Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple is a story of the cognitive subjugation intrinsic to any act of maximalist devotion, a biting character study full of pain, perseverance, and repetition, that reveals the intrinsic complexities of unbridled artistic pursuits. Through the course of its narrative, The Disciple details the corrosive effects which mythmaking and idolization can have on setting realistic expectations while simultaneously acknowledging how such pursuits themselves simply don't conform to any moralistic binary between right and wrong given the fact that they are manifested first-and-foremost out of individualist ideas of passion and advocacy. The trials and tribulations of an artist who has dedicated his life to becoming an Indian classical music vocalist is the perfect playground for inquiry into a host of topics related to legacy, culture, consumerism, and tradition, as the filmmaker constructs a vivid and pensive study of a character who slowly begins to question everything that has come to define his identity. Tamhane's formal constructions - the use of open space and slow, dread-inducing camera movements - create an effective atmosphere that enunciates the internal consciousness of this character whose vocation is deeply-rooted in solitude which eventually leads to reassessment. Unlike Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, which shares some similar themes, Tamhane is far wearier of simplistic assertions related to the pursuit of perfection, using the plight of its central protagonist to illustrate the complexities of artistic creation in a time in which the mastery of craft is determined just as much by consumerism as technical mastery. Thus the film's denouement is one open to interpretation, it stings of sadness in one regard but also of potential salvation, with our main protagonist choosing another path, one which isn't so beholden to asceticism but still attached to his personal advocacies
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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