2018 - and not a drop to drink

2018

2023, Malayalam

Producer Venu Kunnappilly, C. K. Padma Kumar, Anto Joseph

Director Jude Anthany Joseph

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

Sorry world. I am going to have to disagree. 2018 is certainly the highest grossing Malayalam movie of the year, but it isn't the best. Certainly the stellar cast and the amazing scenes of flooded streets and mud covered houses hits the audience hard. So too the occasional moments of family tensions. 

But something clearly is missing - the fear, the desperation, the moral struggles, and the moments of utter exhaustion and hopelessness that we would expect from a movie like this. It's that certain intense energy we feel in movies like Helen or more to the point, Malayakunju. 

The message is everyone is a hero, but it seems only one fisherman family is doing anything. The rest are shown as merely giving up or as being too caught up in themselves to even think of others. 

Then there is Konchacko Boban's character, who wanders in and out of a well laid out control room, only to get more information from the local TV news. At times, we wonder if this is a biopic or a Mel Brooks comedy. 

Now please don't get me wrong. 2018 is a well presented movie. But the depth and conviction normally found in Mollywood is sorely missing. 

Most critics, and many of my readers, however, may say I am all wet.