Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023: Sarvnik Kaur's 'Against The Tide' review

Cast: Rakesh Koli, Ganesh Nakhawa Director: Sarvnik Kaur Language: Koli, Marathi, Hindi Filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur’s new film is called Against The Tide. The first shot of the film involves a newborn baby and his mother, it’s both brutal and beautiful. The second shot introduces us to one of the protagonists of the documentary. He’s a fisherman and there’s something immensely heroic about his demeanour. It’s not just how he carries himself, it’s also about the paraphernalia that elevates the conduct of his character. The cinematographer Ashok Meena blends the landscape into the thrilling narrative. The strength and liability of documentaries is that there can be no room for farce, and your subjects’ stories cannot be twisted. The beauty and brutality of your life is open to judgment and even severe criticism. In case of Rakesh Koli and Ganesh Nakhawa, who play our two central characters, there’s lot to admire. They are two fishermen whose livelihood doesn’t rely on fishes but the sea. Their friendship is tested when the sea turns against them and livelihood is put at stake. Against The Tide isn’t just an emotional portrait of friendship, but a commentary on the horror of climate change. It’s not only attacking nature, but humans and their beings too. It’s putting relationships to test, the drying sea has resulted in a nearly decayed and parched friendship and the metaphor is dazzling and dangerous. Documentaries cannot be critiqued for performances since the characters are breathing what others (or they themselves) have suffered and smelled. And the same holds true for Kaur’s title. After a point, the breeze of the sea and the quaintness it carries along hits your face even though you’re at a distance. The devastating silence when tragedy strikes engulfs you in these people’s trauma. And again, these are not performances, we are watching real people virtually. The leisurely-paced narrative is thoroughly justified. The filmmaker wants us to involve ourselves into the story and understand their motivations. The dialogues aren’t dialogues but routine and regular conversations we often encounter and also subconsciously turn a blind eye to. Being a fisherman isn’t easy. It’s not just about throwing the trap, it involves fate, patience, and determination. There would be no fishes without the sea, and no sea with the ballooning climate change. Against The Tide throws light on this cycle. There’s a line at the beginning that says ‘tide will change, fear not.’ The tide has surely changed, but so has the climate, and friendships. What about the fishes? Against The Tide is making its South Asian premiere at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023 Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)

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