Television (2022) Movie Review | ਟੈਲੀਵਿਜ਼ਨ
Television (2022) Movie Review | ਟੈਲੀਵਿਜ਼ਨ
In the new Punjabi film Television, or ਟੈਲੀਵਿਜ਼ਨ, a small village is thrown into social chaos when a television is given as part of a dowry. Should this romantic comedy with a social commentary be on your watchlist? Thanks for checking out my Television (2022) Movie Review!
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My couch rating system:
5 - A must-watch - do not pass this one up
4 - It’s really good, you should see it
3 - It’s OK - maybe good for a rental
2 - It’s not that good and I wouldn’t recommend it
1 - It’s terrible and I definitely don’t recommend it
0 - Cutting off a finger is better than watching this
Content
0.266 -> I've gotten a ton of recommendations
for Indian movies lately,
3.103 -> but one that I got absolutely zero
recommendations for was one
6.873 -> that I recently saw the trailer for,
and I was instantly intrigued.
10.41 -> Television is the new Punjabi
romantic comedy
13.346 -> that also packs in a social commentary.
14.714 -> So should you go see this?
17.517 -> A small village is thrown
18.918 -> into social chaos when a television
is given as part of a dowry.
22.255 -> So a family receives a television
as part of a dowry.
24.791 -> And all of the villagers
26.059 -> come to congregate at the home to watch
this new and provocative invention.
30.063 -> Now, the film takes
place in the early eighties,
32.632 -> but the TV looks like
it was made in the sixties.
35.368 -> A young man sees a young woman
coming to watch the shows,
38.138 -> and he's instantly smitten,
causing him to try to win her heart.
41.341 -> Now he falls in love, but
42.442 -> his mom is not going to allow the marriage
unless a TV is part of the dowry.
46.613 -> But that goes against the young woman's
father's moral standing.
50.083 -> OK, so I do know that that's a lot
and a bit hard to follow,
53.586 -> but I don't want to spoil the story.
54.954 -> So this is a rom-com at its core
where we watch the young man, Tari, woo
58.992 -> the girl of his dreams.
60.093 -> Through a bunch of deception to his mom,
Tari is able to get married,
63.73 -> which then leads
to a huge comedy of errors.
66.399 -> I took my oldest son
67.367 -> and we were the only ones
in the theater again, which is odd,
69.903 -> but we laughed out loud
through so much of this movie.
72.872 -> I mean, the dialog is quick and witty
with a lot of absurdity built in,
76.976 -> and each of the characters
is larger than life in different ways,
80.18 -> some exaggerating to the extreme,
but in ways that surprisingly work.
84.384 -> Now there are two women
who share a big courtyard
86.719 -> separated by a wall,
and they argue like crazy.
89.322 -> I mean, each of their disputes continues
to ratchet up, making their claims
93.059 -> and threats ridiculous.
94.461 -> There's
this wheat grinder and a matchmaker
96.663 -> who are both slightly off,
but that makes them even funnier.
100.066 -> The wheat
100.4 -> dude is almost like the fool at points
because of how his dialog is crafted.
104.37 -> But within the wisdom that's being shared,
some wonderful comedy
108.141 -> is also being produced.
109.609 -> Now the rom-com aspect of this works
111.511 -> but never gets too mushy
or deep into the romance.
114.347 -> We can root for the couple to get together
and for their happiness.
117.55 -> And then it's the chemistry
between the two that is pretty effective.
121.121 -> We don't get much character development
on most of the players within the movie,
124.491 -> but as the story goes along,
we know enough about them to connect
128.161 -> and then be drawn
into their individual arcs.
130.63 -> I love the social commentary angle
because there are a few different topics
133.967 -> that are addressed.
135.168 -> Now first, and most obvious,
136.636 -> is how the introduction of the TV affects
the way of life within this village.
141.107 -> It's a central topic
of conversation and curiosity,
144.177 -> but it is also a distraction
to the villagers
146.613 -> because instead of going out
from the village into the world,
149.482 -> everybody stays put to take
in the soft glow of the boob tube.
153.52 -> We're shown very effectively
154.754 -> also the draw that the entertainment
has on the people.
158.024 -> They become ravenous for the content
as well as the status of owning one.
161.995 -> Now, I loved all of the conversation
surrounding how
164.597 -> the people got inside the TV
and whether or not they could get out.
