Phoring is the best Bengali film I have watched this year. There are minor hiccups, especially the propensity towards emotional manipulation towards the end, but I choose to ignore them. The refreshing honesty of the film with its non-cerebral simplicity makes inroads into your heart, yet at the same time, explores certain complex themes with a nuanced candor. A gawky young adult caught between the two intersecting, permeable realms of the 'age of innocence' and 'age of experience' embarks on a journey from depersonalisation to self-realisation. The flight-graph of Phoring or the metaphorical dragonfly is beautifully narrated by the director through the prism of spiritual secularisation, starting with his naive conversations with God which finally culminates into the final act of dismissive arrogance where he denounces and disowns 'his' God.
5 Reviews
Life in it's Glory and Clichés
souvikmeetszeus6 October 2013
A surprising movie to say the least, this is really a very simple and beautiful film. The pre-interval (and I say this because its not evenly divided into halves) portion is the best piece of film making I have seen in Indian cinema in quite a few years, and I know what I risk when I say this (though I must admit I have seen very few and have missed many good ones). But the honesty and tenderness of this movie simply took me by a storm. This is a story of a gawky kid called Phoring (meaning 'grasshopper') and how he battles his adolescent life, his inner dreams and his real surroundings. The second half lets down a bit but say what, it wasn't bad at all. Just that the first half was too glorious. The life in a Bengal village is captured with absolute perfection and the school kids are depicted with cent percent honesty. The ideas are great, Phoring talking in his head to his Gods, the beautiful landscapes, and Phoring's bittersweet relationship with his teacher but I think the director made this movie his own through the frame compositions. Some of the frames will leave you breathless. Indranil uses a variety of shots to express an emotion at various parts of the movie and some are glorious, like a rat scurrying through an empty kitchen, ants jigsawing against a tree trunk, and an empty factory with unused, rusted machinery, etc. It is a visual treat and somehow manages to be profound through simplicity. The story itself is of a journey, a journey to discover yourself, and many of us will absolutely recognize with the story. Intelligently made movie, and something that will make you smile and fall in love with adolescence yet again. What a phase I say, what a phase! The first 80 minutes of the film is a must watch. Great great film making. After that, it gets a tad bit toned down and emotionally clichéd but it is a good good film.
Simple Yet Enjoyable Watch
sgupta001-817-7745571 April 2014
Well, I don't find any sizable reference about the writer/director Indranil Roychowdhury on IMDb, so I guess he is fairly new to Cinema world. And that makes his attempt to create a story of adolescent infatuation with an older lady a notable one.
The plot has nothing seriously new to offer, as this kind of subtle play of emotions and memories has been kind of a common in several movies I have seen. The closest in comparison being Malena, the Monica Bellucci starter with roughly the same story line. But while the latter has been told with more of a humorous note, Phoring echos a medley of emotions which makes it memorable and commendable.
The key strength of the movie is the simplicity and genuineness with which a suburban lifestyle has been portrayed and the way simple things and events have rendered a distinct fresh flavor to the whole act of story telling and visually presenting it. An eye to detail and an attempt to create a natural and believable environment has made the movie worth watching and praising. Thoroughly enjoyable. 7/10
The plot has nothing seriously new to offer, as this kind of subtle play of emotions and memories has been kind of a common in several movies I have seen. The closest in comparison being Malena, the Monica Bellucci starter with roughly the same story line. But while the latter has been told with more of a humorous note, Phoring echos a medley of emotions which makes it memorable and commendable.
The key strength of the movie is the simplicity and genuineness with which a suburban lifestyle has been portrayed and the way simple things and events have rendered a distinct fresh flavor to the whole act of story telling and visually presenting it. An eye to detail and an attempt to create a natural and believable environment has made the movie worth watching and praising. Thoroughly enjoyable. 7/10
A coming age story of a grasshopper....
oh_stranger_oh16 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This movies, as it's named after the pet name of the main protagonist, 'Phoring' aka Grasshopper in Bengali. Rightfully so, as this is a story of an wanderer, a naive restless soul.
