Becoming the guardian of another requires special dedication and self-surrender. Because of that, the real lesson I learned as a parent is that it’s not for the weak. In the days when there were “villages”, many people did the light work of raising children. However, in modern times, “villages” have almost disappeared, and most parents have to fend for themselves. With that comes a great deal of guilt, frustration, and bitterness that can be directed in any direction at any time. Add intergenerational trauma to the mix and you have a real powder keg. In their latest project, filmmaking team Artemis Shaw (New Strains) and Prashant Kamalakantan (New Strains) explore all of the above with the drama Removal of the Eye. , which will have its world premiere during the 2024 New Orleans Film Festival.
LR: Prashanth Kamalakantan as Ram and Katerina Shaw as Katerina in REMOVAL OF THE EYE, photo courtesy of Artemis Shaw website. Role of Katerina Shaw
Parents Kalia and Ramu (Shaw and Kamalakantan, respectively) balance their needs as a couple with the needs of their 10-month-old son Niko (Niko Kamalakantan), while juggling their careers as educators and musicians. I’m having trouble finding my footing. , those experiencing sleep regression. To further complicate matters, Kalia’s parents, who live in an apartment below the same building, are also affected by her father (Robert Shaw) being hospitalized after a fall, and her mother’s (Caterina Shaw) perception of the world worsening. As a result, they are facing their own crises. . While everyone around her seems to be finding it easier to find balance in their lives, the fear that her family is cursed by the evil eye begins as a foolish superstition, and continues to grow in Kalia’s heart. Inside, it grows into a greater fear day by day.
Now, to give expectations to more sensitive viewers, this drama includes situations where Nico finds himself in difficult situations. But unlike the dark comedy Coffee Table (2022), in which parents and toddlers also spar, Nico will be fine.
For those who don’t know, the evil eye is believed to be a curse inflicted on someone by someone else’s intense glare, usually born out of jealousy or envy. Seen by some as a superstition and by others to be supernatural in nature, it is part of communities in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other places where families have immigrated. Within Removal, this is used as a means of differentiating between generations, those who believe in the “old ways” and those who believe in more modern ways of raising children. This word is used for several other purposes, such as emphasizing that the unresolved tension between Kalia and Katerina influences Kalia’s choices as a parent. Who is Kalia, if not Katerina’s daughter? Therefore, everything that did not work out for her, from her own point of view, will be avoided for the sake of the child. Is Nico crying? I’ll go and comfort him right away. Isn’t Nico sleeping? Give your baby breast milk instead of formula. Is Nico awake all the time? We must respond to Him in a way that does not instill a sense of abandonment in Him. As important as 10-month-old Niko is, his parents are reacting to him based on their immediate needs and what happened to him as a child, which creates an opportunity for significant overcorrection. may be produced. Compared to what I and EoM editor Crystal Davidson do (a more complex process that recognizes the special needs of each individual child), I find that my own parents “close the door at night and meet in the morning.” I speak as a child who took this approach. It’s not like I know better than Kalia or Ram. Because it’s easy to recognize from the outside that these are people who are struggling and who were born out of a desire to keep Nico from growing up with the same flaws. No parent understands all of this. But what we can do is try to help our children experience better situations than we did. This creates tension between Kalia and Ramu and Kalia and her mother as the two couples sort out the tensions of the present and past to build a better future.
Removal has three key storylines that work together. Kalia and Ramu as people, as parents, and as children themselves. These three stories intertwine to create great confusion and, ultimately, resolution. As co-writers of the film, Shaw and Kamalakantan are given equal amounts of metaphorical rope to hang themselves as each grapples with their own struggles. Those are the kinds of conflicts that will make those who have experienced this movie appreciate the humor, nod sagely, and exclaim “I’m always checking my monitor!” as they watch the movie. is. When a character appears to have dropped the ball. Likewise, Kalia and Katrina’s relationship never feels contrived, and the real-world relationship between them creates a charge and energy that might otherwise be lost. If there’s a problem, it’s that the inclusion of the “evil eye” as a threat feels like a bigger problem than it is in the movie, especially in its resolution. The film is set in modern times and Kalia is pursuing a master’s or Ph.D. It’s strange that they don’t mention sleep regression, Nico’s teething, or perhaps even cognitive leaps, since both she and Ram have low intelligence, even though they work in education – appropriate. There are three very real things that can disrupt good sleep, especially around that age, that even first-time parents probably don’t know, given what we know about them and their upbringing. This is probably true. True, a person can be extremely intelligent in one area and completely lacking in another, but as a side note, because of the great attention that the evil eye receives, these other possibilities It seems strange that it is ignored. Of course, this ensures that intergenerational conflicts have more time to gestate and culminate, and generate more emotions through interpersonal conflict, than considering the child’s natural developmental state. This may be because of this.
LR: Artemis Shaw as Kalia and Nico Camaracantan as Nico in REMOVAL OF THE EYE. Photo courtesy of New Orleans Film Festival.
You see, having two kids doesn’t make everyone an expert, and you may find out things with your second child that you didn’t understand with your first child. But what the show and Kamalakantan definitely nail above all else is the sense of loss of identity that occurs when the titles of “mom” and “dad” are added on. When we become parents, we lose ourselves, our dreams, our desires, our autonomy. We invest our time, energy, and focus to ensure that this budding life form has the best chance of growing into its best version. If this means working between the ears of bread for the day, then it will happen. So while Removal of the Eye as a whole may be a little rough around the edges and not entirely satisfying in its conclusion, it’s an expression of parenthood and the desire to make things better without losing one’s self. is equally spot on. In the process.
Screening during the 2024 New Orleans Film Festival.
For more information, visit the official 2024 New Orleans Film Festival Removal of the Eye webpage.
Final score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Category: Inside the theater, Review
