THE CROW’S EGG

Set in the filthy slums of Chennai India, this film surrounds two mischievous and resourceful brothers who follow their dream of tasting pizza for the first time, a dream which people in the westernised world would find ludicrous and inconceivable.

Deemed as too expensive to purchase, the young inventive brothers put their plan to purchase this dream food into action, and the audience follows them on their quest, as they ingeniously find ways of raising the money.

A cast of predominantly newcomers bring this enchanting fable to life, notably Ramesh and J. Vignesh as the young brothers, whose performances will humour and sadden audiences as the story unfolds.

Cultural diversity, oppression and strong class divisions are examined; the mood change in the second half of the film will stun audiences, as themes of the ill-treatment of slum kids and the injustices of class division emerge.

This very topical film ultimately asks, ‘when will the disparity between the rich and poor come to an end?’ Audiences should be pleasantly surprised and may even laugh out loud in the finale, as an ironic twist reveals a universal message.

Spoken in the Indian Tamil language with English sub-titles, this film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and demonstrates the high-quality films emerging from Bollywood. (MMo)

***1/2