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Name: Lakshmi Das K

Register Number: 230011003837

Analysis of Magical Realism in the movie Amen

Introduction

A creative reader or audience can only come into existence with a creative writer. Magic

Realism is a border term for works of art that blends the real world with Fantasy and Surrealism.

This Magic Realism is not limited to books; we can find it in movies, art, music and even games.

The following research is an analytical study of Magic Realism in the Malayalam movie Amen

(2013) and how Magic Realism is applied as a tool in movies to attract the mind of audiences.

Surrealism and fantasy are both present in the literary genre known as Magic Realism. An

unusual or impossible possibility is presented in a magic realist story, but it could nevertheless be

true. The author, with the tool of Magic Realism makes the reader or spectator accept some

supernatural components as real by incorporating them into the real world. Fantasy has become a

common feature of them. The author transports the readers to an alternate reality, sometimes one

that is hard to accept, but also forces the viewers to believe that it is real. This is what the phrase

"Magic Realism" means: the writer incorporates aspects of magic or fantasy into the plot that thrill

and pique the interest of the audience or readers.

When it comes to movies, Magic Realism is used as a tool to narrate the story. Amen, a 2013

Malayalam movie directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery. The Kuttanadan Village is where this tale takes

place. The lives of a few members of the ancient church are central to it. The protagonist of the

tale is Solomon, who was in a relationship with Shoshanna, the daughter of a wealthy contractor.
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Solomon played in a band and is the legendary Estapan Ashan's son, who perished in a boating

accident. In this film, there are instances where Solomon converses with his father's soul. As a new

priest named Fr. Vincent Vattoli joins their congregation, adding another aspect of Magic Realism

to the film.

Considering the movie, the study expounds on the concept of Magic Realism and the research

travels through the various facts of Magic Realism to prove that Magic Realism can be used as a

tool to make the audience believe the elements with the touch of fantasy is real by incorporating it

into actual objects and making it seem real.

Magic Realism often gives voice in the thematic domain to indigenous or ancient myth, legends

and cultural practice and the domain of narrative technique to the literary traditions that express

them with the use of non-realistic events and images; it can be seen as a kind of narrative

primitivism. (Faris 103)

Magic Realism is generally defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as any artistic or especially

literary style in which realistic techniques such as naturalistic detail, narrative, etc., are similarly

combined with surreal or dreamlike elements. In essence, a writer of Magic Realism portrays a

character or place with realism but, as the writer develops the character or place, one or more

elements of magic are added to that specific character or place. The theme allows the fiction writer

to explore the imagination of true fiction, exercising the what if fiction tool to encourage the reader

to imagine the existence of the character or place and, in the reader’s imagination, if it existed,

imagine what it would be like to know the character or live in the place. The idea allows the reader

to imagine an escape from the burdens of the world and to live in and explore a place that gives
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health and long life. The writer’s ability to merge magic and realism in their writing is the reason

for the film’s enormous popularity, attractiveness, and notoriety. Movies that use the potent

instrument of “magic” transform ordinary, “real” topics and objects into something lovely and

alluring. The combination of these two components enables readers to connect with the narrative

while also experiencing the fantastical within the everyday. It takes a lot of ingenuity to transform

something that is inherently ordinary into something extra ordinary; although it may seem like an

easy comparison, how effectively it is expressed is crucial for conveying the actual beauty of the

idea; otherwise, it would just sound absurd.

Magic Realism in the movie Amen

Amen, a 2013 Malayalam movie directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery. The Kuttanadan Village is where

this tale takes place. The lives of a few members of the ancient church are central to it. The

protagonist of the tale is Solomon, who was in a relationship with Shoshanna, the daughter of a

wealthy contractor. Solomon played in a band and is the legendary Estapan Ashan's son, who

perished in a boating accident. In this film, there are instances where Solomon converses with his

father's soul. As a new priest named Fr. Vincent Vattoli joins their congregation, adding another

aspect of Magic Realism to the film.

Solomon's bandmaster passes away as the band puts in long hours of practice and wins the wager.

That evening, Shoshanna's father cancels the wager. At night, St. George visits him, the depraved

old parish priest, and Solomon's uncle to remind them of the time they were destroying the church.

They all realized that Solomon had divine forces on his side. Shoshanna and Solomon got married,

and the band keeps playing in subsequent contests. Later, the church receives a call letting them

know that the new Priest, Fr. Vincent Vattoli, is taking over. The residents of Kumarangiri now
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understand that Fr. Vincent Vattoli was really the saint who appeared in front of them. When

something like this occurs in a movie, it's usually magic rather than imagination.

Solomon's father repeatedly appears accompanied by two angels and it is through this that the

audience learns that his father passed away. As the story ends, it’s said that Fr. Vincent Vattoli

actually was Ghee Varghese Punyalan, the saint, and not someone else. We may also think that Fr.

Vincent Vattoli was sent as a saint to Kumarankari to help the locals with their issues. When

Susanna's marriage was supposed to be fixed, he helped Solomon and Susanna elope while they

were still together. Additionally, he altered social perceptions and assisted the band in remaining

and performing for the church.

The movie can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, including as a classic love story, a young

man's "coming of age," and the idea that God is always on the side of the good. There are numerous

hidden myths and religious fables in this film, and this serves as evidence that the fictionalized

reality depicted in the film is indeed genuine. The movie makes its intentions clear from the very

first frame, without even a trace of doubt. It blends imagination and spirituality with skill.

The Saint unites the couple Solomon and Shoshanna in the movie Amen while posing as Fr.

Vincent Vattoli, as seen in the movie. He instils tranquilly among the villagers' residents. Reality

is given a new definition i.e. this reality mixes together the supernatural and the scientific principle.

Magical realism expands and categorizes the real so as to encompass myth, magic and the other

extraordinary phenomena in nature or experience.

The use of magical components to uncover deeper meanings and symbols while appearing

conventional or even banal is typical in magical realism. This kind of writing frequently blurs the

distinction between fact and fiction, making readers rethink their own perceptions of their
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environment. A distinct and alluring universe is created by the philosophical and artistic genre of

magical realism, which combines the supernatural with reality.

Thus, the research travelled through the various facets of Magic Realism to prove that Magic

Realism can be used as a tool to make the audience believe the elements with the touch of fantasy

is real by incorporating it into actual objects and making it seem real.

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Work cited

Amen. Directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, Whitesands Media House Production, 2013. YouTube,

uploaded by API Malayalam Movies, 02 Apr.2023, https://youtu.be/Wtlaq70t1ww

B. Faris, Wendy. Scheherazade’s Children: Magical Realism and Post Modern Fiction. 2005.

Hegerfeldt, Anne. Magic Realism, Magical Realism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2004.

Muralimargassery. “Magical Realism in Malayalam Cinema.” WordPress.com,

muralimargassery.wordpress.com/tag/magical-realism-in-malayalam-cinema.

Roh, Frantz. “Theory of Magic Realism” Magic Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois

Parkson Zamora, and Wendy B. Faris. Arlington: Dukeu Press,1995. 154-63.

Zamora, Lois Parkinson, and Wendy B. Faris, editors. Magical Realism: Theory, History,

Community. 1995. Bowker, https://doi.org/10.1604/9780822316404