In Bangladesh, the game of boli khela or wrestler game is a slow, meticulous thing which Iqbal H. Chowdhury brings out in his debut film “The Wrestler.” Slightly observational yet elusive through its narrative arc, the film aims to enchant and at the same time disappoint its viewers by pointing out to them that there is something about manhood in an agricultural rural setting with a lot of clouds.
Chowdhury has crafted a thriller which starts out quite slowly but ultimately climaxes into surrealism and has many aspects left for interpretation by his audience so as to comprehend his unique story. Despite being silhouetted in this way, it still comes across tragically as a whole; hence, making it a meticulous kind of slow-burn drama about obsession whose tragic nature is characterized by opaqueness. With Moju (Nasir Uddin Khan), an old fisherman who happens to be also an aging wrestling coach as its central point, he frustrated by the fact that he hasn’t caught any fish for some time now and therefore decides to challenge local champion Dofor (AKM Itmam). However, what else could make him self-destruct? This economic situation may not be the only reason why Moju would do this because when “The Wrestler” begins he seems already far along this emotional path.
Moju’s son Shafu (Angel Noor) has recently married a woman named Rashu (Priyam Archi), and he takes out his frustration on them as well, though both of them are worried about his mental condition and physical condition in view of his new preoccupation. Nevertheless, Shafu and Rashu also show an enlightening side to their relationship that illuminates the movie’s concepts about masculinity quite accurately. We first see Shafu in a mirror putting on eyeliner, which really bothers Moju. When he comes back at night, he does not respond to Rashu’s hesitant moves and instead sleeps on a mat with a mosquito net covering him up like a cocoon. Any way you look at it whether Shafu is secretly gay or just doesn’t want any manly expectations he seals himself off from the world.
The mosquito net is deftly symbolic as a self-imposed prison, and this symbolism carries through the rest of the film even at its quietest points. A lot of eerie stillness pervades the movie and many scenes are shot very long, in order to consider them well. These are parts where “nothing happens,” but yet so much really does happen. It is often that wrestlers will gather together around some small pub with nothing but Bangladeshi Love Classics on TV silently illuminating their presence (as an example “Kashem Malar Prem” by Mostofa Anwar). Such scenes take on a throbbing irony given the rough violence connected with their hobby they even make the wide-open coastal location appear to be like an intermediate space mostly scored by gentle waves and a few, phantasmagoric notes from Ranadas Badsha, the composer.
As soon as the movie’s focus shifts to Moju’s challenge, the movie becomes overwhelmed with these surrealistic feelings. However, this paints a picture of hidden motives underpinning the actions of its characters in an even more obscure manner. On the other hand, all activities and or inactivity’s are bizarrely familiar and therefore Chowdury’s restrained approach seems to be right one. During some rare times he zoomed-in and used formal style (like slow motion) on his camera, but most often it was looking at them from a distance yet filming their characters so that it could scrutinize masculine form in order to guess masculine function.
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