I was super excited for this one just like any other film enthusiast in Kerala cause of the casting and the continuous delay for the release. All this excitement and delay definitely build up a huge hype around this movie from the day it was announced. However to my surprise the film ain't living up to the hype, i would say the script itself killed this film. The script seems to be one of the most laggy and boring ones i have seen this year or the past. The cast seems to be the only good thing about this film. Joju George, Arjun Ashokan and Poornima Indrajith have all performed pretty well comparing others on this slow pace script. Nivin Pauly seems to be a pretty bad choice for the cast here, feels like he is undermining his former performances. The background scores are dull and depressing to every single scene on this film. The director might have wanted to pay respect to the original story behind the script but the film just doesn't make it work for me. The movie starts off with a little energy and it slowly digs its own grave as the story progresses. By halftime all most everyone in the theatre was like where the hell is this movie going!!! The supposingly second half is way more dull and dead, characters end up here n there with the story going somewhere else. I would only recommend this film to those who are really spiked about the true story behind the script and has got 3 hours to kill. Definitely didn't expect this level of dullness from the director and crew, could've done a lot better!!!
12 Reviews
If only the intensity of the first act was carried forward.. [+52%]
arungeorge1329 April 2023
After watching Rajeev Ravi's long-delayed Thuramukham, I begin to wonder whether Gopan Chidambaran's script was intentionally stripped off its commercial elements and high moments, or if it was entirely the director's vision (or choice) to deliver a straightforward, realistic account of the harbor workers protest in the '50s. Whatever the case may be, Thuramukham ends up feeling half-baked. By placing its focus on Nivin Pauly's anti-hero Moidu, the screenplay dangles on slippery ground. The protagonist here is clearly Moidu's brother Hamza (Arjun Ashokan, who puts up a good show) but the writing lends him the short end of the stick. As for the unhinged, two-minded Moidu, the arc is all over the place. The cold sibling rivalry in the film is thematically similar to Chidambaran's earlier screenplay for Amal Neerad's Iyobinte Pusthakam, but that film had greater commercial inclinations, which also made it supremely enjoyable.
Thuramukham's best stretch is indeed the black & white opening act featuring Joju George, Sudev Nair, and Poornima Indrajith. When the story fast-forwards to the adulthood of Moidu and Hamza, in addition to building tedious reasons for the workers protest to gain steam, the film restrains from offering anything exciting. The performances from the ensemble remain solid throughout, but the flaccid plot developments and the lack of coherence in the treatment of Pauly's character bring the film down several notches. Additionally, the songs and the score felt so one-note (this is coming from someone who relished K's work in Kammatipaadam) and the random fade-outs in several important scenes almost took me out of the story.
Thuramukham's best stretch is indeed the black & white opening act featuring Joju George, Sudev Nair, and Poornima Indrajith. When the story fast-forwards to the adulthood of Moidu and Hamza, in addition to building tedious reasons for the workers protest to gain steam, the film restrains from offering anything exciting. The performances from the ensemble remain solid throughout, but the flaccid plot developments and the lack of coherence in the treatment of Pauly's character bring the film down several notches. Additionally, the songs and the score felt so one-note (this is coming from someone who relished K's work in Kammatipaadam) and the random fade-outs in several important scenes almost took me out of the story.
Meandering
nairtejas17 February 2024
I really wanted to love Thuramukham (The Harbor) for it has a lot of things I generally love in cinema. A hard-hitting intro set in period and monochrome, the old ways of doing things (pre-Independence and immediate post-independence India), poverty, slow-burning plot, and lifelike performances. Yet with all that heavy load, it falters somewhere around the midway as if the makers had lost strength after all that heavylifting. Thuramukham is a film in the "what could have been" category had it evolved out of its documentary-like filmmaking and given a redeeming factor to its characters. As it stands now, the climax makes it feel like all that heavy load was for nothing. I still feel there's a good film hidden inside Thuramukham, and hence is a required viewing.
Disappointing Script and Lackluster Execution
AjHuntt30 March 2023
The script of the movie was poorly written and confusing, particularly during the climax. It was difficult to understand what was happening, even if the writers were attempting to convey something meaningful about the chaapa labor system and the associated protests. Unfortunately, the writers chose to focus on a monotonous story that failed to engage the audience from beginning to end.
Despite the weak script, the actors delivered strong performances, with Poornima Indrajith standing out in particular. She played her role exceptionally well and showed a side of herself that had not been seen in any of her previous movies. Credit goes to the director for recognizing her hidden potential and bringing it out on screen.
