'एलिफेन्ट्स इन द फग' रिभ्यु: कान्सको ताली नेपाली हलमा पनि गुन्जियो'Elephants in the Fog' Review: Cannes' Applause Echoes in Nepali Theatres Too

After watching the Nepali film Elephants in the Fog (Tiniharu), it's clear why it received an 8-minute standing ovation at Cannes. The film, written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, also won the Jury Prize in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the festival, making history for Nepali cinema.

It wasn't only Cannes that stood and applauded. At its Nepal premiere before release, the film received a 5-minute standing ovation as well. Many Nepali films have earned love and praise at festivals worldwide without getting the same support from Nepali audiences or fellow filmmakers. Against that backdrop, this film has raised real hope. I felt it myself watching it on the first day, first show. As the film ends, the clapping on screen doesn't stop, and it soon continues from the audience in the hall.

The Story
The film revolves around a small village beside a large forest, where the fear of wild elephants looms even larger than the forest itself. Piriti, a member of the village's kinnar (third gender) community, quietly dreams of a calm, ordinary life. When her daughter Apsara suddenly goes missing, she is forced to choose between her personal desires and her responsibility to her community. What she does next is what the film is built around.

Performances
Pushpa Thing Lama plays Piriti, the mother figure who runs a refuge for the kinnar community. She is torn between her duty to the community, the pressure of finding her missing daughter, and her wish to run away with her lover and start a simple life. She conveys this emotional conflict entirely through her face and eyes. It's no surprise that Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap praised her performance.

Aliz Ghimire plays Apsara, a young person wandering in search of a place in society. Ghimire portrays her closeness with a safari driver, and the complications that follow, with real skill. The performance represents the pain and dreams of the community's younger generation.

Ashanta Sharma plays the local drum master, Piriti's lover. Theirs is a love that is very hard to make whole, and the on-screen chemistry between him and Pushpa is beautiful. The film includes an intimate scene between the two that feels genuinely real. It may be the first Nepali film to handle such a scene with this level of realism and do it justice. Dipika Yadav, Jasmin Bishwakarma, Gauri Malla, Maotse Gurung and Akanshya Karki also deliver strong work.

Direction
In his first feature, Abinash Bikram Shah establishes himself as a mature filmmaker. No scene feels forced. He stays far from commercial formulas, the "put this kind of scene in so the film runs" mentality, and chooses instead to tell a true story. That is his greatest achievement.

The most powerful element of his direction is the use of the clap. Across South Asia, clapping is often used to mock trans women. Abinash turns that same clap into a powerful instrument. The characters use it for joy, for anger, and as a weapon to drive away wild elephants. After the film ends, you won't be able to stop clapping yourself. It keeps going until your heart is satisfied. A director who can compel a standing ovation like this is a true gem of Nepali cinema, and I hope to see many more great films from him.

Technical Aspects
The cinematography is praiseworthy, whether in forest scenes, night scenes or fog-covered sequences. The editing is strong too. But the film's standout is its BGM. Nepali films that have won acclaim at festivals have often owed much to their background music, and this one is in that league.

Verdict
I'd rate it 4.5 out of 5. Walking out of the hall, I felt lucky to have seen this film. Its last shot can't be described in words. You have to watch it and feel it yourself. Just as it did at Cannes, I hope Elephants in the Fog makes waves at the Oscars soon.