Ponniyin Selvan: Part I (2022)
August 9, 2023 11:08 AM - Subscribe
[TRAILER] Vandiyathevan crosses the Chola land to deliver a message from the Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan, while Kundavai attempts to establish political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot against the throne.
Starring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Jayam Ravi.
Directed, co-produced, and co-written by Mani Ratnam. An Indian production in Tamil.
86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Currently streaming in the US on Amazon Prime. JustWatch.
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Starring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Jayam Ravi.
Directed, co-produced, and co-written by Mani Ratnam. An Indian production in Tamil.
86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Currently streaming in the US on Amazon Prime. JustWatch.
mediareport was kind enough to support MeFi with a donation. Their request was for six recent films that were big hits outside of the US but didn't get much attention stateside. There was a problem, though, in that I was only able to narrow the field to 14 films. Fortunately Soap_and_Bathetic kicked in an extra $15 to push me to share the entire list. I'll be using the tag #PopcornWorld
Donate $25 or more to MeFi and you can MeMail me a request for a themed day of your own. I'll fill up the sidebar on FF with six movies that fit your theme.
This was fun, DOT, thanks! The costumes, sets, cinematography and dance numbers were fantastic (the floating demon dance and the moving camera shots throughout, especially); there were some nice battle scenes (the final fight in a raging ocean storm, e.g.), the acting was well-done and very fun, and even at over 2 hours 40 or so minutes the whole thing moved along quickly. The plot was kind of ordinary - kings and sons and princesses and intrigue, etc, I stopped paying close attention, but I'm sure Tamil audiences didn't - so I'll probably skim part 2 for the dance numbers and epic spectacles, but I'm glad I saw this.
Tamil epics are not like other movies.
It totally outdoes Hollywood in the fun epic department, for sure.
posted by mediareport at 10:06 AM on September 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Tamil epics are not like other movies.
It totally outdoes Hollywood in the fun epic department, for sure.
posted by mediareport at 10:06 AM on September 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
If anyone has Prime there's a dance scene with a deep tribal vibe starting at 21 minutes in that gives a nice taste of this movie at its most spectacular, if lots of "Will the glory of our ruler endure/Will our people thrive?/The Goddess seeks the blood of royal descent/Crimson red, red blood pours" stuff doesn't bother you too much.
posted by mediareport at 10:20 AM on September 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mediareport at 10:20 AM on September 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
The wonderful demon dance scene starts at 58 minutes in.
posted by mediareport at 10:22 AM on September 10, 2023
posted by mediareport at 10:22 AM on September 10, 2023
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:15 AM on August 9, 2023