|  Author | Topic: SL top 10 movies (Read 194 times) |
marlon, GM
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|  | SL top 10 movies
« Thread Started on Sept 12, 2005, 1:37pm » | ![[Quote]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif) |
This is SL's top 10 movies.
Has anyone seen any of these?
![[image]](http://imagineasia.bfi.org.uk/poll/stills/sri_01_purahanda_100.jpg)
1. Pura Handa Kaluwara (1997)
Alternative title: Death On A Full Moon Day
Language: Sinhala
Director: Prasanna Vithanage
Running time: 74 mins
Starring: Joe Abeywickrama, Priyanka Samaraweera, Linton Semage
The ongoing ethnic strife in predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka between the Sinhala majority in the south and the Tamil minority in the north has produced some remarkable films and Prasanna Vithanage's Pura Handa Kaluwara is perhaps the best of them. The film ran into some trouble with the government because of its harrowing portrayal of the devastation of people's lives in the conflict. Set in a Sinhala village in the north, the film's protagonist is a blind farmer whose son is fighting in the war. On the full moon day - a day supposed to be observed as a non-violent one according to Buddhist doctrines - the farmer's son's dead body arrives in the village.
2. Ahas Gauvwa (1974)
Language: Sinhala
Director: Dharmasena Pathiraja
Set in urban Sri Lanka, Ahas Gauvwa is a groundbreaking film. According to critic Priyath Liyanage the film's strength lies in its "realistic portrayal of working class problems". Liyanage goes on to describe the film as a "breath of fresh air and a wonderful early feature from director Dharmasena Pathiraja". The film tracks the life of a group of unemployed friends who live in a working class flat and their quest for the meaning of life. They ultimately turn to crime but not before some insightful comments on the situation of youth looking for direction. Like many Sri Lankan films made at the time, the tone of the film is deeply political.
![[image]](http://imagineasia.bfi.org.uk/poll/stills/sri_03_mathuyam_200.jpg)
3. Mathu Yam Dawasa (2001)
Alternative title: Some Day In The Future
Language: Sinhala
Director: Dharmasena Pathiraja
Running time: 116 mins
Starring: Saumya Liyanage, Wasantha Moragoda, Radha de Mel
Director Dharmasena Pathiraja has always tried to bring his brand of Czech and Polish cinema inspired realism to Sri Lankan films. But by his own admission, the audience did not accept him and he was forced to give up making films from 1980-1994. Mathu Yam Dawasa is a triumphal return to form for him. Dealing with his pet themes of youth, unrest and unemployment, the film follows the lives of Dhammika and Lionel. Their dream is to escape Sri Lanka and go to Italy. But things do not go their way and they go on a violent crime spree. As critic Susitha R. Fernando says, "he had handled a similar theme in Ahas Gauvwa twenty five years ago with the film. It portrayed the everlasting youth problem a solution to which has not been found even after two decades had passed."
![[image]](http://imagineasia.bfi.org.uk/poll/stills/sri_04_aswesuma_200.jpg)
4.Aswesuma (2001)
Alternative title: The Compensation
Language: Sinhala
Director: Bennett Rathnayake
Running time: 112 mins
Starring: Joe Abeywickrama, Jackson Anthoney, Ravindra Randeniya
Bennett Rathnayake brilliantly handles the theme of an aged man trying to come to terms with his conscience in this film. The story begins with the cremation of the man's wife. With the cremation of his wife, the old man goes to the police asking the officers to take him into custody as he had committed three murders 52 years ago. The incredulous officers hear the tale of greed, lust and violence in a time when the British were on the verge of leaving Sri Lanka. The film has won several international awards including the FIPRESI award at the Mumbai International Film Festival. Commenting on the film the Jury chief at the festival Angel Comas said, "director Rathnayake basing on his own screen play has transformed a classical story into a telling human drama by its powerful narration".
![[image]](http://imagineasia.bfi.org.uk/poll/stills/sri_05_anantha_200.jpg)
5 Anantha Rathriya (1995)
Alternative title: Dark Night Of The Soul
Language: Sinhala
Director: Prasanna Vithanage
Running time: 87 mins
Starring: Swarna Mallawarachchi, Ravindra Randeniya
Adapted from a novel by Leo Tolstoy, Anantha Rathriya is an examination of the tortuous nature of a man's scruples. A young man seduces and impregnates his aunt's servant maid and refuses to help her. Twenty-five years later he has to sit on a jury when the woman, now a prostitute, is brought before the court on a murder charge. As the case is being judged, the man is wracked with guilt, remorse, despair and a burning desire to rectify his mistake of years ago. The multi-award winning film showcases the talent of director Prasanna Vithanage and his total ease with the medium.
