Movie Review: Balan The Boy
The film is about a teenager Balan ( Zinan) who is in search of his his mother (Farzana Palathingal) from when he was separated from her around six years ago as a little boy (Adhiseshan).
Throughout his young life, Balan and his mother were on the run, assuming different identities, in order to fend for themselves and survive in different jobs.
However, at one stage they found a good home at which she worked and Balan was even put in a school.
But his joy was shorlived as one day, when he returned to the school bus drop off point in the forest, his mother never came to pick him up.
To find out what happened to his mother, is the goal of Balan's life now. Does he succeed?
The film is a superbly narrated tale of the lives of this mother and child, and touches upon so many issues along the way, with the introduction of each character
We dont just see the events in their lives but also get a peek into the peculiarities of different characters ( The Old Lady, the Cop Parthiban, Abbas ( Tovino Thomas) and many more).
The way the writing builds up the story through small details, like expressions, eyes and body language, makes it more intetesting to watch. The film gives viewers the opportunity to use their grey cells instead of spoon feeding them. The suspense and twists at every step, keep interest levels on a high.
The measured, nuanced and impactful acting by Farzana and litle Adiseshan is simply fantastic and a highlight of the movie, and surely deserves many an award.
Tovino Thomas leaves a mark with a different role while Zinan ( older Balan) and Jean Paul Lal ( as Parthiban) do a fine job.
The second half seems to veer off at a tangent and some scenes dont hold water in many places overall.
But on the whole, the film is a rivetting, suspenseful, emotional and thrilling rollercoaster, that's well worth a, watch.
Rating 3.25/5
*BALAN - THE BOY*
*Cast:*
*Farzana Palathingal* as Mother
*Adhisheshan KR* as Younger Balan
*Zinan* as Older Balan
*Jean Paul Lal* as Pavithiran KS
*Girish A.D.* as SI Francis Alex
Tovino Thomas as Abbas
*Crew:*
Director: *Chidambaram*
Writer: *Jithu Madhavan*
Producers: *Venkat K Narayana (KVN Productions)* & *Shailaja Desai Fenn (Thespian Films)*
Cinematographer: *Shyju Khalid*
Music: *Sushin Shyam*
Editor: *Vivek Harshan*
Production Designer: *Ajayan Challissery*
