‘Pallichattambi’ movie review: Tovino Thomas’ ahistorical period drama undone by heavy-handed approach

Subtlety has never been one of filmmaker Dijo Jose Antony’s core strengths, but even by his standards, the choices he makes in his fourth film, Pallichattambi, are quite odd. Like, the idea to introduce a much-feared antagonist by having him kill his pet dog with a fork, just because it was barking a little too much. The act was also to send a message to two men who walked in with unfavourable information during his dinnertime.

The film’s treatment of history also follows a similar pattern, of landing a sharp fork at pages of history. Set amid the tumultuous period of the Vimochana Samaram (Liberation Struggle), led by revanchist forces against the land and educational reforms brought in by Kerala’s first Communist government in the late 1950s, the film’s protagonist is Pothan (Tovino Thomas), a strongman chosen by the Church to lead the ‘Christopher Sena’ to resist the Communists.

However, the filmmaker, without taking a stand on either side, brings in a fictional external enemy, a powerful feudal lord from outside the State, and lays all the blame for the violence and bloodshed at his feet. It is par for the course for a historical fiction to take such liberties with the truth. But in the current context, people tend to have a skewed understanding of historical events thanks to such interpretations. Filmmaker T.V. Chandran has, in the past, depicted Vimochana Samaram in a more historically accurate manner in films such as Ormakal Undayirikkanam and Dany, portraying it as a counter-revolution of the privileged classes against emancipatory policies.

As if to make up for its treatment of history, Pallichattambi opts for a very dated approach in writing and filmmaking. Dijo Jose’s loud treatment in his previous films, such as Jana Gana Mana and Malayalee From India, is repeated here. Although Suresh Babu has scripted Pallichattambi, instead of Dijo’s usual screenwriter, Sharis Mohammed, not much difference in approach is visible, indicating the significant writing role of the filmmaker. The exposition is so complete. It covers even the minor details, leaving no room for interpretation or reflection. The heavy-handed approach is apparent in Pothan’s budding romance with KPAC Rebecca (Kayadu Lohar).

The cameo by a major star also fails to elevate the movie. In fact, most of the characters and their relationship with each other are weakly established, so much so that even the most shocking events fail to make an impact.

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Tovino Thomas brings an admirable physicality to the role, but the weak screenplay doesn’t allow him to do anything more. The period setting is inconsistent. The hint dropped at the climax regarding a sequel, without entirely resolving the narrative conflict in this part, becomes another dampener. The director follows the easy decision chosen by many filmmakers and screenwriters these days, with the sequel never materialising. Pallichattambi is an ahistorical period movie that fails to takes off.

Pallichattambi is currently running in theatres