Overturning the Bollywood stereotype that is familiar to most Western audiences, Sunrise instead captures the essence of Hollywood noir and throws it into the light. Dressed in algae greens and neon blues, it follows police inspector, Joshi, as he hunts the elusive shadow of a man. No, not a man, but the embodiment of child trafficking in Mumbai.
Somewhere in the city, a girl is snatched from her family and brought to an apartment laden with others much like herself, who’ve either been kidnapped or have run away from home. They remain in a single room; cleaning and grooming each other by day and making themselves up to ‘work’ by night. It is these victims he is searching for.
All this seems plausible until the line between dreams and reality begins to blur. Joshi’s memories of his wife – pregnant, learning English and cleaning the home – haunt his now stale and empty apartment. Torment and despair swell as his personal investment in the matter is revealed, with his own six-year-old child having been kidnapped.
And while his wife now busies herself haunting his apartment, his daughter spends her time haunting the city streets. For it’s in the torrential rain of night when Joshi sees her, dancing for seedy men in a mysterious club called Paradise. It’s like Groundhog Day each time he discovers himself knocking on its fantastic neon red door. The same men welcome him in and seat him, the same men point at his daughter implying that she is their property, the same men throw money on her despite her apathetic reaction, and the same men never see justice.
Undoubtedly a stark and unique perspective on child trafficking in India, while the emotion is rife and the cinematography superb, the element of noir refuses to command the sense of severity this issue demands. Ironically, so great is the fantasy in Sunrise that the reality does not needle its way into our minds for long enough to make its statement.
3.5/5 stars
Sunrise is showing at Dendy Opera Quays on Sunday June 7 and Dendy Newtown on Saturday June 13 as part of Sydney Film Festival 2015.
