Iratta

A police officer is found dead at the station. The dead man's twin brother is a policeman too and takes the investigation. The two had not spoken for years. They look alike and their tempers never matched; one was liked and correct, the other hard, angry and at odds with everyone. As the investigation advances the reason reaches back into the past; to their childhood, to their father, and to something that happened in that house. Opening his brother's file, the man opens his own story too. Rohith M. G. Krishnan wrote and directed; it is his first film. Joju George, Srikant Murali, Arya Salim and Manoj K. U. are in the cast. It is an Indian production in Malayalam. Joju George plays both brothers. The matter it treats is two lives out of the same house; the film explains the difference not by character but by how each was treated. The narrative keeps the detective structure but its real interest is the family story. The film does not avoid showing violence and the father stands at the root of the narrative. The narrative moves in flashbacks and the information opens in order. Rural police stations in Kerala and night duty are used as the settings. The ending takes no comfort from finding the culprit. The narrative is slow and the tension kept low. Its limit is pace; it is heavy, little happens, and the ending is weighty. Who it is for: viewers who like Malayalam cinema and family centred crime films. Who it is not for: it is slow, bleak, and the ending bitter.