Vith (2017)

Set in a highland village of Central Kerala, "Vith" or "The Seed", tells the tale of Joseph; a self-contained and traditionalist farmer and his son Jose; who is very lethargic and unambitious for Joseph's standards. Joseph's worldview comprehends the concoctive nature of the countryside reality where beasts, saints, ancestors and the nature coexists with each other. Nevertheless, he is convinced that the urban corporate landscape is where the future lies for his son. Jose, on the other hand is in the course of doing his systematic transect walks so as to enclose himself back into the hold of his roots. Here begins the subtle and tenuous animosity between the two. However, as the story progresses, it becomes evident that neither of them are archetypical characters symbolising binary values and attributes; but are people who encompass within themselves the nuances of both good and evil, just as the movie is made in shades of grey. Simultaneously, the movie also captures how religion locates itself, both linguistically and idiomatically, in the domain of everyday intimacy - of kinship and affinity, friendships, parent-offspring relationships and sexuality. Notwithstanding the constant attempts at reaching a common ground by the father-son duo, in the end, no conflicts are resolved, no rural-urban continuums are established, no lost-love is found and the perpetual uncertainty and sufferings that life in general and blood-ties in particular bring, continues.