Twist beginning
If you were to ask a random movie fan off the street what was the first movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan, they would most likely answer The Sixth Sense. But that was, in fact, not his first movie. It wasn’t even his second movie. The Sixth Sense was Shyamalan’s third feature-length movie. His very first debuted at festivals in 1992, when Shyamalan was only 22 years old, with the coming-of-age film Praying with Anger.
As far as I can tell, the only way for most people to watch this movie is the way that I did: To find a grainy rip of a VHS on YouTube — hence the quality of the screencaps in this article. Even though I’m ultimately lukewarm on the film, I really think it deserves a proper release. As it is, it’s tough to evaluate the movie with precision, especially given its most intriguing elements are aspects of the craft most intensely impacted by the lo-fi transfer: composition, lighting, color scheme, shadows, etc.
What is clear, even in its muddy form, is that Shyamalan is an unpolished but promising talent, moreso as a director than a writer — or an actor, for that matter: for the only time ever in his career, he stars in his own film. With the context that he’d eventually migrate to thrillers, the moments of the movie that stand out are scenes where he invokes some intense feeling with framing and shadows, here in spiritual and soul-searching terms rather than the supernatural he’d become famous for a few years later, but still with plenty of intrigue. The red and orange color scheme is interspersed with moments of cold darkness; from the start, Shyamalan’s instincts for the shifting visual tones astute (as far as we can tell from this lo-fi rip).
The movie follows Dev (Shyamalan), an Indian-American teen who returns to East India following his father’s death. He initially fails to understand the culture and pushes back against it. He clashes with bullies and taskmaster teachers. He speaks out against arranged marriages and caste systems. And, in the end, he learns to embrace his own mixed heritage.
It’s intriguing and unexpected to see Shyamalan be so introspective. His Indian heritage and identity has been limited to subtext (if a factor at all) for the output of his entire career, as far as I can tell. But intriguing is not automatically good. The film’s pacing is painfully slow. The story is entirely stock beats in the culture clash subgenre, bordering on the hackneyed: “In the last 3 months, I have felt love and I have felt hate with more intensity than any time in my life. I guess I am Indian after all,” he announces towards the end of the film. Eye roll.
Even if it’s not a gem, its production backstory is deeply fascinating. Shyamalan — born in India, raised in Pennsylvania, speaking almost no Tamil — borrowed a bunch of money from his parents and family friends to fly to Chennai to shoot on location. The 22-year-old hired local cast and crew, most of whom didn’t think much of this ambitious American kid. Praying for Anger flopped, but he proved them wrong in the long run.
Is It Good?
Not Very Good (3/8)
Dan is the founder and head critic of The Goods. Follow Dan on Letterboxd. Join the Discord for updates and discussion.