Underplayed Gems

Melvilasom (2011)

Melvilasom poster
Original title
മേൽവിലാസം
Directed by
Madhav Ramadasan
Genre
trial film
Country
India
Runtime
1h 39m
Rated
U
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A military trial unfolds entirely in one room over a real-time hour and a half. A soldier is accused of a crime and his lawyer argues his case before a court martial.

courtroomintensetalkyreal-timeclaustrophobicseriousstagedfocused

What happens

Melvilasom (transl. The Address) is a 2011 Indian courtroom drama film directed by Madhav Ramadasan and written by Soorya Krishna Moorthy. It stars Suresh Gopi and Parthiban in the lead roles, and features Ashokan, Thalaivasal Vijay, Nizhalgal Ravi, Krishnakumar and Sanjay in other pivotal roles. An adaptation of Moorthy's stage play of the same name, which itself was based on the Hindi play Court Martial (1991) by Swadesh Deepak and in turn the 1989 American play A Few Good Men, the film reached theatres on 29 April 2011. It received wide critical acclaim upon release and got a dubbed release in Tamil as Ulvilaasam. The film does not feature any female characters, except the adopted daughter of Sawar Ramachandran, or songs. The entire film was shot inside a room and filming was completed in just nine days. Sticking close to the Aristotelian unities, the screen time of an hour and half dovetails perfectly with real time. It is widely regarded as one of the defining movies of the Malayalam New Wave. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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