The old world meets the modern world in director Juri Mazumdar’s debut feature Kalyug. Somewhere in India, a group gathers around a campfire to hear stories about the dark age, Kalyug, where humans were living in a bad way. These ancient stories are then brought into the modern age, with stories about poverty, AIDS, loss and guilt. A fatal flaw is made within the first five minutes of Kalyug, which depicts the sudden and graphic beheading of a goat, which is being prepared for dinner. If it was Juri Mazumdar’s intention to shock the audience with this shot, he most definitely succeeded. However, this moment shocked me so much that I was unable to objectively watch the rest of the film. There is undoubtedly some merit with relating these ancient stories with modern ones. However, starting the film in such a shocking fashion really does nothing but bury whatever message the film had. Sadly, there is nothing much more I can say about Kalyug, which could have been interesting, if executed differently. 5 | INDIFFERENT Screenings:
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Fri, April 25, 9:00 PM – Scotiabank Theatre 7
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Sat, April 26, 3:45 PM – Scotiabank Theatre 7
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Sat, May 3, 4:30 PM – TIFF Bell Lightbox 4