15 Films you cannot miss at the 19th Mumbai Film Festival 2017

By Asian Film Festival on October 6, 2017 • ( Leave a comment )

We present a list of fifteen films you cannot miss at the JIO MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival 2017 that will take place from October 12th – 18th, in Mumbai, India.

Ashwatthama by Pushpendra Singh – India | 2017 – 120 min.
Section: India Gold

The mythical tragic hero Ashwathama, after the war of Mahabharata was given a strange curse by Lord Krishna – that he would be immortal but live forever with the pain of his wounds. Ishvaku who is on a vacation from his boarding school is narrated this story by his mother before she gets killed in an attack by the bandits in the village. Ishvaku is sent to his maternal village situated in the Chambal ravines. The maternal family trying to hold its feudal values is on the verge of a break up, surviving only through its religious beliefs and display. Ishvaku has strange encounters in the village and the myth of Ashwathama comes back to haunt him again one day.

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Bad Lucky Goat by Samir Oliveros – Colombia | 2017 – 76 min.
Section: International Competition

After accidentally killing a bearded goat with their father’s truck, two incompatible siblings in their teenage years, embark on a journey of reconciliation. Corn and Rita must find a way to repair the truck in time to pick up the tourists that will be staying at the family’s hotel. As they struggle to find the means necessary to conceal the accident, the siblings will visit a butcher, rastafari drum makers, a pawn shop and even a witch doctor, in a 24-hour adventure around Port Paradise.

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Bhasmasur by Nishil Sheth – India | 2017 – 74 min.
Section: India Story

Dhaanu, a villager, heavily in financial debt, stealthily returns from the city to the village one night. He is hiding from a moneylender, who he owes a handsome sum of money. Pushed against the wall, he decides to sell his donkey, Bhasmasur, in the city, to fetch a good price for the animal. Dhaanu’s son Tipu, who yearns to go the annual fair in the city, shares a very strong bond with the donkey, Bhasmasur. Tipu in his own childish ways tries to stop Bhasmasur from being sold, but remains unsuccessful. Dhaanu decides to take Tipu to the city too. The trio set off on a journey from the in lands of Rajasthan towards the city, by foot. Along the journey, numerous events take place, bringing the absent father and his son closer. But, will Dhaanu be able to make this bond last?

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Granny (Ajji) by devashish Makhija – India | 2017 – 104 min.
Section: India Gold

Manda (9) is late coming home. Her tailor granny Ajji (60) and Leela – a prostitute who gets her blouses altered by Ajji – find Manda in a garbage dump, raped. The police scares Ajji’s family into ‘forgetting about it’. But the blood stains on Manda’s mattress won’t let Ajji forget. Frail Ajji hunts down the man who raped Manda… Dhavle, local real estate muscle, has a history of brutalising women. Watching Leela at ‘work’, Ajji has a brainwave. She trains to become a prostitute, hatches a plan to seduce Dhavle. Intially suspicious, Dhavle – perpetually drunk – gives in. He unzips, throws his head back… …and chokes a scream! Ajji has her revenge. But is it enough?

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Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts by Mously Surya – Indonesia, France | 2017 – 95 min.
Section: World Cinema

In the deserted hills of an Indonesian island, Marlina, a young widow, is attacked and robbed for her cattle. To defend herself, she kills several men of the gang. Seeking justice, she goes on a journey for empowerment and redemption. But the road is long especially when the ghost of her headless victim begins to haunt her.

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Mon mon mon monsters by Giddens Ko – Taiwan | 2017 – 110 min.
Section: After Dark

Shu-Wei Lin, a super nerd in the class gets teased and harassed all the time by classmates. One day he gets into trouble and gets assigned to community service with three bullies in class. The four are supposed to be helping elders that live alone. However, it all turns into their afterschool adventures.

One night, when they are sneaking into one of the houses to steal from the elders, they bumped into two monsters. Consequently, they capture the little monster and start their own “investigations” and “experiments.” The four get more and more twisted as their involvement with the little monster. A cycle of never-ending bullying and torture haunt the students and the monster and nobody can get away with it.

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Oh Lucy! by Atsuko Hirayanagi – Japan, US | 2017 – 95 min.
Section: International Competition

Lonely chain-smoker Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima) is a single woman whose youth and vitality have been lost to the bleak routine of life, points underscored by Setsuko’s garbage-filled home and the near-daily spectacle of suicides witnessed en route to work. Pushed by her niece Mika (Shioli Kutsuna) to take English classes, Setsuko finds herself faced with John (Josh Hartnett), a handsome foreign teacher.

John gives Setsuko a blond wig, a new identity, and an American alter ego: Lucy. When he suddenly disappears — taking away the warmth and light that had illuminated Setsuko’s recent days — Setsuko/Lucy sets out to find John in Southern California. There, she finally frees herself by coming to terms with her desires while discovering that neither she nor John is quite what she believed.

