Dreams of Nothingness

A story about the lives of several people living in an isolated village.

This feature from India tells a quiet story about life in a village, with multiple characters and follows them as they live their lives and interact with each other. The main character is a former teacher named Chandan and others include members of his family and various acquaintances. There is not much of a narrative, with the majority of the screenplay consisting of people having conversations about a variety of everyday subjects. Storytelling arrives temporarily when a young woman arrives, in search of medicine. She meets Chandan and the two of them develop a rapport, which is basically the only form of narrative there is here.

It was mentioned above that this film tells a quiet story and that means a number of things. First of all, the pace is rather slow, with the uneventful scenes gradually following one another. Secondly, there is not much excitement throughout, if any. There is no heavy drama or arguing or any significant actions taking place and the acting is realistic, meaning that people behave normally, without exaggerating. Thirdly, the characters are just normal, everyday people, getting through life, and none of them really stands out as interesting. And finally, the use of non-diegetic music is limited, although when it is present, it can be quite pleasant and there is some lovely diegetic singing to be heard.

Arguably, the best element in this movie is the directing. Nautiyal creates many wonderful shots of landscapes, capturing the beauty of the area and there are also a lot of well-executed long takes with a static camera.

It would be hard to state that this is an interesting feature. It is beautifully shot and it does explore some important subjects including family, support, marriage and the wish to move on to better things. Generally, it does reveal life in a peaceful village, surrounded by stunning nature. However, is this enough to save the film from an almost non-existent narrative and conversations that are mostly dull? Probably not.