Thangalaan

The magical realism in the final act does make us wonder how much of what's unfolding is happening inside Thangalaan's head, but Ranjith's refusal to spell it out is what makes the film singular. And while history may have played out otherwise when it came to deciding the fate of the workers who worked in the Kolar gold fields, the director's revisionist take doesn't come across as fanciful, but only as an effort at self-assertion.

Thangalaan offers a satisfactory experience in visual and cerebral storytelling, blending the search for gold with supernatural mythology and the moral consequences of greed during the British Raj.

THANGALAAN works due to its theme and Pa Ranjith's execution

Pa Ranjith conjures up a familiar world with familiar beats but gives it a neo-magical touch that reimagines the plight of the oppressed by giving their thoughts a platform, and meaning to their suffering. Thangalaan is that kind of film that could have done with more breathing space, and a more expansive, even briefly expository, narrative.

Pa Ranjith really knows how to create a world. Never once during Thangalaan do you doubt the authenticity of its period setting—of clothes, of language, of behaviour.

The film is too abstract for its own good.