Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam

"This film has completely taken me by surprise. Hilarious and yet sad at the same time, this aptly-titled film (which translates to “Like an Afternoon Dream” in Malayalam, with the film utilizing both Malayalam and Tamil dialogues) is a slow burn that takes a remarkably straightforward premise of a man who unexpectedly wakes up from a sleep to inexplicably assume a different identity and manages to make an extremely engaging film with a rich variety of colorful characters and situations relying heavily on observations to move the story forward. Absolutely phenomenal storytelling that utilizes a lot of still wide shots and careful framing compositions to tell a lot with so little (really takes the “picture is worth a thousand words” saying to a whole new level). A great script bolstered by committed performances from the entire cast, particularly from its lead star Mammooty (a leading actor in Malayalam-language Indian cinema), who does an incredible job of effortlessly embodying essentially 2 characters here (not to mention speaking an entirely different language (Tamil) as well). The film wouldn’t work nearly as well without his performance, doubly so considering he produced the film too! This is such a unique movie watching experience that has to be seen to be believed (mind you, this film is a slow burn) and also shows why visual storytelling is so important to a film."