taking that out, because they can take it out. We talked about taking that out. And then we thought, no, it actually was there, this little funny bug of hair, which is on the kind of felt of the mic or whatever the covering of the mic is. So, leave it as an eccentricity. So that was a decision. I mean, in the history of major world artistic decisions, I don’t think it was a major one, but it was one we thought, “Leave it, because that’s what it really was.” And we didn’t clean things up too much. I mean, yeah, we were able to get some hairs out of the gate, which just spoiled the image a little bit. But basically what you saw yesterday was cut for cut what was released in 1970. It is the same movie.

When I talked to Peter Jackson when “Get Back” came out, he was praising a lot of your work and, and he just talked about the great coverage you had, that he was able to work with different edits for things in his series. For starters, it seems like you had a lot of cameras…

Well, we had a lot of cameras on the roof. We didn’t have a lot of cameras downstairs. For the bulk of the picture, from Twickenham to then when we moved over to Apple, we had just two cameras. … “Hey Jude” (the music video Lindsay-Hogg directed for that 1968 single, with its very basic location and crew) is really the father to these movies — mine and Peter’s.  

Do you have any favorite moments in your film that are specific to your version?

John and Yoko dancing [to George Harrison’s “I Me Mine,” which the others are rehearsing]. It’s so touching.

It’s interesting seeing something like “Let It Be” with the amount of hindsight available to us now, and it, for me, has a certain poignancy to it because we know it happened at the end. I mean, when John says at the end, “I hope we passed the audition,” that’s an Oscar-worthy closing line to the movie. But then so many things happened to them all. John got murdered; George died young; there were losses within the Beatles family. And yet there they are, in their late twenties.

And also ending on the roof: I didn’t know what we’d get on the roof until… I mean, we almost didn’t get on the roof. They didn’t make up their mind until about five minutes before. But we had the 11 cameras. That’s where we had a lot of cameras, because I knew it was a one-off. We were gonna get what we got, and I hoped it was gonna be covered properly, so that when it was gonna be edited there’d be enough to move the pieces around. But the thing I didn’t expect, and the thing which touches me every time that I see it, is the connection between the four of them up there on the roof and the way that they play and interact with each other, and make their eye contact with each other back and forth as they’re singing a harmony line, or as they’re about to come in with something else or George is doing the solo or if Ringo is coming in right on time. They all are so connected, and the four of them are having such a good time. And that’s the thing I didn’t know we were gonna get. Every time I see it, I’m just moved and thrilled by the exuberance of them playing together as a band again.

Because even though the audience is a hundred feet below them, they were still playing like they were playing to an audience. That was the thing which Paul always wanted to achieve, and I always thought he was right, that they could do whatever they wanted in the studio, or solo, but Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr as a group meant something, and when they wrote their songs and played the songs, they wanted people to connect to their songs. They wanted what an author wants when he writes a book or a painter paints a picture — he wants someone to look at it, connect to it. And I always took Paul’s side on that, thinking that they need to connect to an audience. Every so often, they need to get the bounce-back. Because I’ve worked in the theater, and sometimes I think the last member of the cast to come into the picture is the audience. Because there’s a bounce between the people on stage and the audience reaction, the laughter, or no reaction, and then you’ve gotta get the reaction. So that’s what I think they felt, that they were playing to an audience again, even though they couldn’t see them.

Once it turned from a concert to a documentary, it was an entirely different beast. I knew that as fascinating as watching the Beatles rehearse and work on songs was, it had to be aiming somewhere. We needed to have a finish for it. And then I figured, if I couldn’t get them into Libya, maybe I could get them up two floors in their own building.

And I was very happy we were up there. I mean, you could see in your mind’s eye, the split screen — by the Mediterranean, midnight, 2000 people in a pre-Christian stadium, whatever. And then the top of Apple in London — I mean, you couldn’t be more different. But I just was happy that there was gonna be a resolution and a concert and a finish for the movie, which maybe it was appropriate for the movie and appropriate for them. I was always thinking of them, and their lives, where they were, what they were doing. Listen, I was very lucky to spend that that month with them, just being around them. You know, I had a job to do, as Peter Jackson calls it. But they were a fascinating group of people, John and Paul and George and Ringo, just the four of them together, to watch the interplay between them, and add Yoko into the mix. It was just a fascinating time and so therefore I felt lucky to be the person in the middle of all that and did what I did and then offered it up to the world.

