A new grammar to challenge Tamil film

Members of the Problematic Family, which premiered at the Berlinale, is a striking, experimental debut film from R. Gowtham

- Aditya Shrikrishna

R. Gowtham's debut feature, Members of the Problematic Family, premiered at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival last week in the Forum section.

Everything about this film is distinct yet unfamiliar, beginning with its title. The Tamil title, Sikkalana Kudumbathin Uruppinargal, a literal translation, rolls off the tongue. For decades we've had the word kudumbam (family) in Tamil film titles that have often alluded to the spotless, divine status accorded to the unit. But here is a film that makes no such promise. It invites you not to witness a few days in the life of irascible characters who, as fate would have it, need to function as a society-sanctioned order.

Members of the Problematic Family is a raw, unflinching portrait of a family rationing grief and despair in the face of loss. The word "dysfunctional" doesn't do justice, nor is it accurate for a group of people who are simply trying to get by and do the right thing. The anchor was Prabha (A Ra Ajith Kumar), who has died young overnight. His passing is mysterious but not shocking; an uncompromising profligate, Prabha squanders time and people as he drinks his life away. But his passing evokes strange feelings in his mother, his cousins, his uncle and aunt, and his grandfather.