As part of our Submit Your Film Initiative, we have covered Tathagata Ghosh‘s movies two times already. Therefore, it is with great pleasure to witness his cinematic progress, as presented in “Miss Man”, his strongest effort as of yet and of the best LGBT films from Asia we have reviewed recently.
“Miss Man” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
After a visually impressive introduction comprised of various vignettes that are soon revealed to be part of the protagonist's life story, we are introduced to Manob in the harshest way possible, as we watch him getting beaten by his father, who discovers him dressed in his deceased's mother's clothes inside their house. Manob has realized since childhood, that the sex he was born in does not represent him, but his ignorant and in denial father just seems to have realized the fact, now that his son is all grown up. Furthermore, our protagonist also has troubles with his boyfriend, who seems to love him but at the same time is terrified about the social outcry their relationship could bring. Despite the pressure he feels from every side, Manob still finds time to help a woman he comes across at a bus station, in a meeting that proves quite significant later on, when he decides to move to another city to have a sex change operation. While there, and as he still tries to come to terms with his sexuality, he stumbles upon questions he still does not have answers for. Meanwhile, his father continues to be on denial.
Tathagata Ghosh deals with the concept of sexual identity in a conservative society, highlighting the issue from as many angles as the 25 minutes of the short allow him. Accordingly, he deals with the transgender notions of the protagonist, which he has been experiencing since childhood but is not sure how to interpret them, since society forces him to keep it a secret, an issue that becomes more complicated when he realizes that the borders of his sexuality are much more extended than he realized. The way his gay but not trans boyfriend thinks about him and their situation is also presented, while also quite interestingly, the same applies to the state of mind of Manob's father, who cannot even fathom that his son is not to follow the “regular” ways, of having a wife and children. What is revealed through all these stories, along with the circumstances of the prostitute that is eventually added in the story, is that all of them are suffocating due to the “rules” of a society that is conservative as it is hypocritical, and relentless in its will to punish any kind of straying away from the perceived norm.
The presentation of the aforementioned comments is excellent, with the film benefiting the most by Ghosh's direction and production design, Amir Mondal's editing, which induces the film with a rather fast pace that suits its aesthetics quite nicely, and Avishikta Chatterjee's costumes that become a part of the narrative from the beginning. Regarding the presentation, the only aspect that seems a bit off is the extensive use of music that occasionally makes the film seem like a music video, somewhat detracting from the impact of its comments. Lastly, Arghya Adhikary's performance highlights the (inner) struggle of the protagonist in the best fashion, if with a bit of excessiveness occasionally, which suits, however, the overall aesthetics of the narrative.
“Miss Man” may have a few minor faults, but remains an impressive effort and a testament to Ghosh's progress as a filmmaker.