And then for me, I offered it up to the world — and it was rejected the first time around because they’d broken up. People thought it was the goodbye movie. And it wasn’t technically as good as we want it to be. And then it was just taken and put in a closet for 50 years. And so I felt very much misunderstood, because you have a kind of protective sense to your movie, like a maybe father to a child. And I just felt, “Oh, they just don’t get it.” And that’s why I wanted to come out again and have a new set of eyes on it. That’s what really thrills me the most, is getting another chance. You don’t always get it, the second chance in life.

Have Paul and Ringo seen it, this restoration, do you know?

I don’t know. I don’t think Ringo came to the L.A. screening last night. Paul may be going to the London one tonight. I’m not sure. I haven’t heard. I mean, I know that over the years, Ringo had some — how would I put it? — negative things to say about “Let It Be,” but I don’t know if he’s seen it for 50 years.

We had a screening when I showed the final rough cut to them in London, and then we all went out for dinner, and then there was a discotheque connected to the restaurant. We went down to the discotheque, and Ringo jived with Maureen until the lights went off. And then Paul and I had a nightcap and talked, and we thought it was good. It was full steam ahead — I mean, everybody was behind it. And then it got caught in the tsunami of them breaking up.

Disney+ did a great job on “Get Back” and really opened that picture up for people. And so I’m assuming and hoping they will do the same for “Let It Be” and, from my point of view, give the world a chance to see it again and see, in fact, what a really fascinating movie it is.

Going back to Ringo for a second, he said, “Well, I think there’s no joy in it.” … I haven’t seen him for a while. But, listen, he’s an extraordinary human being. I mean, he just is funny, resilient, brave. He went through so much as a kid; I don’t know if you know he spent much of his youth in a hospital. And he’s one of the great drummers; all of the rock ‘n’ roll drummers say that he and Charlie Watts were the two. So he can think what he likes — but I still like him! I hope he sees it, because if you come into it when you’ve been thinking about it a certain way for a lot of years, it’s really surprising, that it’s four guys who are working together and collaborating in the way that most bands collaborate.

One doesn’t want to say that anything about the Beatles is “typical,” but it does feel like you’re seeing a month in the creative life of a typical band, where things are a little rough at first and then by the end they sound like a small army. A typical great band, at least, where everything does jibe in the end.

Well, exactly, it’s like actors getting together to rehearse a play that they all are working toward a common goal. They all have their separate and together skills. They don’t always agree. I mean, listen, actors… That sequence with Paul and George… “or I won’t play at all”: that could be five times a week in a rehearsal room in the theater. And the Beatles had final cut, and they could get anything out they wanted to, and they never interfered at all. And that little sequence, people took it originally as, “Oh my God, this is a terrible fight between Paul and George.” It wasn’t, and they never said, “Hey, people will get the wrong idea if we keep that in the picture.” No, that was them — like, that could happen every other Wednesday, you know?

On a completely different technical note, to talk aspect ratios for a moment: when the curtains opened at the theatrical preview screening, some people were surprised when the curtains opened up and it was an old-fashioned, television-style 4:3 aspect ratio. Did it play that way in theaters, or was it ever cropped for 1.85:1?

When Peter Jackson and I first got together, he said, “Tell me the story about ‘Let It Be.’ Tell me the whole thing.” So I told him what had happened, and then how it had this bad release, and then no one knew what happened to it. And so he said, looking at me, “Except for you, ‘Let It Be’ was an orphan.” And the word struck me so deeply. Because he’d found the word — that, in fact, “Let It Be” had been orphaned and abandoned.

And now again, partly thanks to him, because he advocated it for it to come out again… Because he said, “These movies are different movies. There’s a ‘Get Back’ and there’s ‘Let It Be,’ and they are similar because it’s about this time of the Beatles’ life. But they’re totally different and both need to be seen.” So he was a real advocate for it coming out again.  But the word orphan struck me, and it also touched me, because it is an orphan no longer. It’s out in the world again, and people can look after it.

It’s a happy ending, especially for anyone who was cynical who thought maybe they were just giving lip service to “Let It Be” being on the docket to come out again, as an excuse to ease “Get Back” into the world. Time passed, and the world didn’t really know it was being worked on behind the scenes. It’s kind of nice actually, that it’s coming out like two and a half years later, that there’s some space in between and now people can judge this afresh on its own.

