Ship of Theseus

Three short stories interlinked. This has been done before multiple times in multiple ways and in multiple angles. But has it been done better? That is the question that this movie poses. It’s for you to answer; it’s tough you know to answer nowadays because quantum physics, science, and spirituality leave you with more and more questions without right answers. Maybe, variable answers.

Anand Gandhi, I assume, is a voracious reader and the film just goes on to showcase the books he has read, philosophies he has read, spiritual talks/discourses he has heard, and discussions he may have had with people. I am sure that he and I have read the same books, listened to the same discourses, and had same discussions though with different people. Because the movie’s method of tying up the three short stories and the content of the shorts are pretty similar to a feature film’s screenplay that I had conceptualized about six months ago: The Carpet. Ship of Theseus asks the very same questions that The Carpet would have asked and maybe, even answered. Maybe!

The movie, though brilliant in all respects, stops just short of being an experience for me. It remains a movie though it aimed for more. And yes, I did hold out my hand more than once; I could not relate with any of the three leads. They were characters living on this very earth but they were not convincing enough. They did not feel real.

They espoused a very non-native language (English) and had some gems of wisdom too but the conversations felt staged. But then, it could just be me and my realism.

Ship of Theseus stays a very honest film till the very end; it has genuinely good cinematography, screenplay, and well-etched characters.

One of the best shots of the film for me is where the camera lens cover falls into the rapid river below and the photographer has no choice but to capture a scene internally. Revealing without showing… at its best.

The basis of the title is provided right at the beginning of the film. I loved that.

“Where do I end and the other begin?” Is it like that? I mean, is the question valid? Ramana has asked and answered this umpteen times. Thanks, Anand Gandhi for framing the question in the form of a film.

I will await your next. And, thanks to Kiran Rao for bringing this gem out.