Start the week with a film: In ‘Moonwalk’, Michael Jackson comes to Kerala

Moonwalk is the latest Malayalam film to invite you on a stroll with its characters. Vinod AK’s movie has its share of energetic scenes (the theme is dancing, after all), but what lingers are the moments of camaraderie, the small touches, the observational humour.

In a small town in Kerala in the 1980s, a group of teenagers falls in love – with Michael Jackson and his breakdancing. When they watch the dance troupe Zoom Boys perform at a local event, they are smitten with the fluid moves, the manner in which limbs bend at will and most of all, the moonwalking.

The young men set out to become moonwalkers themselves. They grow out their hair and practise hard. Their studies suffer. Some of them have disapproving parents. At least two members of the group are older, and from a lower class and caste, which invites scorn.

There is time for love too, this time of the human kind. Adoring looks and big smiles are exchanged between boys and girls who find ways to be free from social restrictions.

Moonwalk was released in Kerala earlier this year and is now being streamed on JioHotstar. Written by Vinod AK, Mathew Varghese and Sunil Gopalakrishnan, the film isn’t as well put...

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