168.134 -> It's a very simplified viewpoint,
but when the totally makes sense
171.404 -> for anyone who has never been exposed
to any technology like that.
174.641 -> And there are some hilarious theories
that the villagers have
177.777 -> about the people on the TV, which also
allow for some really humorous situations.
182.182 -> The other point of commentary surrounds
the idea of dowries.
185.251 -> It brings into question
186.219 -> why someone would sell their son's
happiness for a sum of money or for items.
190.657 -> But also, and probably more importantly,
that a dowry is
193.76 -> a deterrent for having children,
especially among the poorer families,
197.197 -> because of the fear of having a daughter
and not being able to provide a dowry.
201.734 -> This story shows how the dowry reduces
those getting married to commodities,
205.972 -> but it does so without being preachy
or overbearing with its message.
209.475 -> So this is just under 2 hours in length,
but I did feel the time in spots.
213.046 -> It's not like the story was dragging,
but the time just became apparent.
216.516 -> And there are occasional scenes
that are there for sort of filler
219.452 -> or maybe ones
220.153 -> that felt like they were only included
for something like a fart joke.
223.156 -> Now sometimes bits of dialog are important
with these serving almost as voiceovers
227.493 -> to fill in the details.
228.561 -> But I would really argue
that some of the info
230.663 -> isn't important to the overall narrative.
232.832 -> The production quality of
this is pretty lackluster.
235.468 -> I mean, the film
236.135 -> quality isn't cinematic, but instead
feels very much like a TV show.
239.939 -> And there are several times
when a program is being shown on the TV
242.942 -> and it's very evident
that the image isn't one that is actually
246.179 -> coming from the TV, but rather something
that's placed there in post-production
249.549 -> because you can see the mouse cursor
on the screen.
252.619 -> Now at about the halfway point
the audio gets completely out of sync,
255.955 -> and I'm not talking slightly out of sync,
but like almost a full second off.
259.826 -> It was wildly distracting,
but luckily I was reading the subtitles
263.696 -> so I didn't have to focus too intently
on the mouth movements of all the actors.
267.5 -> But the sound did sync back
up, though, for the final act of the film.
270.803 -> So it was certainly a weird experience
there for just a little bit.
273.74 -> And then there's the use of sound effects
that are almost out of control.
277.076 -> I mean, it's like a kid
who is given a playlist of audio stingers
280.213 -> and they just went ham with it.
281.681 -> They're pretty overdramatic
and very prevalent,
284.183 -> but that ridiculousness
actually worked to a degree.
287.287 -> There are also a few songs
performed in this
289.255 -> and they are most
definitely being lip synched.
292.158 -> Now maybe the actors did sing
the songs for the soundtrack,
294.827 -> but they weren't singing
during the actual film.
296.996 -> And the story is also fairly predictable
where you can tell
299.899 -> where story beats are coming
and how the arcs are going to progress.
303.77 -> But the funny thing is,
even with all those issues,
306.439 -> I still had a blast with this and
I walked out with a huge smile on my face.
310.943 -> I mean, I was almost giddy
from the experience.
313.346 -> And when the story was predictable,
I didn't care.
315.782 -> I was hooked into what was happening.
317.483 -> And was even happy that I could predict
what was going to come
320.119 -> because I was looking forward to
how I knew the arts are going to play out.
323.856 -> It's been a bit since I've laughed
that much at a movie in the theater.
327.527 -> So overall, the quirkiness
of the characters, combined with the wit
330.43 -> of the script, created a storyline
that I thoroughly enjoyed watching.
334.801 -> The social commentary is relevant
and engaging without being preachy.
338.838 -> And despite the production quality
being less than what you might expect from
342.308 -> a theatrical release, this was endearing,
sweet, and wildly funny.
346.679 -> There's no sex or nudity, some very mild
profanity and just a bit of violence.
350.616 -> I give television four
and a half out of five couches.
353.72 -> This probably wasn't on your radar
to check out
356.055 -> and you may not
even want to see it in the theater,
358.024 -> but if you do ever get the chance
to watch, give it a go
361.094 -> and you may just find yourself
laughing out loud a ton.
364.13 -> So what are you bingeing right now?
Let me know in the comments below.
366.799 -> If you enjoyed this review,
please give it a like.
368.801 -> Also, don't forget to share and subscribe.
371.471 -> I'm Chris. This is Movies and Munchies.
373.806 -> Thanks for couching with me.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8NOJLHuaaQ