Iyobinte Pusthakam ('The Book of Job') is a 2014 Malayalam-language period film, set in the Munnar hills. Inspired by Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, it tells the story of a powerful but dysfunctional family.
This film contains examples of:-
- All-Loving Hero: Annamma and Martha.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Harrison, an English planter who takes over a large tract of land by force, treats his servants poorly, and has one of them killed to marry his lover. Note that it is never mentioned whether Harrison is actually a titled noble or merely a rich businessman (the latter is implied), but he is treated as one by his Indian servants.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Thacho jumps off a cliff rather than let Iyob kill him. His daughter Rahel shoots herself in a post-climax scene. In those days, she would most likely
have been hanged for murder, so she is choosing a more dignified death. However, her motives may also include genuine feelings for Rauther and not having anything to live for, having succeeded in destroying Iyob and most of his family. - Big Damn Heroes: When the police arrest Aloshy, allegedly for being a communist, actual communists ambush their convoy and release him.
- Corrupt Cop: The local police, who attack people sympathetic to independence, or who are associated with the Communist movement. Ironically, Aloshy is arrested as a Communist (based on faked testimony) while he is actually an independence activist.
- The Dog Bites Back: Rahel kills Dmitri after one too many session of domestic abuse. Not that she needs a reason, but still.
- The Don: Iyob. His sons Dmitri and Ivan do not have the intelligence for this role, while Aloshy is a genuinely good person.
- Dysfunctional Family: Iyob's family is this (except Annamma and Aloshy).
- Expy: Iyob and his three sons have some similarities to Don Corleone and his three sons from The Godfather, but the ending is quite different. There are also the obvious parallels to the three sons in The Brothers Karamazov.
- Femme Fatale: Rahel helps Ivan kill her husband Dmitri, and then tells Angoor Rauther that if Ivan, Aloshy and Iyob die, he can have the family estate and marry her. She is taking revenge on Iyob for driving her father to suicide.
- Good Is Not Soft: Most people underestimate Aloshy because he is a pacifist and Nice to the Waiter. They forget why he is a pacifist (he served in the British Army before becoming disillusioned with war and British rule, and joining the non-violent independence movement).
- Kick the Dog: Iyob, Dmitri, Yvan and the local police get plenty of opportunity to kick dogs, men, women and children.
- Nouveau Riche: Iyob and his family became rich by taking over Harrison's estate after his death. Harrison willed the property to Martha, his illegitimate daughter, but only Iyob knows this. They act the part, bullying their servants and using the police to hound their enemies.
- Protagonist Title: Iyob is an alternative spelling of Job.
- Rescue Romance: Between Martha and Aloshy
- Tampering with Food and Drink: Rahel tries to poison her husband's family, but they test it on a cat first.
- Theme Naming: Harrison names Iyob's three sons after the three sons in his favourite novel, The Brothers Karamazov.
- Youngest Child Wins: Both Dmitri and Ivan are killed by the end of the film, while Aloshy is Happily Married to Martha.
