Dirty, Yellow, Darkness

Dirty, Yellow, Darkness aka Premaya Nam is a love story wrapped around a very touchingly personal story about OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). What I liked most about this film besides how well shot it is by Jaan Shenberger is how honest its portrayal of OCD is. I really admired how it dealt with the cultural stigmas of someone dealing with a mental health illness. It affects one's personal life the most and can severely harm a marriage. Rather than show empathy, understanding, or care, the main character's in-laws make his life worse by degrading him as well as their own daughter for marrying someone with a mental illness. Yet it still makes the in-laws rightfully upset or disturbed. They wonder: "Is this mental illness passed down to the children?" Overall, I was deeply pleased by how cathartic this movie is, especially for anyone who has had to deal with an illness that was beyond their control, let alone being different. I applaud the directors Kalpa and Vindana Ariyawansa for tackling such an unseen subject matter. It is wrapped in a love story to make the journey easier to bear. All in all, they did a phenomenal job, from production to emotional impact that doesn't flinch away from the difficult times one goes through living with OCD.