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On body and soul by Ildikó Enyedi – Hungary | 2017 – 116 min.
Section: World Cinema

The director of an industrial slaughterhouse is suspicious about Maria, the new quality inspector sent by the authorities. Endre thinks she’s pretty, but she’s too formal and keeps too much to herself. He also thinks she’s too tough on grading the beef carcass, but Maria sticks to her standards with the same focused order she tries to run her life.

During routine company interviews, a lady psychologist discovers that Maria and Endre are having similar recurring dreams. They are embarrassed by what this implies, as the two introverts know nothing about one another outside of work. The following day, they check again: they had the exact same dream the night before. As they continue to compare dreams, it becomes clear that they meet each night in a common realm: a peaceful snowy forest where they are graceful deer who gently love each other.

Maria and Endre hesistantly accept this strange coincidence. They cannot ignore the intimacy they share so effortlessly in their dreams. For two people seemingly not suitable at all for love, it won’t be easy to recreate in broad daylight this harmonious relationship of their lonely nights…

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Ralang Road by Karma Takapa – India | 2017 – 103 min.
Section: India Gold

Ralang Road is a fragmented, multi-narrative set in a small hill town amid the Himalayan region of Sikkim, the story features four individuals who are interwoven in a labyrinth of local landscape, village buildings, and the social microcosm. Teacher, who comes to the region to solve pressing emotional problems, apparently has nothing much in common with the villagers, but, however improbable, fate gradually builds pathways that lead to an encounter with two local guys trying to kill time while wandering the streets; the fourth character is the ever-taciturn owner of a billiard club. Various coincidences place them at the center of an initially unimaginable series of events. With a captivating internal rhythm and the stylistic elements taken firmly in hand, this directorial debut builds on work with non pro actors and the special spirit of India’s tiny northeast state.

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Spoor (Pokot) by Agnieszka Holland – Poland | 2017 – 128 min.
Section: World Cinema

Duszejko, an eccentric retired construction engineer, an astrologist and a vegetarian, lives in a small mountain village on the Czech-Polish border. One day her beloved dogs disappear. A few months later she discovers a dead body of her neighbour, a poacher. The only traces leading to the mysterious death are those of roe deer hooves around the house…

As time goes by, more grisly killings are discovered. The victims, all hunters, belonged to the local elite. The police investigation proves ineffective. Duszejko has her own theory: all murders were committed by wild animals…

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Sweet Country by Warwick Thornton – Australia | 2017 – 113 min.
Section: World Cinema

Inspired by real events, Sweet Country is a period western set in 1929 in the outback of the Northern Territory, Australia. When Aboriginal stockman Sam kills white station owner Harry March in self-defence, Sam and his wife Lizzie go on the run. Eventually, for the health of his pregnant wife, he decides to give himself up. He is put on trial in the courtroom of Judge Taylor. But will justice be served?

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The Hungry by Bornila Chatterjee – India, UK | 2017 – 100 min.
Section: Spotlight

Based on Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, The Hungry follows Tulsi (Tisca Chopra), who is set to wed Sunny (Arjun Gupta), the son of a ruthless corporate tycoon named Tathagat Ahuja (brilliantly played by legendary Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah). At a New Year’s Eve party he is hosting, Ahuja recruits Tulsi’s promising younger son, Ankur, to participate in a business deal. During the meeting Ankur makes a grave mistake, the deal is spoiled, and he is killed.

This event sets off a flurry of violence and murder, much of it initiated by Tulsi, seeking revenge for the brutal murder of her son. As her wedding approaches, Tulsi must decide how much more she is willing to lose in order to see her plans through to the very end.

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The Third Murder by Hirokazu Kore-Eda – Japan | 2017 – 124 min.
Section: World Cinema

Leading attorney Shigemori takes on the defence of murder-robbery suspect Misumi who served jail time for another murder 30 years ago. Shigemori’s chances of winning the case seem low – his client freely admits his guilt, despite facing the death penalty if he is convicted. As he digs deeper into the case, as he hears the testimonies of the victim’s family and Misumi himself, the once con dent Shigemori begins to doubt whether his client is the murderer after all.

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Village Rockstars by Rima Das – India | 2017 – 87 min.
Section: India Gold

Dhunu a 10 year old girl lives in a remote village in Assam, India amidst raging deprivation. She is a girl who considers herself as capable as boys her age. She and the gang of boys want to form a rock band. But later the boys slowly stop persuing their dream, where as Dhunu continues dreaming to own a guitar. Her unconventional and nonconformist mother raises her with steadfast determination, giving her full freedom of expression and encouraging her to fulfill her dreams. Can Dhunu achieve her simple dream or will she, like hundreds of millions of girls in her situation across the world, have to give up on it!

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Zama by Lucrecia Martel – Argentina | 2017 – 115 min.
Section: World Cinema

In a remote South American colony in the late 18th century, officer Zama of the Spanish crown waits in vain for a transfer to a more prestigious location. He suffers small humiliations and petty politicking as he increasingly succumbs to lust and paranoia…

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