Participant documentary Invisible Demons by filmmaker Rahul Jain is a visually stunning attempt to raise awareness about an emergency in Delhi. Pollution and climate change has made the heat unbearable, turned the air poisonous, and killed all life in the river. The film is a visceral introduction to this new reality. Interviews are interspersed with granular visuals. A cow’s nose, a melting ice block, and foam on the river are emblematic examples of Invisible Demons visual style. There is something almost tactile to it. The film captures particles of pollution darting through the air, or “poisoned arrows” as Jain calls it.
Coughing is an upsettingly prominent noise throughout the film. From children living on the streets, to an elderly woman who can’t fully exhale without falling into a coughing fit; the human cost of pollution is audible. Except in conversation with the workforce of Delhi, who are quick to say they don’t complain about what they can’t change. A boatman says it must be the gods.
Invisible Demons is a familiar story of the poor being trampled on. Most westerners will experience several instances of certainty that this could never happen in their own capital city. The people of Delhi are well aware that the rich are heavily insulated from this public health crisis. From within air conditioned offices, politicians refuse to speak about pollution. A rickshaw driver says air conditioning is only for those who always have it. Acclimating to cool temperatures causes sickness upon return to the streets of Delhi.
Every aspect of the film speaks just as much to class as it does to the environment. All the interviews grapple with some form of powerlessness. Invisible Demons invites urban westerners to locate themselves on the ladder of privilege. The film is an expansion of awareness, impressed through granular examples, and an influential way to spend an hour and ten minutes. Go check out Invisible Demons while it’s in theaters.
The film releases September 23rd in NYC (theatrically) and will be on MUBI starting October 4th.
