Kerala 22 Review, HEART OF A DOG

22nd KERALA IFF reviews, Trivandarum Dec. 2017

 by Alex Deleon, <filmfestivals.com>

Nayinte Hrudayam" (Heart of a Dog) 120',  -- a Malayalam language film not to be confused with the 2015 American film of the same name by Laurie Anderson -- cunningly directed by Sreekrishnan, is based on a surrealistic 1926 Russian novel by Mikhail Bulgakov that fits the category "impossible to film".

Kerala director Sreekrishnan has nevertheless found a way to convey the ideas and feeling of the stark satirical Russian tale by bending all the rules of ordinary film narration and practically reinventing film language to fit this strange story of a man undergoing a heart transplant from a dog with the social and psychological complications that ensue. The novel abstract manner of filmization with prolonged still sequences, dazzling animation overlays and fragmented narration, was too much for many viewers to deal with and generated a steady stream of walkouts, but those who remained were treated to an energetic and enlightening Q&A with the director after the screening. Dog's Heart is definitely not for every taste but, as a mind boggling curveball in film language, my hope is that it will travel the European film festival circuit and rattle cinema preconceptions wherever it lands. The poster for the film with a letter 't' falling over, won my own personal Oscar for Best Festival Film Poster. 

Director Sreekrishnan and lead actor  Ramachandran Mokery (hat)

Next up: The Black Jew,