Surrealism. We’ve often heard this term and we quickly associate it with something dreamlike. And well we’re not wrong. But what does Surrealism really mean? Surrealism is something that defies the basic principles of reason. It takes away every semblance of logic and rationality. Surrealism goes hand in hand with creativity and it is deeply rooted in the unconscious mind which also happens to produce dreams. Surrealism aims at freeing the mind from constraints like rationalism and letting it embrace the much more superior unconscious mind.
Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Jonaki is an art film is based, one can even say entirely on surrealism if not substantially. The film follows a loopy dream sequence that is heavily surrealistic. This film doesn’t follow a logical order and is quite free-flowing. The film leaves a lot to the viewer’s imagination and doesn’t try to follow any particular narrative. The story is a distorted mix of Jonaki’s memories and dreams. She seems to have gone back in her past, perhaps just to relive everything and although she goes back in time her physical body doesn’t quite for the most part. There are oranges flying around in hallways, plants changing shades, people disappearing from the frame, scenes changing almost randomly, people taking naps with a firecracker going off in their hand, strange men cropping up from bathtubs, little girls turning in their sleep in sync, wounds growing into abnormally large bumps and a fuse, women drinking soup through their oxygen masks, and much more.
Although the scenes in which the lovers feed each other oranges are really just a simple act, it somehow looks so private that it feels wrong to even look at them. There is something oddly disturbing and sad about the scene where the woman clutches the wooden leg as you can see moss grown on her skin. Almost as if she’s slowly dying, becoming one with the earth, and yet at the same time, she’s alive. And when Jonaki’s husband walks towards Jonaki who seems to be mourning her miscarriage and slams her face into a pretty white cake, it looks eerily normal, as if this is just a common thing that people do. It could mean that the cake symbolises feeling good or happy even, and so by slamming her face into the cake he’s just trying to get her to let go and force her to be not sad. And the mother licking the cake off her daughter could mean that she’s trying to console but as you can see the cake on her face remains, thus perhaps the mother fails in consoling her child. Almost all scenes in this film are analysable but while watching one doesn’t feel the need to stop and analyse. And that doesn’t come easily.
There are many other elements that help enhance the surrealism in this film. One of them is the places in the film. The empty decrepit houses, the staircase with a chair fallen down, the dingy theatre, the seemingly endless corridors, and the way they looked almost liminal spaces really make the film increasingly surrealistic. The sounds are very heightened and pleasing, even the sound of someone fiddling with a paper swan is nice to hear. The film seemed to have a certain filter, almost similar to how most dreams are; a little blurred and yet somewhat clear at the same time.
Jonaki gives you a glimpse into the most intriguing and incomprehensible pits of an unconscious mind. Makes you wonder about yours, doesn’t it?
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