We all have two lives: the second begins when we understand we only have one.
Ashwin Saravanan is an unknown Indian director... for us Westerners.
In his country, however, he is considered one of the Masters of the Horror genre who made his debut in 2015 with "Maya" (of which he is also the author of the screenplay) which achieved great success with the public, a two hour and twenty hour horror film which was praised by oriental critics.
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In 2019 Saravanan directed and wrote this “Game Over” confirming his undoubted abilities , both writing and directing.
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The story has a prologue: a girl who lives alone is spied on and recorded by a killer who, late at night, enters the home, immobilizes the woman and then takes her outside to a football field to behead her and set fire to the body.
The film begins a year later, there are now just a few days left until the end of 2018 and the viewer meets Swapna, a video game programmer who dedicates herself, body and soul, to her activity on a daily basis and is a great Pac Man enthusiast.
Swapna, however, is not well and suffers from a serious psychological problem: she has not yet managed to overcome the trauma that happened to her a year earlier (just on New Year's Eve) in where she was tied up and raped by a boy.
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Just as the imminent new New Year approaches, Swapna goes into crisis and this manifests itself above all when she remains, even for less than a minute, in an environment without light (exactly like on the night in which he suffered the violence) and therefore he regularly goes to the psychologist to follow a rehabilitation process.
Almost a year earlier Swapna, who lives with the maid Kalamma who takes care of all the household chores, had gotten a tattoo in honor of her love for video games but, just in the last few days, the part of the body where the tattoo begins to hurt.
The viewer begins to understand what lies behind this girl's solitary life: her parents did not agree to let her go at the rave that New Year's Eve but she decided to go anyway. After the dramatic event, her parents blamed her for dressing provocatively and because of this behavior the girl decided to go and live alone, refusing to meet her parents.
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We are in the era of social media and Swapna's drama has not remained confined to the family but has become public knowledge and some kids recognize her when she goes to eat at a fast food restaurant.
Overcome by despair she decides to end it but, although fortunately she doesn't succeed, the failed suicide causes her to break both legs and a long period of rehabilitation.
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< 0>There are now only a few days left until the end of the year and unexpectedly Swapna receives a visit from a woman who will make her reflect deeply on her life…The words of the woman seem to have given Swapna a new and unexpected serenity and that same evening she informs Kalamma that the next morning they will go to visit her parents to find new family harmony.
Is the film finished???
No, it actually has yet to start and will do so that same night…
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Saravanan's work is worthy of praise because builds a solid and profound story (the viewer will realize it...) that goes beyond the horror context whose aim is to frighten.
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In “Game Over” there is a lot more, indeed, in some ways, the horror component (present in the second half), although incisive and well constructed, is almost an added bonus because Swapna's story is already, in itself, captivating.
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“Game Over” is therefore a small glimpse into the immense Indian cinematography that we Westerners still need to discover and evaluate carefully.