I agree with you entirely, because if it had come out — like if it had been like a double feature, which I used to go to see in the old days when I was growing up, or “Get Back” and then two months later “Let It Be” — they would’ve swallowed each other up, or “Let It Be” would probably been eaten by “Get Back.” But the good thing and the very smart and intelligent thing by Apple, me, Peter, and then Disney+ is, it’s been given it two and a half years, and so it’s fresh from our memory of “Get Back.”

I mean, I love “Get Back”! The memory of “Get Back” is there. It’s just epic. And then there’s this kind of delicate little guy that’s gonna come in and do its magic for you, which is “Let It Be” two and a half years later. I agree with you entirely.

It is so short, so that you go, “Wait, we’re at the rooftop already?” But having it compact like that is to its benefit in certain ways. It doesn’t have as much narrative to it, but for the people who really want to see and hear the music, there are very concentrated doses of that strange feeling you get when you are hearing classic tracks that actually ended up on an album and realize a human played that part in real life, not some mythological being or AI creation or something.

My brief was, it was supposed to be a commercial release as the third picture in the United Artists deal, because they’d done “Help!” and “A Hard Day’s Night,” and they (UA) had hoped for another fiction picture, but they weren’t offered it. The Beatles said, no, this is to be the third picture. And so I really only had an hour and 30 minutes to tell the story. It’s so interesting when you talking about the music; there had to be a lot of music in it, certainly then, because it’s the Beatles. And so what I was trying to do is navigate between the music and then the salient bits of conversation, bits of exchange between them or the wonderful little piece near the end when you have Paul talking to John and he just lays it out so clearly, in his opinion, what they need to do.

And then he has this wonderful reference to playing in the Lester Deford Hall, and he was saying, “Oh, I remember we were so nervous the first night and it was really terrible.” And you think to yourself: the Beatles, being so nervous? “And we were so terrible. And then by the third or fourth night…” That sequence is fascinating to me because it really is (looking to lay down) the template for what they do or do not do in the years to come. And so, because I had a shorter picture to make than Peter, is I had to be very careful how to combine the music — which we all wanted, and we want it now as much as 50 years ago — with these moments between them. So you understood who they were and who they were at that time in their life. Because they weren’t who they were when we first met them.

With the personalities in the film as they come through, Paul seems very much, as you’ve mentioned, the driver behind all this. And so John is a little bit recessive, but not in an unhappy way — he’s so focused on his relationship with Yoko, but he seems invested, still. After the breakup it would come out that he had these ill feelings, but he doesn’t seem to be experiencing those at the time, or if he is he’s doing an incredible job of suppressing that. He seems like he’s actually having a good time, even though he’s not being nearly as forceful as Paul. It’s an interesting dynamic to try to make sense of.

It is very interesting, because see, when I first met them to talk about it was after we’d done the “Hey Jude” video, which they had a crowd for, which then translated into the wish to do a concert, and, and Paul was the one who had the most definite view of what their near-future should be. Certainly to make records, certainly to collaborate and make music, but also every so often to perform and give it to the audience. John and Yoko were aiming towards something different, but there was no lack of love between Paul and John, who were like, as you know, brothers.

John’s extended whistling coda at the end of “Two of Us” is actually my favorite part of the movie.

Oh, it’s heartbreaking. I can’t whistle like that — it’s amazing. But there’s a poignancy to it, given that the song is “Two of Us.”

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Cheers, Fears and ‘Le Wokisme’: How the World Sees U.S. Campus Protests

Abroad, some have praised the demonstrations. Others call the crackdowns evidence of American hypocrisy, or of a nation coming apart.

Protesters clashed with California Highway Patrol officers at the University of California, Los Angeles, on Wednesday. Credit... Philip Cheung for The New York Times

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By Catherine Porter

Reporting from Paris

• May 3, 2024

The world is watching what is happening on American campuses with shock, pride, relish and alarm. Scenes from the protests — and of the arrests of protesters — have been top news around the world from Bogotá to Berlin, Tehran to Paris.

In some countries, including France, students have staged protests of their own, though not with the scale and intensity of those in the United States.

Some applaud the protests. Others, particularly in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, view the crackdowns as proof of America’s hypocrisy on human rights and freedom of speech. Still others see them as the latest sordid chapter of America’s ongoing culture wars.

