Poetry in motion - October (2018)

Just re-watched this movie and I feel it is Shoojit Sircar's best work to date. Yes, better than Vicky Donor which is pure entertainment, and better than Piku which is also extremely well-made.

But October takes me to a place that is far from the mundane realities of life. It puts me in a space in which humanity, love, poetry, and compassion triumph over the tragedies of life. Shiuli, a young 20-something, falls into a coma, and Dan, a character who only knew her professionally till then, puts aside his own life to take care of her. As they say, it's not a love story, and yet to me, it is the purest form of love, which Dan exemplifies in the film. Love which cannot be defined and yet blooms as profusely as the shiuli flower in October.

Dan is a character who is unique and has his own value system which most of us will not be able to understand or relate with. He is a most unusual character, and to me, that is his charm. He may not love Shiuli romantically but the love which he shows for her has no name, and cannot be tagged or defined in easy words.

It is a film about compassion. It is a film about selflessness. It is pure poetry in motion. The underlying sadness and tragedy of Shiuli's untimely death as well as the coma leading to that is transcended by the sense of humanity that Dan's character espouses.

To me, Varun is the heart of the film. I think this is Varun's best performance to date, because somewhere in his depiction of the clumsy, big-hearted Dan, I see a glimpse of the real Varun. I feel the actor and the character collided beautifully and it is such a joy to watch Varun bring Dan to life in this poignant, tender film.

The Bengali in me loved the analogy of a flower that blooms briefly in autumn, only to wither and die the next morning.

Also, special mention to Geetanjali Rao who plays the resilient mother and the evocative background score by Shantanu Moitra.

Sory for the long post, guys. Frankly, this movie moves me to tears whenever I watch it and I just had to share my feeling with you guys.

Thoughts??

"An unhurried movie that dwells on life's little moments and monumental tragedies in equal measure and deftly weaves a tale of longing and loss."

I would like to add that many have complained about the pace of the movie and the fact that nothing much happens. For me, part of the beauty of the film lies in this unhurried aspect, of dwelling on the small moments which add up so much meaning to our lives.

Does anyone here feel it is boring?

I feel like I just disagree with all your film posts. 😆

The problem with October isn't really the pacing or the nothingness of it. It's that it never really evokes any emotion. I think Lunchbox is a good comparison. You feel for the characters in Lunchbox, you understand their motivations, you can see them in real people. You can root for them. But here I have no idea who Dan is, why Dan does what he does, beyond servicing the script. Both films also have those repetitive shots of everyday life to set -up the mundane environment, but Lunchbox has those scenes perked up with those odd quirky moments of life and in October the scenes just kind of are, so they lose you.

I personally think the bigger problem is that, around October/Pink is when Shoojit started taking himself too seriously as a director. The film feels labored. It lacks that quirky messiness, which makes Piku great.

it was a great film, One of Varun's best performance