Ullozhukku

Christo Tomy's 2024 Malayalam film is set in a flooded region of Kerala. A woman and her daughter-in-law want to bury a family member who has died, but with the water not receding the funeral is postponed and the body waits in the house. That waiting brings long-buried secrets and lies to the surface. The encounter between Urvashi and Parvathy Thiruvothu carries the film's entire weight: mother-in-law and daughter-in-law face each other as two women, one holding the truth and one hiding it. The water is both a real obstacle and the story's metaphor; everything slows and nothing can be concealed. Christo Tomy came out of documentary, which explains the realism in his use of location. Who it's for: viewers who like Malayalam cinema, drama built on women characters and slow storytelling. Who it's not for: anyone wanting fast narrative, or avoiding content about death, funerals and pregnancy.