Review : Ship of Theseus

Ship of Theseus
Directed by Anand Gandhi

Let me begin by writing that if you have not seen this movie, then please see it. Do not watch its trailer, do not read a single review, do not ask a friend. Just watch it.

There are very few films wherein after the movie ends, there is a feeling which says - "Good job! Arvind" for having seen that movie. I felt proud to have seen this film, i felt elated to be alive to see the film and the fact that this was an Indian film made by an Indian director, shot in India (mostly) is just bliss.

Ship of Theseus is a philosophical paradox which is best explained by reading this Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus . The movie explores this subject through three stories and an ending that was so evident but i didn't see it coming. I couldn't. I was not even thinking about it but when it hit me, as it hit, i was floored. The entire theater gasped. oh! It was like a magician's trick.

But it was not merely the ending that had us all blown. There is no way to tell that one story was better than the other, there is no way to measure it. It is like three circles of same radius next to each other. When i focus on one, it seems bigger but as soon as i glance at its neighbor, my entire concentration moves to it and suddenly the other two are paler when compared. Yet, in terms of #scenes that are still visibly clear in my head now, in terms of stills that will stay for a long time in my head, i think it was the monk arc that impacted me the most.

To write about each arc will give it away. No, not the  plot but the joy that you will derive when you watch it. The visuals are stunning. It was like Tree of Life all over again.

I watched most of the movie with head on my elbow leaning forward as if i was attending a lecture. The movie made me think, it took me in and made me open doors within me. A philosophical argument in a film form - People! Cheers! Indian cinema has arrived!