Film Review: The Cloud and the Man (Manikbabur megh)

Directed by Abhinandan Banerjee
97 min – India
Jeffery C. Barbakow International
Cinema – US Premiere – Subtitled

Part of the major fun of any film festival is walking into a film you know nothing about.  No Netflix algorithm driving it at you.  No buzz.  No known actors or directors.  Just a synopsis and a workable time slot.  And, you have to sit there and watch it on an enveloping big screen without multi-tasking. Sometimes you’ll find a hidden gem or an ambitious failure.  To my mind, The Cloud and the Man falls into latter category.

Manik lives in the giant metropolis of Kolkata yet lives a solitary life.  He feeds his plans and feeds his frail elderly father.  When his father dies, he starts to develop a relationship with a small cloud in the harsh sunny sky. 

The film’s ambitions stem from its spare, relatively wordless script, languid pacing, Manik’s enigmatic affect, and its mood piece intent.  That leaves the viewer the opportunity to look around the frame and drink in the visuals and think about the symbology of sun and cloud and rain and shadow. 

That worked for me for the first 30 minutes or so as I relaxed into its pace.  But, as a relationship drama, it’s a slow burn and nothing really developed; neither ideas nor plot nor character.   The film is greatly hampered by the limited range of its lead actor, whose face is the center of the film, and who makes Keanu Reeves seem like Al Pacino.   After a while, my mind floated into the clouds and away from the screen.  But, the sound was immersive and some of the cinematography compelling, effectively transporting the viewer to another part of the world. 

Ultimately, at a film festival especially, an ambitious failure can be better than a good genre film and I’m glad SBIFF gave it a shot.  And, I imagine there is an audience to whom Manik and the cloud will speak volumes.