rajeev@sfmag.UUCP (S.Rajeev) (12/18/85)
As part of the FilmUtsav series at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC, there has been a retrospective of Mrinal Sen's films. I happened to see two of them; here are brief reviews. "Akaler Sandhane" (1982) Bengali with English subtitles Dhritiman Chatterjee, Smita Patil. This movie feels like a cross between Truffaut's "Day for Night" and Ray's "Ashani Sanket" because it chronicles the behind-the- scenes action when a film crew arrives in a Bengali village to shoot a movie about the disastrous 1943 famine. The film crew and the actors are thoroughly modern upper-middle class urbanites; they clearly have a sense of superiority towards the simple village folks. In any case, they camp out at an old, dilapidated mansion (which is wonderfully photogenic, like some ruined temple in a Southeast-Asian jungle) and proceed with their work. However, as the days pass, the outsiders become less objects of awe than of resentment: they buy up all the produce, they insult a local family (this due to a series of misunderstandings). Past and present become curiously mingled as the city folks are compared to the carpetbaggers who devastated the land in the famine years. Finally the film crew leaves, mission incomplete. This is certainly an enjoyable movie. For some unknown reason, the landscape seems much more green than in Ray's subdued, moody "Ashani Sanket". (Sonar Bangla, really: makes me wish Ray had done his "Aranyer Din Ratr" in colour!). Smita Patil is not strained in her role as the leading lady. The director (I guess it was Dhritiman Chatterjee) turned in a very creditable performance (in addition to looking astonishingly like an old colleague of mine, Inder-jeet Gujral!). All in all, not earth-shaking, but reasonable. "Oka Oorie Katha" (1977?) Telugu with English subtitles Vasudeva Rao, Mamata Shankar. I was disappointed with this movie. I saw Vasudeva Rao in the National-Award-winning "Chomana Dudi" (Kannada) and felt that he was a fine actor. Unfortunately, he is given a totally unfocused role here; he ends up overacting. The story is that of a feudal and impoverished Andhra village: the zamindar and his cohorts exploit the poor peasants. (Does Andhra have an especially cruel feudal system? This is the second movie I have seen set in Andhra featuring evil zamindars: the other was "Nishant".) Rao and his son live in a hovel, eking out a miserable existence by stealing whatever they can. Rao's credo is that work is the greatest evil; once you start working for your living, you're doomed; in any case, there's no point in working because the zamindar will take the fruits of your labour. All of which are probably true; however, the movie never makes it clear whether Rao is a charming rogue, a villain, a monster, a hopeless, desperate person: it vacillates among all of the above and more. That is the problem with the movie, in my opinion. The movie does not have clarity: now this might be because Sen was directing in a language he doesn't speak; however, I am inclined to blame the source, which I understand is a novel by Prem Chand (I have never been a great admirer of Prem Chand -- even Ray could not rise above the material in "Shatranj Ke Khiladi"). I also felt that the movie should have been in black and white: much more appropriate for the desolate landscape and the plot. Mamata Shankar looks pretty in her brief role as Rao's ill-fated daughter-in- law. I think this is, unfortunately, not Mrinal Sen's best. Sri Rajeev ihnp4!attunix!rajeev
mathur@alberta.UUCP (Ambrish Mathur) (12/19/85)
>This is certainly an enjoyable movie. For some unknown reason, the >landscape seems much more green than in Ray's subdued, moody "Ashani >Sanket". (Sonar Bangla, really: makes me wish Ray had done his > Sri Rajeev As you have yourself pointed out, Ray's "Ashani Sanket" is set during the great '43 famine of Bengal. You can hardly expect him to show the lush green landscape of Bengal while trying to depict a famine. --Ambrish Mathur ...ihnp4!alberta!mathur
rajeev@sfmag.UUCP (S.Rajeev) (12/20/85)
In reference to "Akaler Sandhane": > >landscape seems much more green than in Ray's subdued, moody "Ashani > >Sanket". (Sonar Bangla, really: makes me wish Ray had done his > > Sri Rajeev > > As you have yourself pointed out, Ray's "Ashani Sanket" is set > during the great '43 famine of Bengal. You can hardly expect him to > show the lush green landscape of Bengal while trying to depict a famine. > > --Ambrish Mathur Au contraire, one of the points Ray tries to make is that the famine was man-made and that the famine happened despite that fact that Bengal is so fertile and lush. There was no drought; so I would imagine that the greenery was just as green then as it is now. Unfortunately, people cannot eat grass and shrubs (though they did try). Sri Rajeev.