“The Puppeteer” by Vikneshwaran Silva

Thinking about our own existence can sometimes lead to a strange paradox: we are so entangled with what others say, with our past and with all the lives around us that it almost looks like we have lost our own will, our power to decide on our destiny.

Around this very deep concept of manipulation “The Puppeteer” tells a very intense thriller story that revolves around a mysterious killing and the suicide of a girl that cut her wrists after opening up an envelope. A man tries to find out the true reason behind the suicide, not knowing the dangers of the investigation.

Shot in Hungary by Vikneshwaran Silva, a young singaporean director, this debut student film is shot with surprising skill. The visuals of the story are very clever: we are always in a very dark but subtle mood that emphasizes the mystery behind the plot, a mood that we can find in Hollywood’s best crime movies.

Thanks to a credible acting, we enter a sort of act inside the act where truth disappears and reality becomes the character’s inner world and psychology. We feel at some point that we are being manipulated by this storytelling, and that a bigger master is hiding the real plot from us.

What we see, what we do in life, may be the result of the words and of the violence of another person. We are looking forward to see what else this director can tell us about this matter.