However, the slow-paced storyline and unremarkable background music made the movie a disappointment overall. It had the potential to be a great movie, but the weak script and lackluster execution failed to do justice to the talents of the actors.
Despite the weak script, the actors delivered strong performances, with Poornima Indrajith standing out in particular. She played her role exceptionally well and showed a side of herself that had not been seen in any of her previous movies. Credit goes to the director for recognizing her hidden potential and bringing it out on screen.
However, the slow-paced storyline and unremarkable background music made the movie a disappointment overall. It had the potential to be a great movie, but the weak script and lackluster execution failed to do justice to the talents of the actors.
Sloppy Writing. 2023 worst!
sowljur28 April 2023
I have to say that it is the worst film I've seen in a long time. There was nothing redeeming about this one. No matter what aspect you look at, the film fails to deliver. The story is dull and uninspired. The film tries to tackle several themes, but it fails to do so with any depth or nuance, making the experience a tedious one.
I would not recommend this film to anyone, as it falls short in every aspect. I am surprised that a filmmaker like Rajeev Ravi, who has been known for his exceptional work in the past, could produce such a mediocre film. This film was a complete waste of time and I would advise others to steer clear of it and choose something more deserving of their time and attention.
I would not recommend this film to anyone, as it falls short in every aspect. I am surprised that a filmmaker like Rajeev Ravi, who has been known for his exceptional work in the past, could produce such a mediocre film. This film was a complete waste of time and I would advise others to steer clear of it and choose something more deserving of their time and attention.
An Intimate Chronicle
cinish12 March 2023
I enjoyed the slow and definitive approach to story telling that the movie has adopted. While there is so much to say, the slow and detailed presentation let the content sink in.
Joju George started the movie off on an excellent footing. Remarkable charisma, acting. Most of the prologue section is shot at night. Excellent camera work.
Nivin Pauly came in after the titles, and there was a slight dip from the standard that Joju had set. Nivin has some limitations in his acting abilities, and while there were a few scenes where the limitations surfaced, there were many that were pleasantly perfect.
Music and lyrics work have been excellent. There is a unique story telling style that Rajeev has adopted in this movie, the scores have aligned very well with that, and there are many remarkable songs with high quality experimentations.
There is a genuineness to the character portrayals. Cinema heroes have a way of being at the right place at the right time, with all the necessary knowledge and skills, and a win-at-anything. Characterizatons in Thuramukham were a welcome contrast and felt very genuine.
Arjun Ashokan has done excellent work as the timid younger brother, with a subdued revolution within him. Played out a lot of undercurrents extremely well.
Many other faces from various Rajeev Ravi movies show up and they have all done excellent work.
Cinematography is excellent. Revolt shots, closeups. Right framing for the right purpose. The movie felt like a master class in cinematography.
Action scenes were stunt directed very well, and felt very realistic. There are a bunch of action scenes, and each one was done well.
The intense emotions in the closeups of so many actors in the crowd scenes were all remarkable.
Script is amazing. There are certain moments that are poetic. There is a shot where Nimisha suddenly wakes up from her sleep and goes back. The context in which that was written was very beautiful.
It is a movie that needs multiple viewings.
It is a slow, drawn out movie, which takes time to tell you what it needs to tell you.
Joju George started the movie off on an excellent footing. Remarkable charisma, acting. Most of the prologue section is shot at night. Excellent camera work.
Nivin Pauly came in after the titles, and there was a slight dip from the standard that Joju had set. Nivin has some limitations in his acting abilities, and while there were a few scenes where the limitations surfaced, there were many that were pleasantly perfect.
Music and lyrics work have been excellent. There is a unique story telling style that Rajeev has adopted in this movie, the scores have aligned very well with that, and there are many remarkable songs with high quality experimentations.
There is a genuineness to the character portrayals. Cinema heroes have a way of being at the right place at the right time, with all the necessary knowledge and skills, and a win-at-anything. Characterizatons in Thuramukham were a welcome contrast and felt very genuine.
Arjun Ashokan has done excellent work as the timid younger brother, with a subdued revolution within him. Played out a lot of undercurrents extremely well.
Many other faces from various Rajeev Ravi movies show up and they have all done excellent work.
Cinematography is excellent. Revolt shots, closeups. Right framing for the right purpose. The movie felt like a master class in cinematography.
Action scenes were stunt directed very well, and felt very realistic. There are a bunch of action scenes, and each one was done well.
The intense emotions in the closeups of so many actors in the crowd scenes were all remarkable.
Script is amazing. There are certain moments that are poetic. There is a shot where Nimisha suddenly wakes up from her sleep and goes back. The context in which that was written was very beautiful.
