Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
An alienated, Americanized teenager of East Indian heritage is sent back to India where he discovers not only his roots but a lot about himself.
Canada Toronto International Film Festival 
USAPG-13 USAPG-13 Canada USA 
very extended cameo from M. Night in this one
feminism didn't exist until m night told that girl that she didn't have to be a wife she could be whatever she wanted, like a dancer
This movie is screaming for a restoration. Even in a terrible YouTube rip, you can tell how much work Shyamalan and his DP Madhu Ambat did, how much care was put into the framing, lighting, and color palette of what I’m betting was once a gorgeous-looking first feature. As debuts go, it’s part and parcel of ‘90s independent film, from the specificity of its coming-of-age narrative to the horror of its semi-obligatory violent climax. It’s also dull and dramatically inert, too scattershot and awkwardly-written to find much of an emotional anchor, and the amateur-hour acting does it no favors. Still, the number of nascent thematic and stylistic hallmarks present in Praying with Anger make it an essential curio for Shyamalan heads.
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
M. Night’s long forgotten directorial debut is only available in like -10K on YouTube, still had okay themes/writing though considering. Ends with a voiceover of “I was going back to America, but I was leaving my home” and that’s why I love this lil cornball
Action!: The Campy, The Violent and The Plot Twist — Its a Plot Twist! The Shyamalan Chronicles
Before he got to be known for his final twists, M. Night Shyamalan was everything but into the suspense or horror genre. Interestingly, his earlier work tended to lean toward drama and humor, as he wrote what could be called his last non-genre material as part of the screenwriting duo on "Stuart Little" in the same year the director we know today was born.
Taking on a very personal story for his first feature film, the director touches on what's been considered his worst feature film and the point when his career went on a decline. As opposed to that feature which was…
Super cringey dialogue, weird directing, and a feature length cameo by M. Night Shyamalan. Sadly the only option to watch is of pitiful quality on YouTube. It’s a start I suppose.
“I once prayed for my football team to make the playoffs. They didn’t make it, so I stopped.”
Real.
Yeah, it’s a debut that you have basically no choice to watch in any other way than a 360p YouTube upload, but there’s a level of sincerity in this that I just find so endearing. M. Night’s most rough and ready film, but his empathetic themes are still ever present.
THE GREAT WORK BEGINS.
(discussed on this episode of Blank Check!)
oddly comforting to know that even m night shyamalan wasn’t safe from a diaspora college essay era
Not the worst for a directorial debut film, but could’ve been so much better.
Probably has M Night’s biggest plot twist…..
He doesn’t have a cameo appearance, he is the main star in the film. And yeah, it proves why he is more of a cameo actor.
Look, this is his feature debut, so the writing, acting, directing isn’t the best. And the only way you could watch this is on YouTube that looks likes it’s been filmed through a potato. The copy quality is horrible.
And obviously he hasn’t mastered pacing. This drags massively to the point where you’ll start to lose interest with the film.
At least his first film isn’t the worst thing he has done….
M Night: boxd.it/5gtIO
Criterion Collection where you at, please come and restore Shyamalan's debut so the world isn't forced to watch the grainy ass YouTube version.
A deeply personal reflection on culture and belonging. Analyzing the definition of a home. What is gone and forgotten vs what is gone and remembered.
Quite an impressive debut from a 22-year-old M. Night, both writing and directing Praying with Anger while being the main actor. Clearly an intimate reflection on his grappling with Indian culture and his experience in finding love in his wife.
Hard to analyze much of the technical production here due to the YouTube rip, but there were still interesting shot selections to note.
Some scenes delved too far into melodramatic soap opera dynamics, but when it comes to debut films I have seen many far worse.
