In this delicately crafted story of life, marriage, everyday violence — and kindness — writer-director Asghar Farhadi proves once again that there are few filmmakers like him in turning the camera inwards.

Continuing with the strength of this franchise, Apocalypse ensures each of the mutant characters gets a solemn, credible background.

A SORT-OF sequel to J J Abrams’s found-footage 2008 hit Cloverfield, the film steers clear of it but for the name. In reality, it is a much, much cleverer take on the horror-film, end-of-the-world genre where what lies outside is as dangerous as what is brewing within. And comes just before this summer’s blockbusters get ready to hit us.

Well, as anyone who has sat down with a set of seemily incomprehensible numbers and watched them fall into place will know, it is not unlike a spiritual feeling.
Ultimately, you could say the film is bigger than the sum of its parts. Should Ramanujan agree.

It’s a little more reminiscent of the jungle and the book than the 1967 Disney classic, a lot, lot darker, and yet, ultimately as exuberant, with a surprisingly strong and novel message at the heart of it, in a story that already didn’t lack for them.

The DreamWorks animation says it more effortlessly in action, drawing out each of its village-full of characters with warmth and detail.

The DreamWorks animation says it more effortlessly in action, drawing out each of its village-full of characters with warmth and detail.

At first, it seems the film, written by Guy Hibbert, is clearly showing up the politicians for wavering over the fate of the girl, and for the military being more clear-eyed about these matters. The icy Rickman, with the cutting inflexion he puts on the word “minister”, and the icier Mirren barely disguise their contempt at the dilly-dallying.

Ben Foster starrer makes an equally compelling case of how even “the world’s most tested athlete” got away with cheating for so long.

This is a film though about few words, and most of the action happens in the way the gaze of the two lead roles changes, how she tentatively returns his embrace when they are dancing, the ferocity with which she strikes the piano keys, and moments in which they don’t lock eyes but when they let their eyes drop.