The mockumentary format has given us some great titles during recent years, with Indian cinema having a knack for the genre, as titles like “Mehsampur” and “Buddha.mov” eloquently highlight. The latest entry comes from Malayalam filmmaker, Rarish R, who, as in the case of the aforementioned movies, implements the particular style in order to present a number of social, political and philosophical comments through a rather pointed sense of humor.
The Hounds and the Runners screened at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
A student named Sabitha shocks Keralan society when she posts a video on social media declaring “I would like to sell my virginity”. As she starts an auction beginning at 25 lakh, the whole of the local world starts dealing with the subject, with a number of specialists and not stating their opinion on social media and even the news. The reaction is huge but an unwavering Sabitha even states that a public auction will take place in front of the Secretariat.
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Rarish R directs a film that highlights the ridiculousness of (Keralan) society in all its appalling glory. The concept of a girl selling her virginity, and a number of people actually bidding is just the beginning, since the fact that everyone who sees the video wants to state their ‘expert' opinion appears as even more absurd. Feminists and conservatives, psychologists, sociologists, social media ‘experts', journalists, politicians, activists, netizens, potential ‘buyers' all seem to have their opinion on the subject, frequently turning the whole thing around in order to benefit their own agenda, thus appearing even more ridiculous. In that regard, the concept of what is ‘freedom of speech' in the era of social media does arise, with Rarish essentially stating that this freedom has been replaced by a misinformed buffoonery, which actually seems to have significant impact throughout society.
How the press is actually hunting for topics like these in order for the channels, newspapers etc to make more money, since this is what the majority of people want to deal with, is another central comment here, which Rarish also paints with the bleakest colors. The violation of personal freedom and privacy, the lack of proper ideology that is beyond people's personal opinions, the thirst for spectacle (as in sex and violence) and the inability of the police to handle the issues the impact of the web has brought in the world are also highlighted, cementing the rather rich context here.
As in the ‘rules' of the mockumentary as format, Rarish presents the movie as an actual story, implementing newsreels, interviews and statements, all of which are staged of course. The resulting collage is quite convincing, particularly since editor Sumesh Somanathan has done a rather good job in the connection and succession of the different elements here. At the same time though, at 90 minutes of largely the same cinematic approach, the film does become a bit tiring after a fashion, even if eventually Rarish changes his approach a bit, particularly close to the end. His own cinematography follows the documentary approach to the T, in a choice that works well for the movie.
Despite the aforementioned issue, “The Hounds and the Runners” emerges as a rather smart and funny movie that manages to present its comments with eloquence. .
