Evoking a time period is a less difficult task than successfully immersing the audience in that era. While the latter requires the difficult effort of accurately capturing the zeitgeist of that time and striking all the proper notes to make it convincing for people who might have lived through those times, the former may be accomplished with a few well-chosen props. In Moonwalk, debutant filmmaker Vinod A.K. makes a bold attempt for the latter and lands stylishly on his toes, evoking the iconic dance move of the early 1990s.
The setting he depicts is the early 1990s in Thiruvananthapuram’s rural and coastal regions, or more precisely, the rise of a breakdancing subculture among young people in those years. Naturally, there are the images of grainy VHS tapes, Walkmans, STD booths, disco-inspired costumes, long hair, Michael Jackson fandom and all the other nostalgic content from those eras, but they are all naturally woven into a straightforward, uncomplicated plot that has a strong emotional pull.
Part of Moonwalk’s zestful appeal rests with its fresh cast of young performers, many of whom were not probably born during the period in which the film is set. That does not, however, stop them from accurately capturing the mannerisms of the young people of that era. The film’s pace is established early on by Prasanth Pillai’s fun disco-synth soundtrack, which complements Ansar Shah’s cinematography. It manages to captivate the viewer and keep them interested throughout the ordinary scenes. He creates a soundtrack that evokes the time period and gives the movie personality, colour, and an unstoppable energy.
It is possible to criticise the film for lacking a significant, life-altering conflict, but these young people do experience enough for their age, from getting into preventable arguments because they are impulsive to dealing with parental pressure because of their chosen art and the common physical transformations that accompany it. The romances are fleeting affairs that fills the time between their dance practises and performances, but even these are imbued with some character like the personally chosen mix-tape that one of them gifts the other.
Vinod A.K., who co-wrote the screenplay with Mathew Varghese and Sunil Gopalakrishnan, also explores some intriguing contrasts between young people in rural and urban areas, as well as the class divide that arises in their dealings with the police. It’s entertaining to see how some of the working-class folks incorporate their newly acquired dancing skills into their profession. A solo dance performance at the end of the movie gives it a huge boost when it seemed to be waning. The dancer’s storyline also turns out to be one of the movie’s centrepieces. In a way, the character’s hardships mirror the difficulties in getting the movie into theatres after it was unpopular for a few years.
Moonwalk is a moving ode to a bygone era and the breakdancing scene that dominated college campuses and public spaces at the time. At the moment, Moonwalk is currently showing in theatres.