In some ways, the protests and the response to them are a Rorschach test for the world — the analysis often offering more insight into local politics than into America.

Here is a selection of views from around the world.

France: Warnings of ‘Wokisme’

Many in France, including Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, see the pro-Palestinian protests as another example of the dangers of “woke” culture — “le wokisme” — which they worry is being imported from the United States and threatening core French Republican values.

On Friday, police officers charged into an elite university in Paris, Sciences Po, to remove students who had occupied the building overnight. The protesters had demanded the university condemn what they called “the ongoing genocide in Gaza” and review its partnerships with Israeli universities.

It was the second time the police have done so in the past nine days — something many say they have never seen before at the university, which was founded in 1872 to educate the country’s future leaders.

Mr. Attal denounced an “active, dangerous minority” of student protesters who he said wanted to impose “an ideology come from across the Atlantic.”

Whether in the United States or France, the protests are seen by many, especially on the right, through the same lens as past movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, which the French establishment has analyzed dismissively as reductive and divisive, a threat to social cohesion.

“One of the characteristics of wokisme is to divide the world into dominants and dominated, oppressors and the oppressed. Today, what we see happening on American campuses is a view classifying Israel as the oppressor and Palestine as the oppressed,” said Chloé Morin, a political analyst who recently published a book denouncing wokisme. “As a result, they can’t accept antisemitism exists and that Jews can also be victims.”

A well-known academic and expert on the Islam, Gilles Kepel, offered a similar analysis. “Wokisme multiplies the narcissism of small differences, which means no society is possible,” he wrote in the newsmagazine L’Express. “It is a mortal danger for democratic societies.”

Supporters of the protests dismiss the notion they are imported from American campuses. They point out that students at Sciences Po had staged protests long before the Columbia campus erupted.

“This is no copycat going on here,” said Pierre Fuller, a professor of Chinese history at Sciences Po, who in late March organized a professors’ petition calling on the university to condemn both Israeli policy in Gaza and Hamas’s hostage taking.

“If it’s a woke imitation, I’d rather be woke than someone who supports genocide,” said Jack Espinose, 22, a public affairs student at Sciences Po who was among the students dragged out by the police on Friday.

Egypt: ‘The Real White House’

A right-leaning talk show broadcast across Egypt recently gave an unexpected amount of airtime to the arrest of an economics professor at Emory University. The show’s host seemed particularly taken with the image of her head being slammed into concrete by a police officer during the breakup of a campus protest, holding the image for two minutes.

“That’s the real White House,” the host, Ahmed Moussa, said with evident relish. “Any words the Americans said before, just do not believe them. Only believe what you see.”

Mr. Moussa, who once said he was proud to be patriotically serving the ruling military and the security agencies, is among several top Egyptian TV personalities to pounce on harsh tactics used by the police on U.S. campuses as a way to criticize Washington, which for years has put Cairo at the receiving end of admonitions about human rights.

Footage of officers pummeling or dragging students has run on a loop on many news channels. Moustpha Bakry, a member of Parliament with his own TV show, said the U.S. had lost its credibility as a champion of liberties.

“You’ve fallen in the swamp,” Mr. Bakry said.

Nashat Dehi, a leading TV host at the channel Ten, widely believed to be linked to the country’s intelligence agency, said Cairo was no longer obliged to respond to the annual U.S. State Department Human Rights Report on Egypt.

“The U.S. administration is doing its own intifada to counter the universities’ protesters,” he said.

Germany: ‘Hatred Against Jews’

Germany’s news media has covered the U.S. protests much more extensively than those that occurred on its own campuses in recent months. In particular, they have narrowed in on episodes of antisemitism.

A recent headline in Die Welt read, “With smiling faces they preach hatred against Jews.” Articles posted on its website about the protests are tagged as “antisemitic protests.”

That focus offers a vindication to German decisions to ban many antiwar protests and discourage public criticisms of Israel in the name of fighting antisemitism. That approach has come under international censure, particularly for its chilling effect on the arts world .

“Must it be assumed that the Middle East discourse in New York and London should be considered exemplary?” wrote one commentator in the left-leaning newspaper Taz.

China: Wary Silence

One place where American campus protests have received almost no coverage is China, where state-run media has made little mention of them in the past week.

The most likely reason: Chinese authorities do not want student protests on their own campuses, said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor emeritus of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University. “They worry that the students will use that as an excuse to get mobilized,” he said.

