Text Credits: Gayathri Prasannan

Lijo Jose Pellissery is a director with true conviction. We had seen him sticking to his ideas of ingenious cinema in his first two films – Nayakan and City of God, indifferent about the front benchers and their expectations. But in his third Amen, he paid attention to the popular tastes, ably integrating them with the best of imaginative thinking for a film truly based on local culture.

Source: IND movie

Amen is indeed a buoyant achievement for Mollywood in many ways. Lijo’s magnanimous making treads new routes with supreme technical finesse that should be watched on a quality projection for Abhinandan Ramajunam’s attractive frames, PS Rafeeque’s mirthful writing, Prashant Pillai’s apt music and brilliant performances from the whole cast. It is a stunning commercial entertainer formula. Hats off to Lijo for infusing a simple usual story with stunning visuals, awesome music and much more.

Source: filmibeat
It’s always a pleasure when Malayalam cinema tries to push boundaries with genre-bending approaches inspired from Quentin Tarantino / Guy Ritchie movies, because it happens very rarely, and it’s even rarer to find such attempts hitting the target if at all to a limited extent. Lijo should be applauded for attempting such a risky venture. Double Barrel is indeed an unconventional experience from the director who loves to experiment with every movie he helms, offering nothing like you have seen before in Malayalam or even Indian cinema. Lijo clearly states his intentions with the aid of Stanley Kubrick’s quotes at the beginning of the movie and he lucidly sticks to his vision to bring out one of the most craziest, eccentric, and experimental films.

Source: ibtimes

Pellissery created Angamaly Diaries on screen with so much competence that the faltering and predictable love life of Pepe is of no import or that the coming of age is nothing new is excusable. Right from the beginning when a fight sequence is laid out to Ilaiyaraja’s Ilamai Itho Itho played out by a brass band to the climax where over a ten-minute uninterrupted tracking shot punctuates the violence on the streets, Lijo’s filmmaking acumen is dazzling. It is his most compelling work till date. Lijo has narrated the story in a gritty and raw way. The music that reminds us of the countryside blends in beautifully with the culture of Angamaly, which has been captured in the movie. And the violence – yes there’s lots of it – is depicted in a very realistic manner that clearly shows how the characters and their lives are affected because of the choices and the paths they take.

Source: Deccan chronicle
Lijo and Alphonse Puthren are the best technicians in Malayalam cinema right now. The signature style introduced in Angamaly Diaries was here to stay, that of third person POV and long uncut shots which left a great aftertaste, and was visible in Ee.Ma.Yau. The film takes the first half hour to set the stage, then gets brisk and steadfast, characters step in/out and contribute their part amidst crowded scenes; all of them being catchy in one way or the other. Heavy rains, gushing winds, crashing waves, raucous calls of gulls; everything adds up as shades on a watercolour painting. You can actually feel the nature on-screen. That’s the greatest acclaim a technician could ask for. Overall, Ee.Ma.Yau is a technical marvel.

Cinema is all about make-belief, and Lijo’s chaotic imagination stays true to that statement in all ways.

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