Movie Review Logs - 01 - "Bazodee"
OPENING REMARKS
Last week, the unusually high-profile Trinidadian-produced film "Bazodee" premiered internationally, marking the first time I can remember a local film from my country "made it" onto some sort of a global scene. I'm so excited by the film's profile for a number of reasons: Firstly, there's the pure national pride. It emboldens me in my Trinidadian identity to see us producing at this level. Secondly, it attracts the attention of members of the diaspora that have been inclined to turn their backs on Trinidad. That attention could signal to them that there are things going on in Trinidad; good things; good things that they may want to get in on themselves. Lastly, there are the implications for the future of film as a labor market in the Caribbean. If films from the Caribbean and from global south/"developing nations" have a CHANCE to not only be so good but to be seen and "seen" on such a scale, it could encourage locals to pursue similar efforts. Further, the prospect of money being made from something produced in Trinidad without violence can help build a fairer, greener Trinidadian economy. If I get any chance to support this, better believe I'm taking it!
Now that I've made the case as to why this is indeed "important," here goes my thoughts on the quality of the film as a film.
PLOT
"You already seen this movie. Probably countless times." That's what I said to a friend of mine who asked me to describe what "Bazodee" was about. And boy was I right. I could already tell what it was all about: the love story between two worlds that runs into trouble because of their differences. Not to mention the denouement felt super rushed. But I was hoping for a few more surprises.
The plot is so formulaic that I couldn't believe there was no twist or surprise. This movie would have benefited a lot from simply playing with tropes or altering the course of the typical plot a bit or at least making the predictable action have a bit more nuance than it did. Especially since the romantic comedy is more or less dead as is. But alas. What saves it from getting a C/C+ level grade is the fact that, while I've seen this movie a thousand times before, I have never seen it in such an unapologetically authentic, Trinidadian context. In that case there was a sense of novelty about it. My grade for the plot is a B-
ACTING
What could have helped with selling me on the in-complex action of the film would have been the ways in which the actors brought it to life. The best actors would have been able to radiate beyond the constraints of the writing and elevate what I was seeing to something more. I've seen it happen hundreds of times. Actors that imbue every motion made and
syllable spoken with uncountable hidden layers have made me all but forget that the plot was lacking. But this was not the case in "Bazodee." NONE of the actors were by any means bad. I believed them all. They all created believable characters. But the stars failed to act at a level that I would have left the theater raving about. They didn't go the extra mile with their performances. They didn't take risks. The acting and the plot combined turned it into predictability squared.
That being said, the standouts as the best actors were characters that hardly had lines. The older woman that worked as the housekeeper in Anita's house. The younger servant (presumably the housekeeper's daughter) who takes Anita out for a night on the town near the films climax. Her close local friend, Jasmine, (one of the few Afro-Trinidadians with speaking roles in the film). Even Soul Boy, played Remmy Rembunction, made me more interested in his character than I was with the main cast. All made an impression on me and imbued their characters with tragically unexplored depth. It seems as if all the characters with Trinidadian accents were giving everyone a run for their money. If only they had the opportunity for character development.
Anita's fiancé, Bharat, is given little to do, but the actor seemed as if he was certainly capable of more. The writing failed him in that regard. On the other hand, the character of her father (Kabir Bedi) is given much to do and handles it all competently.
Overall the acting BARELY earns a B. I can't fault the actors for the failures of the writing, but I can fault them for refusing the compensate for it with nuance on screen.
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND PRODUCTION DESIGN
THIS. This was the part of the film that made my soul fly. The set design people and the cinematographers should be given all the awards for the charming and pulchritudinous world that they wove in front my eyes. To see something so familiar as the sights and scenes of
Trinidad elevated by careful layout, subtle props, and the sharp eye of the man behind the camera was simply exhilarating. I'd pay to see the movie over and over again just to see how it was portrayed in this film. it wasn't overly idyllic to the point of dis-ingenuity, but at the same time the way the world of Trinidad was realized in this film will do much to sell tickets in the future, no doubt.
If I must find a critique--really, the reason I can't give this category an A+ score--I would have wanted more establishing shots cut in between scenes. Especially when characters themselves change location. Rapid pans around the coastline; sweeping flights over the hills; the camera racing on the water. I think there was a missed opportunity to make Trinidad more of a character herself.