The main exception is Guancha, a nationalistic website with a long history of condemning the United States. On Thursday, it prominently displayed articles suggesting that the protests showed divisions in the United States symptomatic of a broader decline in social cohesion.

Other Chinese news organizations with an intended audience outside China, as well as covert influence operations, have seized on the opportunity to amplify the protests and inflame tensions.

While Chinese officials have said little to their own population, Hua Chunying, the chief spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has criticized the United States on X, which is blocked from view in mainland China.

She posted a video montage of scenes of American police wrestling with protesters together with a question, “Remember how U.S. officials reacted when these protests happened elsewhere?”

Colombia: A Reminder

The country’s two largest newspapers, El Tiempo and El Espectador, published editorials supporting the student protests this week.

At El Tiempo, editors saw the violent student arrests as an opportunity to remind readers of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, so it doesn’t “become part of the landscape,” said Federico Arango, the opinion editor. He said he had lost count of the number of editorials the newspaper had published about the war.

“Hopefully, the protests don’t end only in controversy,” Mr. Arango said. “Hopefully, people see that those students aren’t there for or against Biden or Trump. I think what those students want is for people to see the tragic reality the Palestinian people are going through.”

This week, the country’s left-leaning president, Gustavo Petro, announced he was severing diplomatic ties with Israel. He described the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza as “genocidal.”

At the National University in Bogotá, a public institution known for student movements, walls featured painted slogans like, “It’s not a war, it’s a genocide” and “Don’t stop talking about Palestine.”

“What’s important is showing your discontent, showing that you’re not turning a blind eye to what’s happening in the world,” said Yadir Ramos, 22, a psychology student.

Iran: American Hypocrisy

Iran’s state media have been closely covering the protests on American college campuses, considering them proof of America’s double standards regarding freedom of speech.

Pictures of riot police raiding Columbia University were splashed across the front pages of several conservative newspapers in Iran on Thursday, with headlines reading, “This is how America treats students,” and “Crackdown and expulsion are the price of being liberal.”

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian expressed concern about the safety of American student activists and protesters. Last week, on X , he posted a video of police officers tackling students and handcuffing them, calling it “repression” and saying it “clearly shows the dual policy and contradictory behavior of the American government toward freedom of expression.”

Many ordinary Iranians have also taken to social media to express dismay that U.S. universities, which they perceived as bastions of freedom of expression and debate, had called in the police.

Raika, 45-year-old resident of Tehran who asked her last name not be used for fear of retribution, said that the violence reminded her of when she was a college student in Iran and plainclothes security agents raided the Tehran University campus, beating and arresting students who were staging a sit-in.

But, at least, she said the students in the U.S. had access to a fair and independent judicial process.

Reporting was contributed by Erika Solomon in Berlin; Jorge Valencia in Bogotá, Colombia; Farnaz Fassihi in New York; Keith Bradsher in Beijing; and Joy Dong in Hong Kong; Emad Mekay in Cairo; and Ségolène Le Stradic in Paris.

Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris. More about Catherine Porter

Our Coverage of the U.S. Campus Protests

News and Analysis

G.W.U. : Hours before the mayor of Washington, D.C., was scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill about the city’s handling of a pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University, police moved to break up the encampment .

U.C.L.A. : A police consulting firm will review a violent confrontation  at the University of California, Los Angeles, in which a group of counterprotesters attacked demonstrators  at a pro-Palestinian encampment while security guards and police officers failed to intervene.

UChicago : Police officers removed the pro-Palestinian encampment  at the University of Chicago, a move that was sure to be closely watched because the school has long considered itself a model for free expression on campus .

Remembering the 1968 Protests:  As Chicago prepares to host the Democratic National Convention , it wants to shed memories of chaos from half a century ago even as the campus protests are growing.

Protests in Europe:  In countries across Europe, students have staged their own pro-Palestinian sit-ins and protests  on the lawns of their universities. And in several instances, the authorities are taking a similar approach to their U.S. counterparts: shutting them down.

Outside Agitators:  Officials in New York City have blamed “external actors” for escalating demonstrations at Columbia, but student protesters reject the claim .

A Spotlight on Student Journalists:  Columbia’s radio station and other student-led news outlets have provided some of the most detailed coverage  of the turmoil engulfing campuses.

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