Story
The Crow’s Egg is an Indian comedy drama in Tamil with English subtitles. It’s about two poor young brothers, Periya Kaaka Muttai (J Vignesh) and Chinna Kaaka Muttai (V Ramesh). They live in a slum with their mother and grandmother, and spend their time stealing and eating eggs from crow’s nests. They call each other Crow’s Egg the Elder and Crow’s Egg the Younger. After begging their mother and grandmother for various unaffordable toys and possessions, they eventually get a television. This gift sparks a desire to try pizza, after they see a particularly engaging advertisement where a man happily eats a pizza of his own.The boys work on saving up enough money to purchase a pizza by picking up and selling charcoal that falls off passing trains. Over time, they raise enough money to buy a pizza but the employees at their local pizzeria refuse to serve them. Initially this is because they’re dressed too poorly. Even after the boys work hard to earn enough money to buy appropriate clothes, the pizzeria worker calls them ‘slum dwellers’ and turns them away again.A video of the boys being chased away and struck by the pizzeria supervisor goes viral. The media pressure that ensues forces the pizzeria owner to apologise publicly to the boys for discrimination. He offers them free pizza for life, but the boys realise that the dream they’ve been chasing is the wrong one.
Themes
Poverty; discrimination; impact of the media; family and relationships
Violence
There is some violence in The Crow’s Egg. For example, when the boys go into the pizza shop with their new clothes and enough money to buy a pizza, the supervisor slaps the older boy. This is caught on camera by several bystanders and is replayed in the media.
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
None of concern
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
There is limited product placement in The Crow’s Egg. Products featured include Apple laptops and Sony televisions.
Coarse language
There is some coarse language in The Crow’s Egg.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Crow’s Egg is a heart-warming story about two boys whose personal development helps them discover what’s truly important in their lives.
The movie highlights the young brothers’ desire to explore new places and tastes, but it also emphasises the value of simple and familiar things. The movie shows the strength and importance of friendship and family bonds, but also explores darker themes such as poverty, racism and discrimination.
Younger children might be upset by the violent and discriminatory way the boys are treated. Also, the movie is in Tamil with English subtitles, so it might be hard for children to follow. It therefore isn’t recommended for children under 10 years, and we recommend parental guidance for older primary school-age children.
The Crow’s Egg raises several issues that you could talk about with older children, including:
- poverty and the issues faced by individuals living in low socio-economic circumstances
- child labour and how children in disadvantaged populations help to keep their families alive
- the widening social gap between rich and poor groups in countries like India
- the power of the media to change lives the difference between wants and needs.