Operation Java

Tharun Moorthy's 2021 Malayalam film follows two engineering graduates who cannot find work and are taken on temporarily by a cyber crime unit. It begins with an investigation into piracy, but its real subject is that the young people doing this work have no contracts and no security. The story's strength is joining police procedure to a question of labour: the case is solved and nothing changes for those who solved it. The film draws on real cases and the technical detail is careful. Most of the cast are not well-known names, which gives it its naturalness. The narrative is episodic and some side stories are not opened enough. The budget is small. Who it's for: viewers who like Malayalam police films and realist crime stories. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a heroic template, or avoiding crime subjects involving sexual content.