It is a movie that needs multiple viewings.
It is a slow, drawn out movie, which takes time to tell you what it needs to tell you.
Waste of time
cliffordxjf1 May 2023
Elongated script for a movie that had no true length. Not sure, what the director was even trying to depict, is it the focus on the characters or the poor script. Sheer waste of good talents. Nivin and Dharshana were wasted with hardly a zilch to add much into the story.
The music was one of the worst torment of the movie.. there was absolutely no sync to whatsoever of the scene or the music bring played.. it was as though, the music director was on a rolled out budget, that he blew the music only on a trumpet that was pathetically composed.
There were so many loose ends, that at some point it leaves you wondering, what is even happening.
Please don't watch. Not worth a single dime.
The music was one of the worst torment of the movie.. there was absolutely no sync to whatsoever of the scene or the music bring played.. it was as though, the music director was on a rolled out budget, that he blew the music only on a trumpet that was pathetically composed.
There were so many loose ends, that at some point it leaves you wondering, what is even happening.
Please don't watch. Not worth a single dime.
A solid film that could have been something great
Jithindurden19 March 2023
Malayalam cinema from the 80s has seen a number of iterations of this same story in a more commercialized package of that time. Even though there are certain nuances and clever subversions here, giving a bit more identity than those films, those never really rise in a cinematic way to reach out to the audience effectively as it could have.
The opening black and white scenes with Joju remain the peak cinematic moments in the film. Almost every cinematic aspect was top-notch for those 10-15 minutes and everything that followed was a bit underwhelming.
Nivin's character arc is laid out in a certain way that reminds you of early iterations of such characters only to show those were films and this is something that wants to show the reality. But the problem is that after around the first hour of the film, it kind of felt a bit disjointed and all over the place.
Despite all these issues, Thuramukham is a solid film documenting the political landscape and the lives of labourers and their families in Mattanchery. There's a lot in the film that I enjoyed and a lot that I thought could have been better which could have made this film really great. I can see why someone would like it a bit more than me or doesn't like it at all.
Even at three hours, it felt evident that there's a lot more that is edited out of this movie. There were a lot of scenes and actors that felt like haven't finished their purpose. I do believe this would have been a really great miniseries with enough time to explore every aspect of it, instead of trying to cram this into three hours.
This is the best performance by Arjun Ashokan I've seen despite him being in every other Malayalam movie last year and Poornima's performance shows we're wasting a great talent by not casting her in a lot more movies. Sudev Nair was also really impressive in showing the difference between the two time periods and still being formidable throughout it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie but it could have been something really greater.
The opening black and white scenes with Joju remain the peak cinematic moments in the film. Almost every cinematic aspect was top-notch for those 10-15 minutes and everything that followed was a bit underwhelming.
Nivin's character arc is laid out in a certain way that reminds you of early iterations of such characters only to show those were films and this is something that wants to show the reality. But the problem is that after around the first hour of the film, it kind of felt a bit disjointed and all over the place.
Despite all these issues, Thuramukham is a solid film documenting the political landscape and the lives of labourers and their families in Mattanchery. There's a lot in the film that I enjoyed and a lot that I thought could have been better which could have made this film really great. I can see why someone would like it a bit more than me or doesn't like it at all.
Even at three hours, it felt evident that there's a lot more that is edited out of this movie. There were a lot of scenes and actors that felt like haven't finished their purpose. I do believe this would have been a really great miniseries with enough time to explore every aspect of it, instead of trying to cram this into three hours.
This is the best performance by Arjun Ashokan I've seen despite him being in every other Malayalam movie last year and Poornima's performance shows we're wasting a great talent by not casting her in a lot more movies. Sudev Nair was also really impressive in showing the difference between the two time periods and still being formidable throughout it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie but it could have been something really greater.
Class Movie
togetshibin11 March 2023
Thuramukham became another class movie in Malayalam in Industry, by its Direction and performance of the actors. All Actors are true to their characters, especially poornima indrajit performed well in film, after moothon nivin pauly exceptional performance. All the other actors including Jojo and Arjun Ashokan too performed well. Raji Ravi gives important to expression and performance more than dialogue same pattern we feel in this movie.personally when I watched all his I felt he is just following the style of Martin Scorsese, just as long short and slow Running, short and inspiring dialogues. After watching movie some characters will be in your heart. As movie speaks about true event it raises many Questions and those who are labourers will feel more attached to this film. Congratulations to all the people behind this class movie.
