Cargo is a perfect example of to what extent can human imagination go. Keeping aside how the film is, good or bad, I would like to give full points to its core concept.
Does that mean Cargo is one of the best films available on Netflix? Nope. It’s not for everyone. Some people might not even understand it, and the ones who watch it only for entertainment, the film’s pace might upset them.
Then what’s so good about Cargo? It’s writing, balanced performances, and out-of-the-box concept. If life after death interests you, this film is for you. To be very honest, in the beginning, even I found it boring but as the movie progressed and introduced the audience to different cargos, it became fascinating, especially from a point where Yuvishka starts getting emotional about the dead and loses all her healing powers. From the middle of the story, to an extent, it makes you think about the way you look at life, your purpose on Earth, and the way of living.
I liked how the film also tried to put forth the emotional wounds, worries, and baggage we human beings carry even after death. And how some souls are healed while others, who are too aggressive or harmful, cannot be healed and hence their next life begins with the baggage of the previous life. I also loved how they have given the message that nothing is ever lost. If not all, at least some part of it (life) remains and it remains forever.
When I think of the storyline, the plot, I truly feel that the writer should have focussed a little more on the detailing and also, on the stories of the dead. These stories were establishing a connect between the film, characters, and the audience but before you could establish a deeper connect with any of those or actually start thinking about the entire life and death process, the stories would abruptly end. Speaking of the detailing, you will find yourself asking questions from time to time but might not get answers to them.
Verdict? As I already said, the core concept is excellent. The execution could have been better. Kudos to Arati Kadav for coming up with such a wonderful storyline. I hope next time the writing will be more polished and fearless. Fearless? Yes! With Cargo, I somewhere felt that what the writer exactly wanted to tell through the story, she has not said it. The reason is obvious. When writers write a film, they want to make it for a larger audience and hence the story is tweaked in a certain way so that it is understood and accepted by everyone who watches it. But this wasn’t that kind of a story. If Arati Kadav ever reads this review, my only request to her would be to convert this story into a novel or a web series with more details and more focus towards changing human beings’ perspective towards life and death. This story has the potential to do so. Right now, it looks like a lost opportunity.
The Digital Popcorn 