A kind of British film noir in it's ambiguous morality and sexual motivation, this film is much more than you first expect. Set in the predominantly British Asian town of Southall it reflects well the melancholy of being trapped in a suffocating society where dreams and desires come second to what family and the community expect from you. Unusually, the victim of this social isolation is not the female but the male protagonist Mohan, whose arranged marriage and lack of career have led him to desperation. The blue tower itself seems to represent reality, specifically how we don't always see the world as it is but how we are. The music lends itself well to the overall mood of the film and there are some shocking twists. Certainly worth watching!
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paul2001sw-120 December 2009'The Blue Tower' is a film of great potential: an ordinary man, living a depressingly ordinary life, gradually sees it spiral out of control; and it's got an interesting setting as well, in London's Asian community. But the potential is somewhat wasted by the flatness of the acting; granted, the characters are not supposed to be especially articulate, but their apparent lack of interest in their own lives reduces their potential impact on ours. It also feels a little as if the director is trying to make an interesting film without quite knowing how, and the departures made from the strictly realist don't altogether feel convincing. It's not unwatchable, but it never truly sparks.
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Survive_Kino13 October 2008The Blue Tower is this year's winner of best UK feature at the Rain dance film festival (2008). What I presumed to be a straight forward inter racial romance story set in Southall, is in fact so much more as producer Jamie Nuttgens explained to me "the romance isn't problematic like Romeo and Juliet." In fact the sexual relationship the protagonist Mohan (Abhin Galeya) has with his wealthy aunt's white care worker Judy is in fact the only thing that doesn't create problems for him in this film, His wife is distant and unfaithful and her family do not respect him because he has no job and has not yet fathered a child, his mates are chancers trying their luck at get rich quick schemes and he is hoping desperately that another friend will come through for him with a job. His wealthy aunt doesn't suspect her nephew and care worker of anything, even when they start stealing from her; she is too concerned with her vanity, which is exasperated by her creepily sycophantic neighbours and their plans to take her money. To escape from the mess of his life, he and Judy conceive a desperate plan. As his marriage and hopes of work look more and more bleak, Mohan becomes delusional and desperate, Director Bhide skilfully uses the prominent red and blue towers that dominate the landscape of Southall as symbols of the security of Mohan's life and the menacing reality that lies behind the illusion.