CR NO: 89

If you are someone who felt envy to the makers of the film Shutter as they had an impressive subject that can be shot in a limited budget canvas, the chances of you finding the movie CR NO: 89 in similar zone are high. Even though it is in the same zone of offbeat parallel cinema, it succeeds in creating an intrigue within its limitations.

Two men who are part of a conspiracy are on their way to destination. As the police are behind them they are forced to take a detour. In that journey they get into trouble when their jeep brakes down in midway. Their effort to repair this Jeep which got stuck in a no man’s land and what all happens in that span of time is the focus of this cinema.

Made by a cinema loving society, the technical perfection and the quality of actors aren’t that great for CR NO: 89. But it is the theme of social responsibility from Sudevan that succeeds in creating an impression. He uses the style of offbeat movie to build the characters and then tries to execute the theme. A sustaining excitement is there throughout its small runtime of 80 minutes to know what is going through the mind of the mechanic. The not so perfect lazy man’s social awareness and commitment then gets revealed in a very realistic way.

I don’t really know the names of the actors and as none of the characters had names in the movie excuse me for not mentioning the names. The actor who portrayed the role of the mechanic was the best among the lot. The remaining characters aren’t that great in terms of acting.

In the making Sudevan follows the offbeat method of film making that has these long pauses and uncut lengthy shots with a single frame. In a way that treatment helps the movie to establish the characters. The screenplay also succeeds in creating a curiosity. Dialogues are realistic. I loved the way he included two characters, the man whose marriage was fixed and the last person we see in the cinema; these characters gives us a measure of the mechanic’s social awareness. Cinematography and edits are very much in the average zone because of the lack of quality.

On the whole the movie CR NO: 89 is a good one that deserves to be watched. The rating for the movie is 3/5. With better performers and slightly bigger budget, it would have been more intense.