Plot Summary – A fiery young man clashes with an unflinching forest officer in a south Indian village where spirituality, fate and folklore rule the lands.

★★★★★ 

Original Language – Kannada

Watched 25 Dec 2022

I couldn’t breathe for the last 30 minutes of this movie. Rishab Shetty has achieved something so beautiful and cinematic in this movie that it is difficult to put into words. I can break the movie down into its technical aspects to try and describe the experience of watching it but there’s something supernatural and ethereal about its quality. It’s a film that consumes you and takes over your body, there were so many scenes where I was transfixed to the screen, nothing else mattered. The cinematography had a huge impact on this, the shots are so beautifully composed. Even the mass action was shot in a unique and interesting way. The depiction of Dakshina Kannada culture and the way it makes you a part of the village is where the film shines the brightest for me. Each member of the village has a distinct personality and yet when they unite they are ferocious force to be reckoned with. Writer, director, and star Rishab Shetty gives an amazing performance as Shiva, the ill-mannered and arrogant village boy who has to slowly grow and accept his legacy. From a direction standpoint, this film is spectacular. It never slows down and the film is helmed extremely well. His writing also is so effective in this movie, whether it is to deliver exposition naturally or to have some of the best humor I’ve seen in a film all year. The soundtrack was spectacular, and the score keeps you so engrossed in the movie. I feel so lucky to live in a time where Kananda cinema is producing banger after banger and they all take place in my native place. The Shettys deserve massive credit for taking these small villages and making them get recognition worldwide. Dakshina Kannada is a small part of Karnataka that has a very unique and distinct culture and this movie is a brilliant showcase of it. Kantara exceeded every expectation I had and really made me feel so ecstatic after watching it. It’s definitely my favorite movie of the year and probably one of my favorite movies of all time.