Watched this one yesterday. A powerhouse of a film. Bad but not terrible DVD. Presented in 2.35:1 non-anamorphic widescreen (mercifully atleast not pan and scan), the film which has some lovely photography deserves much better. But beggars cannot be choosers. I am glad to have purchased my copy before it inevitably goes OOP.

NIZHAL = SHADOW
KUTHU = DANCE

so i don't know from where they got the title SHADOW KILL. I heard this is a great film, and glad to know that its on DVD. You guys are some great movie lovers. I mean how many people nowadays watch films for its artistic values.

oh man, Y did you post the last screen shot? i think that was the climax. man now i lost the interest to watch the film.

we watch them for camera/special effects, song/dance sequences, dramatic monologues, etc..

Very cool - thank you ,perhaps SHADOW KILL is a tamil translation ??

its the difference between koothu and kuthu....kuthu means stab....= kill? koothu means dance/celebration/festival etc. Don't know if its nizhalkoothu or nizhakuthu....i think its the former. second one doesn't make any sense.

I think the movie is Nizhal(shadow)kuthu(doesnt it mean to stab)

maybe the word 'kuthu' does have some other meaning...

well, he certainely isn't dancing

Kuthu also means dot or point. I havent seen the film. But being a mallu, I have heard that Nizhal Kuthu is a type of voodo ritual performed in some parts of Kerala. Similiar to doll voodoo (in which you make a doll or dummy of a person you want to destroy and with certain spells and actions on the doll, it will affect the person too), here it might be like if you do something to the shadow of a person, it will affect him too. Not sure thou. May be some of you who saw the film can actually confirm if there is any kind of symbolic presentation of what I said, in the film.

Some more info from Strictly Film School ( invaluable website btw)

http://www.filmref.com/notes/archives/2 ... _2002.html



Exploring similar human rights issues as Nagisa Oshima's Death By Hanging on the sociopolitical framework that lies beneath the inequitable administration of justice and capital punishment, Shadow Kill is told from the perspective, not of the condemned but of the reluctant executioner, an aging, guilt-ridden hangman named Kaliyappan. Set in colonial-era state of Travancore in Kerala, an idyllic, rural outpost in the southwest tip of India, the images of lush, textured landscapes of the film visually presage a thematic divergence from Death By Hanging wherein the clinical and sterile setting reflect the rhetorical tone and delineated logical argument of Oshima's cerebral polemic. Rather, Adoor Gopalakrishnan's vision of state-sponsored execution and intractable social codes are set against the overarching context of universal balance, cyclical natural order, and even fated inevitability. The opening sequence, composed of a single image of an extended black screen, provides a temporal dislocation to Kaliyappan's story: devoid of associative images, the introductory passage presents an (appropriately) terse summary of the appointment, imposed isolation, duties, and interconnected rituals of death and healing associated with the everyday life of a professional executioner, a "privileged" vocation that is traditionally passed on from father to son. In the opening sequence, a drunken, world-weary Kaliyappan sits in the counter of a tavern recounting his belated discovery of a condemned man's true innocence after carrying out his execution, a knowledge that has haunted him for much of his life. But in the death ritual is also the promise of salvation as the hanging rope is presented to the executioner to be burned in spare increments (until the next hanging) before the altar of Kali (the goddess of creation and destruction) and the holy ashes anointed upon the sick in order to cure them of their illnesses. (Note that the early episode of his daughter's celebration of womanhood is contrasted against the recounted episode of a young girl's violation and that the same actor portrays the brother-in-law in both sequences, further reinforcing the idea of the human condition as a universal, collective interconnectedness). One day, Kaliyappan is instructed to prepare for an execution and begins his ritual of purification, a period of intense meditation and focused spirituality that brings him extraordinary powers of healing. However, as the fated, grim ritual draws near, Kaliyappan begins to doubt his ability to bear the moral burden and carry out another execution (since the Mararaja has devised a convenient way to absolve himself of any guilt by dispatching a procedural pardon a few minutes before the appointed hour knowing that the document will arrive too late to save the condemned prisoner), and the looming reality of the inevitable execution increasingly pushes him further towards maniacal escapism, alternating between lapses of purifying, transcendent prayer and emotionally dulling constant intoxication. Gopalakrishnan's penchant for aesthetic naturalism, evocative compositions, and visual economy are particularly well suited to the idyllic landscapes of his native Kerala, creating an intrinsic juxtaposition between the timeless beauty and natural paradise of the countryside, and the unnatural, man-made acts of destruction (and self-destruction) that occur within it: an eternal violation of natural law that can only be set right by the spiritual healing of moral recognition and acceptance of personal responsibility.

After having seen this film, I can sort of understand it being titled "Shadow Kill" or something related to a bewitch reference. In actual fact, the former title(as it is)makes perfect sense, considering the films underplot.

The film itself is an interesting take on the issue of ontology. Sort of Malick-esque if you will. Similarly, it also sparks gorgeous photography of the nature climate of the village surroundings(something Malick too loves to deslove into his style, allowing the obvious connections between the characters and their natural surroundings). Its too bad this DVD was poorly done, otherwise, this one would have been a real feast to the eye.

This film was my very first introduction to the works of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, sadly, I didn't connect with him as deeply the way most of his other admirers have. Perhaps, it might take time for me to acknowledge the art within his chic(respectfully all great artists are ahead of their time), truly, I hope more of his work becomes available like this one, I find him unusually fascinating to say the least.