Cannes 2022: Splendid reception for India’s All That Breathes, Pakistan’s Joyland

Joyland’s little family through which all of this plays out feels familiar, even though you may never have been to Lahore. The father, confined to a wheelchair, still runs his household through iron control. The older son (Sohail Sameer) is counting the days till his wife begets a son. Younger son Haider is on the lookout for a job, and his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq) goes out to work, a role reversal whose roots we get to know about much later in the movie.

Sadiq, born and raised in the city and now living in the US, had created a vivid world of trans-dancers in his short ‘Darling’. In ‘Joyland’, he expands on that universe, exploring the connections between those who live in ‘respectable neighbourhoods’ and that of pockets of public entertainment with their mostly male patrons. Transwoman Biba (Alina Khan) stands on the periphery: when she is performing, along with her dancers, she brings these same men joy; outside of the stage, she becomes an object of contempt.

The growing closeness between Haider and Biba reveals ingrained attitudes: how much of a change can a sex-change operation bring? Haider’s own sexual imprint, never clearly mentioned, makes him the butt of many limp-wristed jokes. The power dynamics between these two, as they struggle to navigate their worlds, make for the beating heart of the movie.

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The dark skies of Delhi, especially when the air goes from the merely viscous to most foul, is harmful not just to the humans but also to the kites which circle above the mounds of rubbish on the outskirts of the city, looking for sustenance. Sen’s ‘All That Breathes’ feels like a short-haul journey into dystopia. It is a testament to the durable aspects of India’s capital: both its marginalised humans, battered by inhumane laws, and its majestic kites have learned to navigate their environment, seeking out sympathetic pockets.

Brothers Nadeem Shehzaad and Mohammed Saoud, and their helper Salik, tend to injured kites, and other creatures, in their basement. It is crowded by rusted metal parts, as meat to feed the birds is grinded out in a machine that is falling to bits. It is a world like no other, in which these injured birds learn to submit to human hands which are raised only to heal.

We worry about all that breathes, says one of the brothers, and instantly that statement feels like balm, especially in these polarised, inimical times. In one of those moments which can happen through sheer happenstance, a young man and a young kite look at each other. Their eyes lock, and we know that they are helping each other out. The bird will fly again, and the young man will find the purpose he seeks.