Newton
2017 · Directed by Amit Masurkar
Original language: Hindi
- comedy
- drama
The story
A government clerk on election duty in a conflict-ridden jungle of Central India tries his best to conduct free and fair voting despite the apathy of security forces and the looming fear of guerrilla attacks by communist rebels.
What it’s like
Naturalistic, dusty and sun-bleached, with the flat midday glare of the Chhattisgarh forest giving way to dim, dirt-floored polling huts and wide shots of scrubland under a hard white sky. The camera stays mostly still and observational, letting awkward conversations and bureaucratic routines play out in full, while the handheld moments cut in with a jittery edge. The score is sparse and percussive, and the jungle is often quiet enough that the hum of insects and the crunch of boots carry the scene. Its vibe is dry, wry unease: a deadpan satire of officialdom that undercuts a steady current of real danger. The pacing is unhurried, with long stretches of procedure punctuated by sudden tension, and the emotional register swings between gentle absurdity and quiet dignity. Its central figure is an idealistic, rule-bound clerk slowly confronting how little the system around him cares, so the arc is one of stubborn principle meeting indifference. Violence is present but restrained: tense and threatening rather than graphic, with occasional brief, sudden bursts of gunfire and no gore. Best suited to people who want a thoughtful, darkly funny film with political bite, a good late-evening watch with the lights low.
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