Daruma (2024) Film Review
Daruma is a very sweet movie about a father-daughter relationship that begins in the most dire of circumstances. Patrick finds out he has a daughter and he’s “obligated” to become a dad against all expectations because there’s money involved. It’s not that movie characters can’t have these kinds of “evil person becomes good” kinds of arcs, but Daruma offers something special about its central character. Before I reveal what it is, I apologize in advance if I use something that shouldn’t be in my vernacular to refer to people with disabilities.
The film starts when Patrick receives a bizarre notice. He doesn’t know it but he has a daughter. Her mother passed away recently, and she left him as the one responsible for taking care of the child. Patrick, a bitter and broke man, rejects any offer from the social workers who deliver the news. But his eyes glow when they mention he could use the money that the woman destined for her child’s care. After not too much convincing, he decides he’ll take care of Camilla. That’s when the adventure starts. With a horrible and greedy dude who loses any dose of sympathy we just felt for him because he’s in a wheelchair and has a substance abuse issue. Luckily, Robert,. Patrick’s neighbor who is a double amputee accepts the father’s plea for help, and he also comes along on the road trip.
The film is a heavy hitter in terms of exposing the difficulties of disabilities. Not only because we have failed to physically adapt our world to make it friendlier towards people with disabilities, but because we can’t even recognize that their lives function differently. Take the scene in which Patrick is trying to text someone while in the kitchen. The speed in which the messages arrive doesn’t let him reply back with the same tone the girl’s flirting in. It’s those nuances that the film portrays so realistically, and which make it a very compelling film for viewers who identify the real message that’s addressed.
Outside the obvious, Daruma runs like the usual underdog comedy that flows into heavy drama when necessary. The third act reflects Patrick’s turnaround climax, as he admits he was never ready, and he shouldn’t have been. His eventual separation from Camilla (she was always destined to stay with her grandparents) is harrowing, and emotionally scars Patrick, who now understands Robert was right all along.
Peter Farrelly executive produces the film, which gives it authenticity. But Daruma doesn’t really need it. It’s a saccharine product that works due to its compelling performances, and its positive approach to disability issues. Everything revolves around Patrick, a man using a wheelchair who is anything but traumatized by his lifestyle. The fact that he can’t commit to Camilla is actually more important. Robert, who’s also a disabled person in real life, adds a pinch of the film’s genuine message of advocacy: being disabled does not make you more special, and life will hit you with the same hardships.
This is one good film that everyone in the family should see.
