Review : The Road

An undefined apocalypse has wiped out life from earth. No plants no animals could escape its fury.Sun hides behind black clouds rendering earth cold and uninhabitable. Leafless trees stand burnt. Ashes of the bygone world have filled the air and even the snow is black. Lands are barren. Houses are silent and forlorn. The last few humans left on earth are either scavenging for food or have turned into lawless savage cannibals. In this desolate land, thrash around as much as you can for that last strand of hope, it won't be given to you as the god himself has turned his back upon the world he had created.

But there is a man and his little boy--each the entire world of the other-- carrying the 'fire' in their heart and walking towards south in a hope to find more food, warmth and 'good' people there. I have not enough words to describe how utterly gloomy and downbeat the whole mood of the film (and also the book) is. Don't expect any mercy. No relief is going to come your way. The irreconcilable misery engulfs you with a  force so strong that your emotions can only lump up inside your throat.You can't even shed a tear to get rid of them. And they say the movie carries only half the impact of the book on which it is based. Cormac McCarthy, a writer for whom i bend on knees in homage, has written this novel with an unforgiving boldness. I am not even halfway through the book but its brilliance is such, it takes no more than a few lines to make you realize what it is all about and what power it carries. People have killed themselves to escape the torture of a slow horrible death due to starvation or at the hands of the cannibals,whichever was to come first. But not everyone has even that luxury. The man only has one bullet left in his revolver. And such is his misery that he has to save it for his son and coax him to pull the trigger on himself if the capture is imminent. Danger lurks at every corner and you have be ready when the time comes. He calls his son his god. His only reason to be alive. and if his boy is not the word of god then god never spoke,he says.

It's an excruciatingly painful experience and go for it (book/movie) only if you have a strong heart. It would shake you back to senses if you have been too vain and ungrateful lately. But if you are already down-- keep away. It can throw you farther into the thick of gloom which will be very hard to overcome.

There is no clear optimism on offer here. just a slight may be.in the end. But that's not even the purpose of the book/movie (i think). It's all about keeping the humanity intact especially in the face of highest odds. Death spares nobody but it's important to live with virtues. And if we are to believe that the boy lives, the goodness of his tribe will perhaps resurrect humanity on a land where currently the most vicious evil prevails.

So what do we have to look out for? -- We have an undying love and concern of a father towards his son. His toils for his child's salvation. His struggle in concealing the wreck of his own emotions and make his child feel safe and protect him from the horrors and hopelessness that pervades this godless land. His endeavor in keeping the 'fire' in his son, alive. Performances are top notch. Cinematography is excellent. The encounters with cannibals and the sights of their dreadful sins will send a shiver down your spine.But the real appeal of the movie lies in its theme. Somewhere in the far corners of our mind we are aware that the possibility of such a cataclysm can't be denied. And if proper measures are not taken in time, this fiction will become our immutable reality.

There will be moments during the movie when you will want to stop watching it because it's too painful. but you will still go on. Isn't it the same with life? Love it or curse it, it goes on.