Fire in the Mountains, 2022.
Written and Directed by Ajitpal Singh.
Starring Chandan Bisht, Vinamrata Rai, Harshita Tiwari, Mayank Singh Jaira, and Sonal Jha.
SYNOPSIS:
A mother toils to save money to build a road in a Himalayan village to take her wheelchair-bound son for physiotherapy, but her husband, who believes that a shamanic ritual ‘Jaagar’ is the remedy, steals her savings.
The small family living atop the Himalayan hills of Uttarakhand is filled with love and dysfunction. Fire in the Mountains may have a messily constructed narrative, but the heavily personal first-time feature from writer and director Ajitpal Singh is often emotionally harrowing, vividly striking, increasingly hard to watch (let’s just say some of the traditional values on display from men are abusive in more ways than one) and leaves a hell of an impression.
Married couple Chandra and Dharam (Vinamrata Rai and Chandan Bisht both absorbed in their roles) face financial woes, an issue that is amplified by a one-two punch of no connecting roads to get into town and having a young physically disabled boy, Prakash (Mayank Singh Jaira), who needs to be carried piggyback style back and forth to doctors appointments. His inability to walk appears to be a mental block as the doctor says the child’s injuries are healed. But to give you an idea of the reckless and traumatizing behavior on display, the doctor also pulls out a drill and taunts that he will cut the boy’s leg off if it doesn’t give up the act. I also wish I could say that’s the most horrifying sequence in Fire in the Mountains (it is most definitely not).
The couple also has a teenage daughter, Kanchan (Harshita Tiwari), who is upstanding academically but rebellious considering her social media behavior goes against the family’s traditional values. Chocolate is another no-no, as is getting close to boys romantically. Meanwhile, living by this same code of ethics gets Chandra berated and abused by Dharam, who clashes with her over major family decisions while exerting a toxic alpha male power grip over everyone. Chandra has numerous monetary ventures for earning money that she hopes to use for helping her son, whereas Dharam is convinced that his son’s this ability is the work of something supernatural that requires a religious ritual known as a Jagar (making for a hypnotic, extended segment) to cure him.
Dharam’s widowed sister is also present, although she doesn’t factor into anything meaningful. There are also radio and news reports touting the development of India progressively and how they will soon be a significant national power, but the glimpse of family life juxtaposing this is anything but modern or happy. It also sees Chandra stuck between forward-thinking and traditional values, quick to tattle her daughter’s behavior to her husband, even after being on the receiving end of one of his violent outbursts. As for Prakash, he is mercilessly bullied for being disabled, including one wince-inducing segment that sees other boys on a swing set coming dangerously close to kicking the boy in the face from the increasing forward momentum. The boy is also no saint either, considering he does torment his mother psychologically even though some of the upsetting choices she makes are directly for him.
At only 82 minutes, Fire in the Mountains is certainly burning through a bunch of plot and could stand to slow down some and study its characters more, but the complex dynamic it depicts is nonetheless compelling and boosted by some raw performances. It’s devastating on both a small-scale and larger political and cultural scale.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
