JUICE(2017)

Juice is powerful and unflinching. Highlighting the banal evils of patriarchal societies and caste discrimination, it's a striking and effective piece of work from a confident filmmaker.

Gendered roles and spaces are common in Indian households that are patriarchal constructs in nature. It's a society that entraps women in labor while exploiting and casually humiliating them in everyday life.

Characters trapped by circumstance seem to be a recurring theme in Ghywan's work (i.e., Devi's predicament in Masaan), with Manju leaving her job to conform to a gendered role to satiate the patriarchal society.

Juice is interesting in its exploration of internalized misogyny by women, having conformed to societal expectations and gendered roles, perpetuating the same vicious cycle to younger generations of women.

Juice is notable for its exploration of caste discrimination and the ways it self-perpetuates among marginalized victims. It deliberately ties caste discrimination with misogyny to mark an indictment of Indian households.

Hence, it's revolutionary in its subtle yet effective way of portraying feminism resisting and marking the ground against patriarchal impulses. Its silence is powerful, in your face, and all the more effective for it.

With this context, Juice is an angry piece of work that feels quietly revolutionary in its approach to the subtle yet banal ways in which sexism manipulates women and men to fit narrow gender-based roles. It's subtle yet effective.

Technically, Juice is propulsive in its minimalism. It maintains a grounded and realist tone. Desaturated visuals, subjective framing, close-ups, and angles define the documentarian nature of cinematography.

The editing ramps up the tension with quick cuts, juxtaposition, and the deliberate pacing guides the narrative. The melancholic and non-diegetic score, while lacking stylistic flourish, provides emotional catharsis.

The propulsive sound design employs silence, emphasis, and metallic sounds to establish an oppressive and moody atmosphere. The grungy production design establishes a lived-in household with juxtaposed gender roles.

The casting, while lacking star power, provides a great fit and representation. The non-existent visual effects enforce the grounded narrative, and their absence accentuates the minimalist tone.

Overall, Juice is an effective short film anchored by a subtle yet powerful lead performance by Shefali Shah, who anchors the narrative with layered and emotional depth. Overall, Juice is phenomenal.

Writing: 9/10

Direction: 10/10

Cinematography: 8/10

Acting: 9/10

Editing: 8/10

Score: 7/10

Sound: 9/10

Prod Design: 10/10

Casting: 8/10

Effects: 5/10

Overall Score: 8.3/10