Showing @ Cineworld, Edinburgh, Tue 25 & Thu 27 Jun

Dibakar Banerjee / India / 2012 / 110 mins

Since the 2008 recession, tales of corporate corruption seem to have become the bread and butter of newspaper front pages, so although Dibakar Banerjee’s political thriller is set in the small Indian town of Bharat Nagar, it’s subject of murky deals between government and industry are not all that foreign. When a prominent opponent to a multi-million pound development is killed, a government official is asked to investigate the so-called ‘accidental death’.

Based on Vassilis Vassilikos’ 1967 novel Z, the storyline of a few honest people trying to undermine the crooked majority is now in the realms of cliché. Banerjee’s picture does hold some interest because of its relevancy with contemporary news items, not to mention it’s shunning of Hollywood’s traditional feature of firearms and explosions. Instead it focuses on the motivations of the characters, their naivety and their fears, giving the movie a relatable human angle. Banerjee’s avoidance of the tempting typical love story is also commendable. The vibrant but impoverished setting also gives the sometimes-tedious narrative an exotic appeal (opposed to Western locations), lending an air of intrigue over the proceedings. However, since 2008 stories of political corruption have been done to death and despite the exciting visuals and the frequent thundering of traditional drumming, they can’t cover up that Banerjee does nothing original with this smart but hackneyed storyline.

Showing as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013