A Film a Week - In the Name of Fire / Swaha

 previously published on Asian Movie Pulse

“In the Name of Fire” might not be the most communicative movie, especially for the audiences outside of India. That might be the reason why it did not travel much outside of Asia, festival-wise, despite its considerable craft qualities and the aura of a serious, art house film that offers some deeper insights about the society it comes from.

Set in the state of Bihar where almost 90% of the inhabitants live in the rural areas and filmed completely in Magahi language, the plot follows the central family whose members were quite unlucky to be born into the Dalit caste. The father Phekan (Satya Ranjan) goes to a nearby town to find work, only to be exploited, cheated and beaten there. Staying home, in a hut, with their newborn baby that never stops crying, the mother Rukhia (Sonalli Sharmisstha) also has to face with prejudice and violence from the local community: she is accused of being a witch. In the town, the crematory worker (Chandra Shekhar Dutta) seeks his path to redemption and his path will eventually cross the paths of the two in existential peril.

Written by the filmmaker Abhilash Sharma (for whom this is the second movie he helmed) and the co-producer Shilpee Bhardwaj, the script resembles an adaptation of an unwritten mid-20th century realist short story about the hardships of working people who seem to be cheated by the cruel destiny from their birth on. The atmosphere of it is tense and dense, but the plotting, unfortunately, never gets and holds an actual grip on the viewers. For that reason, Sharma, who also edited the film, together with Suresh Pai, has to employ some of the tricks to attract the attention.

For instance, the filmmaker keeps the actors in a very expressive mode, although the interaction between their characters and the others is only a passing thing, which serves its purpose for a while. On the other hand, the background of the film filled with injustice and misery “shines brightly” thanks to Devandra Golatkar’s “shades of grey”-type of black and white cinematography that defies the tourist’s vision of India according to which, no matter how harsh the circumstances of life are, it always seems colourful. The abundant use of the ethnic music compiled by Devarshi, however, has a dual role here, as the interludes stretch the runtime to over 90 minutes, while it also adds to the feeling of a miserabilist tapestry.

In the end, “In the Name of Fire” seems like a social, to a point even anthropological study that tries to pose as an artsy fiction film. It is certainly well crafted, demanding watch, but the question is whether it is also a rewarding one.