Aadujeevitham (2024) Movie Review: Good survival dramas transcend the topographical constraints their protagonists find themselves in. Not only do they make us rethink the basics of life, but become a metaphor for discovering what’s truly important within. Great survival dramas push these limits to less-examined territories of coming to terms with a successful survival that goes beyond the physical and the visceral; they act as means of showing the mental survival and what fears a human spirit is capable of reckoning.
Najeeb Muhammad’s story of survival and his enduring struggle against brutal fate has become an inseparable part of the Malayali’s literary lore. The long-awaited cinematic portrayal of that brutal struggle took almost 16 years for a filmmaker of Blessy’s vigor to eventually helm the project. Benyamin’s postmodern novel was published back in 2008 and stands as one of the best-selling works in Malayalam literature.
Needless to say, the world has undergone significant sociopolitical changes since. Whether it be the Mexican and Filipino victims of labor trafficking in the agricultural sector of the United States or the countless reports of arbitrary or disproportionate financial penalties for workers being subjected to extra hours of unpaid labor in Qatar, not much has changed regarding the protection of human rights for migrating workers across the world. The tragic story of a man hailing from the village of Arattupuzha in the Alappuzha district of Kerala has sadly become even more timely.
The movie begins with a healthy-looking Najeeb (Prithviraj Sukumaran) and his young friend Hakeem (KR Gokul) reaching the immigration counter in Saudi Arabia in hopes of starting a better life. A noble, hardworking man and a devout believer in Allah, Najeeb interprets the opportunity as part of the divine plan. Things don’t take long before the harrowing landscape of the barren desert starts imposing over his existence, as he’s soon separated from Hakeem and taken to a secluded ranch. Unknown to the land as well as the native language, we see him used as a slave laborer and shepherd, as he bonds over nothing but a tend of goats, sheep, and camels for over three years in the remote area.
With the responsibility of adapting a work so appreciated comes not only the task of depicting it with respect but also the hurdle of elevating the story beyond a conventional survival thriller. And with a staggering runtime of almost 3 hours, the makers submit any of that suspicion into a meditating drama that you watch, seeing the internal turmoil of what Najeeb cannot.
This is where the meticulous soundscape of the movie comes in, managed brilliantly by AR Rahman. The bits in the first half where Najeeb recounts memories of his humble life with his mother and wife Sainu (Amala Paul) back home poignantly reinforce the thematics of the story. The editing by Sreekarprasad elevates Sunil KS’ elaborate cinematography by giving it moments to breathe on the screen. A transition from a stream of overflowing water in the vast emptiness of the desert to an aerial shot of a lush riverside in Kerala becomes a reminder of not just the basics of life but a microcosm of the class of people who want to live minimally modest lives.
Through adroit transitions and a compelling visual design, Blessy portrays not just Najeeb’s external journey but also themes of helplessness, hope, and human resilience. By deliberately making an artistic choice of not having translated subtitles for most of the Arabic dialogues, the film channels the helplessness Najeeb faces into a tenacity with which he eventually overcomes the experiences in a discerning way.
What we see in “Aadujeevitham, The Goat Life” are all the hardships that Najeeb went through in those years. What comes with it is a towering performance whose least laudable part becomes the terrific physical transformation Prithviraj undergoes. This particularly becomes true in the second half, where Najeeb must not only fight with his will to survive but also question his faith while reaching the road.
A character named Ibrahim Khadiri (Jimmy Jean-Louis) comes along and becomes a stand-in for some of the most hard-hitting questions the story poses. This is where the film comes out of the shadows of its literary source, as it allows the celluloid medium to make use of its rich potential. This is where it also provides Najeeb with an antidote that becomes just enough for him to reach back home. It may not have transcended its literary work in that regard, but adroitly reaches its catharsis by delivering a good survival drama.
Read More: ‘Aadujeevitham’ Trailer: Prithviraj survives the desert in big-budget Malayalam movie
Aadujeevitham (2024) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Aadujeevitham (2024) Movie Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jimmy Jean-Louis, K.r. Gokul, Amala Paul
Aadujeevitham (2024) Movie Genre: Adventure/Drama | Runtime: 2h 41m