Took me a while to understand what was happening
jomy-augustine10 March 2023
I felt bored at many points but it got interesting towards the end. A well directed tale of the struggles of our ancestors for their rights and the price they paid for true freedom and equality. Screenplay was a bit lazy. Unorganized maybe. There were pointless repetitiveness of things and many unwanted scenes that could be avoided to keep the film intact and interesting... Casting was brilliant. Most of the actors have done great job and justified the characters they played... Indrajit didn't fit in that role in my opinion... Great set and edits made it look like actually in the 50s.... BGM was bad... Super bad.
A movie that should be watched by every Malayalee
nandanvinayan22 March 2023
I don't understand all the negative reviews this movie has been getting. It doesn't deserve all of those reviews. It's a really good movie that depicts the life of union workers in the 1950s.
The release of this movie had been stalled for a very long time and I was very skeptical about the movie after seeing all of the negative reviews coming from the others but I went to watch it anyway and I have to say, but it was totally worth the wait.
I'd heard a lot of people saying this movie had a dead-slow pace, but I didn't feel anything like that except in some parts in the second half. I don't think the pace is a problem, because this story has to be said in that way.
Coming to the cinematography, it's very good. But the real highlights of the movie are the black and white sequences in the first 20 mins of the movie. They're just beautiful to watch. And Joju George's performance in those scenes amplifies the beauty even more. His performance as Mymoo is worth mentioning.
Now, coming to the performances, everybody has done their best to perfect their roles in whatever way they can. Nivin Pauly was great as Mattancherry Moidu. It felt great to watch Nivin in a good performance after a long, long time. His performances in the last few movies weren't as good, except Padavettu. It was even better to see him act in a bit of a negative shade. Sudev Nair was literally living the character Pacheek. Arjun Ashokan has also done his role very nicely. I would say it's the best role he has done until now. He has proved how good of an actor he is with Romancham and now this. Even Poornima Indrajith was a revelation. Indrajith, even though he has relatively lesser screen time, has done his job neatly,
As for the background score, in a few scenes in the first half, there were a few trumpets that came in at regular intervals. I found that to be a bit disturbing at times.
Overall, this movie is really good and should be watched by everyone. Just ignore the negative reviews and go for it. Trust me, you'll like it.
The release of this movie had been stalled for a very long time and I was very skeptical about the movie after seeing all of the negative reviews coming from the others but I went to watch it anyway and I have to say, but it was totally worth the wait.
I'd heard a lot of people saying this movie had a dead-slow pace, but I didn't feel anything like that except in some parts in the second half. I don't think the pace is a problem, because this story has to be said in that way.
Coming to the cinematography, it's very good. But the real highlights of the movie are the black and white sequences in the first 20 mins of the movie. They're just beautiful to watch. And Joju George's performance in those scenes amplifies the beauty even more. His performance as Mymoo is worth mentioning.
Now, coming to the performances, everybody has done their best to perfect their roles in whatever way they can. Nivin Pauly was great as Mattancherry Moidu. It felt great to watch Nivin in a good performance after a long, long time. His performances in the last few movies weren't as good, except Padavettu. It was even better to see him act in a bit of a negative shade. Sudev Nair was literally living the character Pacheek. Arjun Ashokan has also done his role very nicely. I would say it's the best role he has done until now. He has proved how good of an actor he is with Romancham and now this. Even Poornima Indrajith was a revelation. Indrajith, even though he has relatively lesser screen time, has done his job neatly,
As for the background score, in a few scenes in the first half, there were a few trumpets that came in at regular intervals. I found that to be a bit disturbing at times.
Overall, this movie is really good and should be watched by everyone. Just ignore the negative reviews and go for it. Trust me, you'll like it.
like a documentary than a feature film
SPHariSP1 May 2023
Thuramukham is a movie that portrays the struggles of the working class in a realistic manner.
However, where the movie falls short is in its storytelling. The narrative lacks interesting twists and turns and feels more like a documentary than a feature film. The pacing is slow and at times, the movie feels like it's dragging on.
Overall, while Thuramukham has its merits in terms of its depiction of the harsh realities of life and its commendable performances, it fails to engage the audience throughout its runtime. The movie could have benefited from a tighter script and better pacing.
Better than kuttavum sikshayum.
However, where the movie falls short is in its storytelling. The narrative lacks interesting twists and turns and feels more like a documentary than a feature film. The pacing is slow and at times, the movie feels like it's dragging on.
Overall, while Thuramukham has its merits in terms of its depiction of the harsh realities of life and its commendable performances, it fails to engage the audience throughout its runtime. The movie could have benefited from a tighter script and better pacing.
Better than kuttavum sikshayum.
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