Why you can trust 12DOVE
In an unnamed Indian country (but probably Sri Lanka) a young soldier named Malli (Ayesha Dharkar) is selected for a suicide mission: she's to strap plastic explosive to herself and blow up a VIP. Hiding out in a rural farmhouse until the day of the killing, she finds memories of days past and the presence of the vaguely batty farmer (Parmeshwaran) preying on her mind...
Sly and witty, Santosh Sivan's tale of internal struggle bravely ducks cheap answers. Neither vilifying or idolising either side in a guerrilla war, his film's mix of brutality and tenderness instead hints at the insanity of valuing continued death more highly than continued life.
Using huge close-ups of faces, Sivan draws a fantastically subtle performance from Dharkar. Acting with glances and flickers of emotion, she provides a subtle, intelligent drama with a moving human core.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
Mephisto - The comic history of the demonic villain who could appear in Agatha All Along
Apartment 7A review: "A credible horror prequel that recaptures the atmosphere but not the originality of Rosemary's Baby"
Minecraft is finally coming to PS5 a year after Xbox boss Phil Spencer told the FTC Sony was "reluctant" to send them dev kits