Moshari (2022) User Reviews

A tense 20 minutes

[suprabhattacharya · 8/10 · 28 August 2023]

A post apocalyptic short set in Bangladesh where human's only way of survival is mosquito net after sundown, that's a intriguing premise .

Two siblings are what left of a happy family and struggling to exist in this situation .The younger one is naive and the elder one is motherly,an evident contrast in their characters has established their chemistry.

As the night falls,poeple resort to their mosquito nets and hope for dawn to arrive,there is a voicover telling poeple that they can keep religious textbooks with them but that will not protect them if they are outside during night. It signifies the nihlism in the world they live in and what ensures safety is believing in others not in some higher power .

There may be different conclusions regarding this film,like how it mocks women safety through different dialogues here and there but the film really scores in establishing the love and bonding of the two sisters.

Owing to the budget Bangladesh has for experimental films,this is a gargantuan achievement,the lighting,music,camera work all contributes to make this film a tense watch.

But the dialogues and accent don't seem rooted at all which feels very distant and artificial.

Another Chilling Bloody Middle Finger to Patriarchy From Nuhash Humayun

[asabfatin · 8/10 · 15 October 2022]

Fans of 'Pet Kata Shaw' get another glimpse of the powerhouse that is Nuhash Humayun. Marks of his deliberate direction is on every department-from the first frame of the skull of a cow and a swarm of flies (indicating the film's soaked in blood and death) to the inclusion of Indalo's 'Hobeki'. Showing the creature just enough to expose what's happening rather than the budget. He included a very impactful jumpscare(I HATE JUMPSCARES; in the hands of a worse director they ruin the atmosphere and is the crutch to provide cheap scares) to elevate the tone.

'Moshari' is a story of two sisters encountering a mosquito-human-hybrid monster (great creature design) that is patriarchy in the guise of authoritarianism, misogyny, colonialism, classism (and other metaphors i probably haven't caught correctly, there is certainly some ecological commentaries too) that lives and breeds on the juice of life. Nuhash gives the characters a beating heart, which is the area of this genre that garners frequent criticism.

'Moshari' creates the dreadful atmosphere that is the heart of horror genre through Nuhash's fast paced editing, the pitch-perfect performance of both Sunerah Binte Kamal and Nairah Onora Saif, Ejaz Mehedi's superbly effective chiaroscuro lighting backed by great production design, Ye Min Sng's purposeful soundscape consisting breathing, shrieking, and other human sounds tinted with Dameer Khan's breathy ambience and flute-tabla infused heartbeats.

Now a bit of nitpicking (i mean i gotta criticise something to pose like a critic). The dialogues felt a bit mechanical, which reached its distracting peak in the middle where Apu was giving a lecture about the concept of moshari. The ending didn't feel very covincing. Why didn't Ayra straight up told Apu that the moshari's stuck in the door? I know that she's a kid who didn't understand what kind of danger she's in but she's already encountered the monster, right? But i digress.

Outstanding!!!

[mahinur-93539 · 10/10 · 1 November 2022]

An another outstanding piece of work by Nuhash Humayun. This was short and crisp. The concept of the plot was fully exploited by the director.

The term "Moshari" means mosquito net. It was kind of shown as a shield from those vampires that only comes at night (like mosquitos). It had a bit of social structure and political flavours within it too. But the prime thing was the love between the siblings well portrayed by the actors.

The lighting!! What a work of set lighting there was!! I was really amazed! The pan out shot taken with the bed covered with moshari looked really good with a slight green dim light just showing what the viewers need to see. The scene where the elder sister goes to find the younger one and there was a yellow light on the face of Suraya Binte Kamal. I looked so good! Also the sound design paired with the lighting when the " vampires" came were really good. I haven't seen very few (if not none) works like this in Bengali.

The horror element was put just the right amount. Not more, not any less. The jumpscares were effective (it was 1 or 2 in total). And lets not talk about the last scene.

siblings

[Kirpianuscus · 30 October 2022]

A short horror who propose a message simple and precise , detail by detail. Two sisters in an dangerous time. Only protection against danger - the mosquito web. The older sister fighting, in severe manner, to protect her little one.

But the little is curious and the menace more than tenacious in its hunting. So, the night , the aggresivity of enemy, the mother - like behavior of the older sister and a mistake becoming fatal.

The thrill is admirable crafted but the film has the virtue to propose more than tension or fear. The simple message, served by beautiful cinematography , the good acting and the dialogue before the death of elder one are the precious virtues of Moshari. In short, admirable work .