It seems like the “trend” of quarantine film is here to stay, essentially providing an opportunity to filmmakers to shoot their movies in the most minimalistic fashion. “Insane” is one of those titles, focusing exclusively on a confession.
“Insane” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The short begins with a slow-motion sequence through a series of narrow streets in a rundown neighborhood, thus setting the location the narrative is to unfold. Chanting-like music accompanies the movement of the camera, before it changes into something more cheerful that is revealed to be coming from the radio of a man who is preparing his coffee. The camera changes angles to show his movements, but his face is never revealed. That is until he moves into the next room, closes the door behind him, and soon places a camera in order to record himself. All the time, the annoying sound of a fly is heard.
Soon the confession begins, with the battery of the camera being on 30%. The protagonist is revealed to be Bijit Bhattacharya, as all the papers he presents on screen highlight. His talking also showcases his miserable situation, despite the fact that he is trying to smile while talking. Bijit is jobless, his girlfriend abandoned him and got engaged to another man, while his father's business plummeted and a stroke he suffered has him bedridden. Bijit is essentially forced to live with him and his mother in this rundown house. That no sound comes from them is a mystery however, which is soon revealed in a rather intriguing plot twist that also justifies the fly.
The most interesting part of the sort is actually the job done in the sound by Saikat Mondal, particularly in the way directors Sneha Karar and Souranil Singha have embedded it in the narrative. The music that ends up being from the radio, the preparation of the coffee, the sound of Bijit's voice as he is recording and the open-ended but in reality quite evident finale are all highlights of this approach, in the element that most makes the short watchable.
The second intriguing element here is the way the “confession” progresses, with the twist being rather impactful, particularly since the whole concept looks like a type of whining that goes nowhere in the beginning, but ends up as a portrait of a young man who is anything but what his overall demeanor suggested. Debopriyo Sadhukhan in the role is quite good, particularly since it seems he has been asked to convey his words in the most apathetic way possible, an approach that also adds to the twist, while justifying the title. Soubhik Hazra's cinematography results in some intriguing shots, particularly in the beginning of the movie, but the scenes in the kitchen end up being unnecessarily experimental (or artistic if you prefer). Lastly, the concept of the battery running down is also excellently embedded in the narrative, essentially as a metaphor for the finale.
“Insane” does not exactly reinvent the quarantine film, but has enough intriguing elements, both in context and production values to deem it a rather interesting watch.
