THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR
****
Director: Ken Scott
Screenwriters: Romain Puértolas and Luc Bossi, in collaboration with Ken Scott and Jon Goldman, based on the novel The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Trapped In An Ikea Wardrobe by Puértolas.
Principal cast:
Dhanush
Bérénice Bejo
Erin Moriarty
Barkhad Abdi
Gérard Jugnot
Ben Miller
Country: France/India/Belgium/Italy/USA/Singapore/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 96 mins.
Australian release date: 2 May 2019
Previewed at: 2018 Indian Film Festival, Sydney, on 17 August 2018.
The 1918 Indian Film Festival in Sydney opened with Ken Scott’s English and French-language film, The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir. Despite its Indian subject matter, it was an unusual choice because, with the exception of a leading Tamil actor, most of the cast is European. It’s set not just in India but in France, Italy and Libya, is based on a best-selling French novel and, is directed by a Canadian. It also featured in the Across Borders section at this year’s French Film Festival. Oh, and it’s a French/Belgian/US/Singaporean/Indian/Italian co-pro!
Beginning in Mumbai, we meet local magician and conman Aja (Tamil Bollywood star Dhanush), who makes people believe he has special powers. After the premature death of his mother, he sets off on a journey to Paris with her ashes to attempt to trace his estranged father. His first encounter in ‘the city of love’ is with a taxi driver, Gustave (Gérard Jugnot), who he swindles out of his fare and who then relentlessly pursues him across Europe. When he meets Franco-American beauty Marie (Erin Moriarty) in an IKEA store, he initially tries to swindle her, too, but instead he instantaneously falls for her and makes a date to meet the following day under the Eiffel Tower. Having no money for a hotel, Aja decides to spend the night in the IKEA store and winds up being transported to England in the cupboard in which he was sleeping, during which he meets Sudanese refugee Wiraj (Barkhad Abdi). Thus, begins a series of adventures that takes him to Spain, Italy and Libya, travelling in not only the wardrobe but a Louis Vuitton trunk belonging to actress Nelly Marnay (Bérénice Bejo), and a hot air balloon, all the while trying to get back to his new-found ‘love’ in Paris.
The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is based on a best-selling book and it’s a unique comedy-adventure that is both novel and surreal. It’s a kind of magic-realist trip mashing Bollywood-style dance sequences with European sensibilities and an ironic commentary on the movement of refugees and mass migration. Indeed, it has met with some criticism for its comedic treatment of the latter issue, like when Aja describes himself as a “tourist” rather than a refugee, however, this is a light-hearted fantasy that acknowledges the problem but is more about the dreams of a young man than anything weightier. Aja may be a ‘fakir’ from the wrong side of the tracks but he is desperate to find out more about his father and how to make changes in his life. In true Indian style, his peripatetic journey involves lots of colour and movement and that lifts the film into another realm. The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is a lot of fun and could well open up Danesh’s career in the international market. He is very charismatic.
Screenwriters: Romain Puértolas and Luc Bossi, in collaboration with Ken Scott and Jon Goldman, based on the novel The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Trapped In An Ikea Wardrobe by Puértolas.
Principal cast:
Dhanush
Bérénice Bejo
Erin Moriarty
Barkhad Abdi
Gérard Jugnot
Ben Miller
Country: France/India/Belgium/Italy/USA/Singapore/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 96 mins.
Australian release date: 2 May 2019
Previewed at: 2018 Indian Film Festival, Sydney, on 17 August 2018.
The 1918 Indian Film Festival in Sydney opened with Ken Scott’s English and French-language film, The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir. Despite its Indian subject matter, it was an unusual choice because, with the exception of a leading Tamil actor, most of the cast is European. It’s set not just in India but in France, Italy and Libya, is based on a best-selling French novel and, is directed by a Canadian. It also featured in the Across Borders section at this year’s French Film Festival. Oh, and it’s a French/Belgian/US/Singaporean/Indian/Italian co-pro!
Beginning in Mumbai, we meet local magician and conman Aja (Tamil Bollywood star Dhanush), who makes people believe he has special powers. After the premature death of his mother, he sets off on a journey to Paris with her ashes to attempt to trace his estranged father. His first encounter in ‘the city of love’ is with a taxi driver, Gustave (Gérard Jugnot), who he swindles out of his fare and who then relentlessly pursues him across Europe. When he meets Franco-American beauty Marie (Erin Moriarty) in an IKEA store, he initially tries to swindle her, too, but instead he instantaneously falls for her and makes a date to meet the following day under the Eiffel Tower. Having no money for a hotel, Aja decides to spend the night in the IKEA store and winds up being transported to England in the cupboard in which he was sleeping, during which he meets Sudanese refugee Wiraj (Barkhad Abdi). Thus, begins a series of adventures that takes him to Spain, Italy and Libya, travelling in not only the wardrobe but a Louis Vuitton trunk belonging to actress Nelly Marnay (Bérénice Bejo), and a hot air balloon, all the while trying to get back to his new-found ‘love’ in Paris.
The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is based on a best-selling book and it’s a unique comedy-adventure that is both novel and surreal. It’s a kind of magic-realist trip mashing Bollywood-style dance sequences with European sensibilities and an ironic commentary on the movement of refugees and mass migration. Indeed, it has met with some criticism for its comedic treatment of the latter issue, like when Aja describes himself as a “tourist” rather than a refugee, however, this is a light-hearted fantasy that acknowledges the problem but is more about the dreams of a young man than anything weightier. Aja may be a ‘fakir’ from the wrong side of the tracks but he is desperate to find out more about his father and how to make changes in his life. In true Indian style, his peripatetic journey involves lots of colour and movement and that lifts the film into another realm. The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is a lot of fun and could well open up Danesh’s career in the international market. He is very charismatic.