What if Jesus returns?

Nenjam Marapathilai (நெஞ்சம் மறப்பதில்லை, The heart never forgets; Tamil; 2021)
Story and Director: Selvaraghavan

This film may not resonate with the average Kollywood movie-goer. It is supposed a thriller, a ghost story with corpses, gore and blood, but it is plentiful with hidden messages and symbolism. It is for the viewers to connect the dots and draw their own conclusions.

A casual viewer would surmise the whole offering as a poorly made horror flick with poor VFX about an orphan, Mariam, from a Church taking up a childminder's job in a dysfunctional family. The man of the house is a two-faced eccentric tyrant, Ramasamy @ Ramsay. He is married to his bosses' daughter and is under her thumb. He appears to courteous to everyone, but beneath his pleasant demeanour, evil lurks. 

Long story short, the minder is gang-raped by Ramsay and his servants, killed and buried in the large home compound. Mariam comes back as a spirit to avenge her bizarre death.

In an interview, the director, who also wrote the story, asserts that it is a good versus evil story. In the form of a servant, Jesus comes to Earth to fight Satan, who is in the form of Ramsay. Along the way, the iconic representations of biblical events - Jesus carrying the Cross, Mary with infant Jesus, fish, bread, representation of angels and many more.

From the dialogue, one can make out the story takes a whack on the whole of human civilisation; Indian culture of needing the safeguard reputation, turning a blind eye to injustice, blatant disregard to decency, class discrimination and more. It seems that evil is more prevalent than good. People in power dictate terms, and the weak follow blindly without agency. The agency bestowed with the responsibility of upholding justice is flawed and corrupt. People can get away with murder and joke about it. Maintaining prestige and social stigma are more valuable than human lives. Money can buy everything, even love and care.

The dialogue gives a sense of deja vu. Then it hits you. There are plenty of references to dialogues from Sivaji Ganesan's movies. There is even a song from one of the movies he acted in -' Enga Mama' -'Chelakkiligalam Palliley'. The message the writer probably conveys is that the devil wears Prada and appears suave as well charitable. However, political leaders are not altruistic, there are only worried about the next elections' result and dancing to the party line's tune.

What I want to know is why Ramsay, aka Satan himself, is portrayed in a Hindu home where Durga Devi Stotram is heard in the background? Is there another veiled message there? Ramsay is the contraction of Ramasamy - Lord Rama!

This director has a penchant for naming his movie after pre-existing ones. Actually, in 1963, legendary filmmaker C V Sridhar directed 'Nenjam Marapathilai'. If the former was about unfulfilled love and reincarnation, the latter, in a way, is about the same. Jesus coming back to Earth to resolve an unsettled score. But then, reincarnation in Christianity? The scriptwriter would probably invoke their creative licences to squeeze more creative juices. And Jesus in the form of a lady?

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No place like home!

The Wizard of Oz (1939)


Even though 'The Wizard of Oz' (the film) based on the 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz' (the book in 1895) played important roles in many people's childhood, I was always under the impression that it was one of those silly children stories that one can do without. Of course, the soundtrack of the movie, especially 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' kept ringing in everyone's ears to remind that the right time will come one day or was it a message just to keep the crybabies quiet?

Now they tell me that 'The Wizard of Oz' was satire through and through. Subtly hidden behind the outrageous storyline was the fight of the Populist Party in the 19th century USA against their monetary system. In 1895, there was an economic depression that affected most of the typical Americans. Part of the reason for that money was pegged to gold. The Populist Party, under the auspices of its leader William Jennings Bryan, a two-time Presidential candidate, campaigned for usage of silver and gold in their monetary policy. There was a fear of usage of Greenback to create fiat money. Gold was at risk of being controlled by bankers. 

The author, L. Frank Baum, was a journalist and a member of the Populist party. He bought over a Republican Party newspaper. To keep its readership (Republicans) happy, he wrote about many of the Populist agenda in a concealed manner. His book in 1900 'The Wonderful World of Oz' was one excellent example. 

Just like the 'Grimm Tales' which portrays living conditions in Germany and 'Alice in Wonderland' of Victorian times, 'The Wizard of Oz' is an allegory to the monetary system and of the American dream. It was all about people power, having a vision and finding it in your own backyard. 

In the 1890s, America had a severe recession. Farmers lost their land to greedy bankers. Industry workers lost their jobs. People were generally disillusioned. 

