The Worst Film Ever

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I am not a maven on Indian cinema, neither Bollywood nor Tamil, having seen only a handful of them, including Taare Zameen Par, My Name Is Khan, Outsourced, and Udaan. I have enjoyed all of the above, especially TMZ. I found "A Peck On The Cheek" which I saw on a Netflix DVD, to be overall an extremely well done film, with excellent effects in the war scenes, and fine performances, especially the girl who played "Amudja". She gave a very realistic and complex portrayal of a 9 year old, who upon finding out she was adopted (with little sensitivity by her parents), wants to find out who her biological mother was. From that point, it was a given that she would eventually connect with her. We have seen in flashback at the start of the film how her mother became married and why she gave her child up. The only reason I gave the film an 8 instead of 10, as so many have, is the journey took too long to get there. There were a number of events that took a substantial amount of time, while advancing the story very little if any. This had the effect, for me, to become a bit impatient. And the music, which was great in TMZ, seemed here to just break the flow and intensity of the film, without being relevant.Despite this, I liked the film and would recommend it, but unlike some other reviewers, I don't think I would want to watch it repeatedly, as I have done with TMZ, Outsourced, Khan, and Udaan, all of which I have purchased. Were it about 15 minutes shorter, I think it would have been more focused.

This movie was astonishing how good it was! The plot is extraordinary, and the acting spectacular. At first I thought this wasn't going to be that great because of a summary, but after about the first five or ten minutes of the movie, it struck me that I was dead wrong. I literally cried about four or five times in this movie, and despite this, I must've watched the same scenes over and over again about thirty times in one week! No, the song scenes were not as awesome as they could've been, but the plot is what really gets you. American or Asain, I would recommend this to anyone--and I have now. I guarantee that after seeing this one, you'll get the best out of it, and its plot. I hope you feel the same, and write a rave review too!

This is an incredible movie that begins slowly. It leads you along in thinking of it as a typical maudlin family drama. Then, in the second half, there is a plot twist that utterly transforms this into a profound tale of global scope.If you are unaccustomed to films from India, with song and dance routines seemingly grafted on for no reason, stick with this movie. Especially beginning with the second half, you will find this movie an amazing experience.*********** Minor Spoiler Here ************* I have but one complaint with the movie. The dialog at the end (between Amudha and MDS) seemed very weak and missed the opportunity to bring in the war as a force that transforms people's lives. It was implied all along, but there should have been something about the importance of the struggle for MDS.

Amuda is an adopted child who longs for her birth mother, about whom she has managed to find out as many details as she can. She learns her mother was a Sri Lankan refugee who had given birth to her in a refugee camp in Rameshwaram, India. As usual, Ratnam's narration is perfect, with realistic portrayals of Amudha's home and family members, and the warm and funny (and not at all "filmi") flashback romance between Simran and Madhavan.Ratnam then brings his camera to the Eelam, from which point Amudha's own story gets partly eclipsed by a passionate revelation of a struggle for freedom. The scenes in Sri Lanka are spectacular, with the heart-wrenching song 'Vidai Kodu Engal Naadu' playing as an entire village is evacuated. Vairamuthu has penned painfully beautiful lyrics. In another evocative scene, strong winds batter the lush, green fields as Madhavan's character (initially viewed as a suspicious intruder by the rebels) and some militant rebels jointly recite a patriotic poem. Their united voices rise above the howling wind. "Vellai Pookal" is another Rehman gem, a cry for peace, playing as background while refugees gather in Rameshwaram from their war-torn land.Keerthana, as Amudha, astonishes with her articulate acting skills. Simran, finally in a performance-oriented role, is perfectly at ease with her character. Madhavan, Prakash Raj (PR is sometimes annoying) and the others do a good job. We see very little of Nandita Das, and when we do, she impresses with her naturalistic acting. The Rehman-Vairamuthu combo is at its best in this film, with a superior soundtrack that is only second to their earlier Iruvar, perhaps.