That being said, I can't get over how much the people responsible for the cinematography and production design, (and costume, hair and makeup at that) cared! These people SHOWED UP TO WORK! The work that they did was truly inspired and for that I have to give this category a solid A.
Note: I'm including costumes, hair, make-up and perhaps post-production in this category.
DIRECTION, EDITING AND USE OF MUSIC
As mentioned earlier, the denouement was rushed. They put in so much effort into carefully pacing out the development of Anita and Leon's bond (which could have benefited from a little more chemistry). Ten more minutes of slowly selling us the resolution wouldn't have been too much to ask. Also, the director failed to bring out the very best performances in the actors. I feel that Todd Kessler could have worked harder at finding ways to have the actors elevate the material. Or at the very least turn up the heat on the chemistry between Anita and Lee that supposedly drove the whole plot to begin with.
The use of music was a bit confusing. At the beginning of the film I felt like it was a simple, straightforward film with strong Musical Theatre DNA--the characters singing, coincidentally well at various intervals, but not in any way that would seem unrealistic. Then at times, it had the flavor of a typical Broadway-inspired musical film. Then at times again, the music seemed to be simply a distracting soundtrack until, at the end, we had the full weight of Bollywood's campiness crash down on top of us.
For the most part I feel that the music worked really well. I wish it had picked one way in which the music was to work for the film. It was all too inorganic to be a non-musical movie, the lack of an "I Wish song," too few characters with musical numbers and a lack of a full embrace of the music's inorganic presence prevented it from being a classically constructed musical and the Bollywood elements were, for the most part, too underplayed to be considered even homage.
Overall, I give the direction, editing choices and use of music a B-
MUSIC II: THE SONGS
No surprise here, the actual music was fantastic. The first few songs weren't memorable, but did much work to establish the desired mood. And Machel Montano proves why he was chosen for this role. He is a showman through and through, even with lacking musical numbers.
We're rewarded for humoring the first few songs (including the anticlimactic Indian song at the engagement party, sorry to say) when he and Anita begin to interact and bond more, resulting in a cadre of electric soca-infused pop and pop-infused soca numbers that left a mindless smile on my face. And then came the wining scene where I finally felt genuine playful chemistry between the two leads. The song that they sang was when I felt the movie's music was a it's best and worked the best for the movie. Natalie Perera is no singer--really, it is noticeable--but she competently handles her notes and character in these songs and is totally endearing throughout this and all her performances especially in the third act of the film.
As much as I take issue with the Bollywood-inspired number of the end from a structural standpoint, it was a lot of fun to see Bazodee go out on such a colorful note--bizarre as it may have been.
With the exception of Machel Montano's performance, the brand of soca featured in "Bazodee" was a revelation of things to come in the soca world. A world in which the art is to develop and reach Trinidadians living all across the globe. The global, modern pop influences the music a subtlety that I didn't know soca and calypso were capable of.
Overall, the music gets an A-
SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
The erasure of poverty and substandard living in Trinidad was something that sunk in after the "high" of the movie was over. Even when the Panchouri family loses their wealth, they go to live in much nicer housing than many middle class families in Trinidad.
This movie is surprisingly feminist. I know. A movie set in Trinidad. Focusing on an Indo-Trinidadian family at that. That features a wedding as a major part of the storyline. Far from "just a bride," Anita Panchouri has a sense of agency and self-determination that I find very refreshing and enchanting. The consequences for her infidelity are not grave or gruesome or macabre in any way. They seem to be what I would expect a man to go through in a similar movie.
The accents?! I needed more Trinidadian accents in this film. Couldn't the Panchouri family actors gone with that half-Trini, half-Brit thing? Why does affluence have to be so un-Trini?
Older women don't seem to get any screen time. Leon's grandmother? The older servant woman? Anita's mother wasn't even mentioned more than two times!
This would have been a wonderful opportunity for a child actor. Even if for two or three scenes.
More lines for our black actors please? What a waste.
CLOSING NOTES
This movie was such a wonderful ride. It would have been more fun with a bigger crowd of other Trinis, but I was thoroughly taken by the world of Bazodee and it left me hungry for more. There is room to improve for sure, but it gives me something to look forward to for the next time. As always, when given the opportunity, I will always Support Caribbean Film!
Thanks for reading this guys.