Dorothy, the average American, is blown off in her house in Kansas (Populist's stronghold) to Munchinland (short, dark, funnily dressed people - probably immigrants). Her house lands on the Witch of the East (Wall Street) and killing her. She is threatened by the Witch of the West (Rockefeller in Cleveland, West to NY). The kind Witch of the North is Populist Party who helps Dorothy with the silver slippers to pave the Yellow Brick Road to meet The Wizard of Oz. The silver denotes the silver that the party is campaigning for; The Yellow Brick Road being the Gold standard. To flaunt their spanking new Technicolour abilities, the filmmakers decided to substitute the silver slippers to scintillating red ruby ones. The Witch was the West is hellbent on removing the silver sandals.

Accompanying Dorothy in her journey are The Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. The Scarecrow needs a brain. It refers to the farmers who have the knowledge but lack the confidence to stand on their own. The Tin Man, referring to the workers in industries, need constant oiling (need oil money to keep them working) needs a heart because he has been dehumanised by modern machinery. He used to be made of wood but was soon replaced. He needs the heart to be human again. The Cowardly Lion refers to Bryan, the voracious speaker who does not have the guts to push his agenda all the way to Washington (Emerald City in the story).

The symbolism goes on and on. Oz refers to how gold is measured; oz being abbreviation to the ounce. The Wizard of Oz seemed like an unapproachable guy, but he ended up being a lovable guy controlled by buttons and gadgets behind the curtain. These complicated things denote the intricate contraptions devised by the bankers to entrap the people, and The Wizard (maybe the President) is dancing to their tune.

The take-home message here is that everything is there is the USA. It is up to the people of all level to grip it and chase their American Dream.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

http://www.themoneymasters.com/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-a-monetary-reformers-brief-symbol-glossary/

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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Allegory of creation?

mother! (2017)

I went in with both my eyes wide shut, not knowing what to expect. At first, I thought it was going to be a scary movie with all the close camera shots and sudden jerky movements which are often seen in this genre. Then, I thought maybe it was going to be like 'Rosemary's Child' - a happy couple meeting intruders with evil on their minds. Only as I delved further in, did I realise that there were more than met the eyes. It could be a biblical reference to God, Mother Nature, the creation of Adam and Eve, the struggle between Kane and Abel and the seemingly annoying character of people at large.
In the typical fashion of an eerie flick, it started with a newly married couple staying in a secluded house out in the middle of nowhere. Then came trouble in the form of a visitor. And later his wife joined in, to disturb the serenity. Then came their sons who fought over the father's wealth. We are told that the father is stricken with terminal cancer. A brawl ensued, and one of the sons is fatally wounded.  At that juncture, I knew something was not right. There were no police at the scene, and the lady of the house was seen faithfully cleaning the crime scene of blood splatter like it was just the most natural thing to do.  I had watched too many police procedural dramas to know that one is not supposed to tamper with a crime scene. No 911 calls and no stroboscopic lights arrived at the home.
It continued getting bizarre. The man of the house was a self-centred man whose only life ambition was to finish his writing and to immerse himself in attention given by fans, journalists and critiques. He tended to draw inspiration from emotional turmoils but at the same time wanted peace for creativity. Then there was a forbidden priceless glass crystal which is supposed to be out of touch, which, of course, the visitors failed to respect.
The lady gets pregnant, but by the time delivery ensues, the home had become a chaotic war zone. The well-wishers went overboard with their praises for him. They had no qualms about showing their displeasure of the lady and even mutilated their baby!
The story symbolically goes to show a narcissistic God who is on a creation spree without giving two-hoots to what his creations are doing to Mother Nature. Mother Nature, despite all the insults that the creations hurl at Her, goes on to repair and nurture. God is only interested in self-glorification. His creations are so blinded by the Creator that they forget that Mother Nature is the one who is really protecting them.

Human's unabated bashing of Mother Nature will only destroy Her. As depicted at the end of the movie, human need not worry. Well, the Creator will just re-create everything one more time and the whole cycle of Adam, Eve, Kane, Abel and so on will only repeat, again and again...

This story may just resonate differently with different people. You can look at it as the Creator who goes on creativity spree only to marvel at his own composition without worrying about their outcome or future. Mother Nature bends over backwards to maintain peace, tranquillity and status quo. The creations, on the other hand, are hellbent on destroying everything. But in an alternate universe, the creation, preservation and destruction are all part of a single spectrum that propels time forward and maintains equilibrium.