So it's all about a village boy from north Bengal standing odd out in his school, in his class, flunking in his exams, a laughing stock for his mates. Entering a smart young history teacher from Kolkata recently transferred, who took fancy on this little boy as she saw something different in him.
As always, a shy, introvert yet imaginative adolescent kid fell for the charm of his sweet and kind teacher who only tries to guide him.
Also the little boy hears two imaginary voice, a male and female, who taunts him, advise him, speak to him.
But it ain't a sweet story of a boy falling for his teacher, as he accidental discovered her mysterious male friend is actually a extremist and smuggling in weapons in his village. He confronts his teacher only to know she is also deeply involved as they flew the very next morning.
The next of the story is all about Phoring travelling to Kolkata to find his teacher. And finally he finds her when police arrested her.
For me the climax stood out as it is disclosed that the voice he hears every now and then in his head is actually the imaginary voice of God, in both male and female perspective and in the end he snubbed the male voice saying not to talk what he does not understand.
Sohini Sarkar as the teacher was cute and brilliant and Akash Adhikari as Phoring was phenomenal.
A must watch for all the story and movie lovers
So it's all about a village boy from north Bengal standing odd out in his school, in his class, flunking in his exams, a laughing stock for his mates. Entering a smart young history teacher from Kolkata recently transferred, who took fancy on this little boy as she saw something different in him.
As always, a shy, introvert yet imaginative adolescent kid fell for the charm of his sweet and kind teacher who only tries to guide him.
Also the little boy hears two imaginary voice, a male and female, who taunts him, advise him, speak to him.
But it ain't a sweet story of a boy falling for his teacher, as he accidental discovered her mysterious male friend is actually a extremist and smuggling in weapons in his village. He confronts his teacher only to know she is also deeply involved as they flew the very next morning.
The next of the story is all about Phoring travelling to Kolkata to find his teacher. And finally he finds her when police arrested her.
For me the climax stood out as it is disclosed that the voice he hears every now and then in his head is actually the imaginary voice of God, in both male and female perspective and in the end he snubbed the male voice saying not to talk what he does not understand.
Sohini Sarkar as the teacher was cute and brilliant and Akash Adhikari as Phoring was phenomenal.
A must watch for all the story and movie lovers
sweet, slice of life film ...
mysonamartya24 March 2017
Bengali cinema surprises us with gems once in a while. PHORING is one such film. PHORING (which is Bengali for Grasshopper) is an imaginative boy who lives in a village in North Bengal near Maynaguri. He flunks his exams and incurs the wrath of his alcoholic father who beats him mercilessly.
A pretty young female teacher (Sohini Sarkar) joins the school of the boy, and starts taking an interest in the boy and his studies. The bond between the boy and the teacher grows stronger. She calls the boy to her residence, celebrates his birthday and gifts him a smart-phone. This leads to suspicion and questioning of her code of conduct.
The present situation of unrest in North Bengal have been effectively captured on screen. The film touches issues of education, childhood obsession, involvement of promising youths in terrorism, and ruthless parenting.
The filming qualities are superlative, and the natural beauty of North Bengal have been lovingly captured by the cameraman Indranil Mukherjee. The film is directed by Indranil RoyChoudhury. The supporting actors are Ritwik Chakraborty and others.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A pretty young female teacher (Sohini Sarkar) joins the school of the boy, and starts taking an interest in the boy and his studies. The bond between the boy and the teacher grows stronger. She calls the boy to her residence, celebrates his birthday and gifts him a smart-phone. This leads to suspicion and questioning of her code of conduct.
The present situation of unrest in North Bengal have been effectively captured on screen. The film touches issues of education, childhood obsession, involvement of promising youths in terrorism, and ruthless parenting.
The filming qualities are superlative, and the natural beauty of North Bengal have been lovingly captured by the cameraman Indranil Mukherjee. The film is directed by Indranil RoyChoudhury. The supporting actors are Ritwik Chakraborty and others.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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