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The first word of the Iliad is ârage,â and rage is also the starting point of âPebbles,â the Indian director P. S. Vinothrajâs first feature. Itâs a gendered vision of rage, in which a woman calmly carries water in a large pot as a man stomps past her and down an alley in a glowering fury. The enraged man then bursts into the village schoolhouse, defiantly orders a pupilâhis young sonâout, and drags him onto a bus. They get off at a lonely outpost and walk through a desolate plain to another village, where the fatherâcrude, bitter, violent, alcoholicâwants to force his estranged wife to return home with him. Thatâs the story of âPebbles,â which is the best dramatic feature Iâve seen in this yearâs New Directors/New Films series (which runs from April 28th to May 8th, both online and in person). With the stark clarity of its story and the audacity of its style, it presents a complex view of social life, material conditions, and the struggles for selfhood in a remote mountainous region of Indiaâs Tamil Nadu.