Thazhvaram

aka The Valley 1989 130’ col/scope Malayalam d/m Bharathan pc Anugraha Cine Arts s M.T. Vasudevan Nair c Venu lp Mohanlal, Sumalatha, Anju, Shankaradi

A tale of revenge involving four characters in a small rural community. The remote stranger Balan (Mohanlal) arrives in a deserted valley to take revenge on the wily Raju, who is employed on a farm run by Nanu (Shankaradi) and his daughter Koochutti (Sumalatha). When Balan’s effort to kill Raju is thwarted and Balan is injured, he is nursed by Koochutti. Raju, who had earlier robbed Balan and murdered his wife, now makes off with Koochutti’s ornaments as well, adding to the satisfaction when the hero gets the villain in the end. The CinemaScope production excels in spacious long-shots, coupled with minimal dialogue, building Mohanlal into a brooding Leone- Eastwood ‘man with no name’-type stranger.

Film