[1.5/4.0]
This film was screened at Cinequest 10, the San Jose film festival.
Hanuman is the revered monkey god of Hindu mythology, and this film is a reflection of the anthropomorphic deity in the fact that his spirit is examined, and also by the fact that many of the primary characters in the film literally are monkeys.
The film is set in the south Indian countryside near a Hanuman temple, and it follows two parallel stories. One is among monkeys that live near the temple, and the other is in the human world. Hanu is a young member of the troop who is in love with another young monkey who happens to be the princess daughter of the troop leader, Long Tooth. Long Tooth is angry that his regal daughter is interested in a commoner, so he chases Hanu to the fringes of their society. Tom (Robert Cavanaugh) is a Briton whose father was a renown archeologist who researched the Hanuman temple when Tom was a young boy. When Tom discovers that the artwork of the temple is being looted for profit, he impulsively decides to travel to India to continue his father's inquiries and to hopefully try to end the plundering of the antiquities. Eventually, the two kindred spirits cross paths.
The film is a mix of curiously contrasting halves. The storyline following the monkeys is consistently cute and entertaining, whereas the storyline following the humans is poorly written, horribly acted, and completely unimaginative. It feels as if a story was developed with only monkeys, but the extra human plot was tacked on to make it reach a desired running length.
Clearly the film required a great deal of craftsmanship to work with the monkeys. Voluminous footage must have been shot and painstakingly edited. The result is a cohesive and clever plot. Indeed, it seems that the monkeys in this film are better actors than the humans. The insipid human-based plot demonstrates the ugly result of mixing bad acting with bad writing. It is unimaginable that a performance could be worse than the one given by Cavanaugh.
The incompetent portions of the film may be ignored and accepted for viewers who are only interested in the monkeys, and thus it might be enjoyable for children. However it does contain some violent content.
Marginally recommended. Although the film contains vivid cinematography and outstanding coordination of animal footage, it is drowned by a weak plot and horrid acting. The film may be enjoyed by young children, but it is barely bearable for adult viewers.
(c) 2000 Murali Krishnan The Art House Squatter http://ArtHouseSquatter.com
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