6 Nidhanaya Lester James Perries 1970
Alternative Title: The Treasure
Language: Sinhala
Director: Lester James Peries
Director Lester James Peries has been described as the Godfather of Sri Lankan cinema, enjoying a status comparable with that of Satyajit Ray in neighbouring India. On the evidence of Nidhanaya it not hard to see why. A portrayal of crumbling aristocracy, the film is set in colonial Sri Lanka at the time of the British Raj. A young aristocrat who is more British than the British wants to save his dwindling financial resources. He hears about a treasure that can be obtained by sacrificing a virgin. To this end, he finds a young girl, marries her and sacrifices her. When no treasure is found subsequently begins the aristocrat's descent into madness. Critic Priyath Liyanage describes the film as "Peries' best film without question". The film has been compared favourable to Ray's Jalsaghar, which also dealt with the theme of decaying aristocracy.
![[image]](http://imagineasia.bfi.org.uk/poll/stills/sri_07_memage_200.jpg)
7 Me Mage Sandai Asoka Handagamage 2000
Alternative title: This Is My Moon
Language: Sinhala
Director: Asoka Handagama
Running time: 104 mins
Starring: Saumya Liyanage, Dilhani Ekanayake, Linton Semage
Asoka Handagama's provocative film set against the backdrop of Sri Lankan ethnic strife looks at the rape of a Tamil woman by a Sinhala soldier who subsequently deserts. When the woman and the deserter make their way to into a poverty-stricken Sinhala village, they cause confusion in the life of the villagers. Like Prasanna Vithanage, Handagama also critiques the institutionalisation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. He also looks at the larger issue of the glorification of war destroying life. In the director's own words. "I really want this film to make people talk about what is happening in the country. While this film is a creation of my imagination, it is inspired by reality and my observations on society in Sri Lanka. This is my contribution to what is happening."
8 Chanda Kinnarie Asoka Handagamage 1998
Language: Sinhala
Director: Asoka Handagama
Chanda Kinnarie is based on a common social struggle, which director Asoka Handagama tries to tell in abstract form. With abstract art forms, perhaps the person who understands it best is the creator. Keeping this in mind, the film has been interpreted by different people in different ways. The innovative structure of the film scores over the content. This may have been what Handagama intended. Critic Priyath Liyanage calls the film an "adventurous effort to experiment with film form." He goes on to describe the film as "an attempt to put pictures into Das Kapital". As with all experimental films, the debate will rage on.
9 Ponmani D. Pathiraja 1978
Language: Tamil
Director: Dharmasena Pathiraja
Following on from his acclaimed Ahas Gauvwa, director Dharmasena Pathiraja made another issue film. Ponmani is unusual in the sense that it is a Tamil film made by a Sinhala director. The film, which is a study of the caste conflict prevalent in Tamil society in northern Sri Lanka perhaps, arose out of the director having spent some time in the area during his university years. The film was not well received by the Tamil community and critics have suggested it represents an outsider's view.
10 Hansa Vilak Dharmasiri Bandaranayake 1980
Language: Sinhala
Director: Dharmasiri Bandaranayake
Theatre producer Dharmasiri Bandaranayake's assured debut film deals with a variety of social issues including adultery and societal opposition to love marriages. It also looks at how middle class value systems challenge human life and the effect of younger schools of thought causing devastation in parental minds. The moral dilemmas caused by different value systems are also explored. Critic Priyath Liyanage hails Hansa Vilak as a landmark film saying that Bandaranayake who also played the lead role "manages to discuss topics in a way never done before in Sri Lankan cinema". Hansa Vilak won Bandaranayake the Sarasaviya award for best script.
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marlon, GM
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| | Re: SL top 10 movies
« Reply #1 on Sept 12, 2005, 1:39pm » | |
The war, black cinema and morale of the soldier
By Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera
Everyone knows that war is destructive. In war people die, property is =
destroyed and the economy of the country is shattered. No further =
details are required for any decent person to understand the true nature =
of war.
Terrorism is the major national problem the country faces today. =
Although the present Cease Fire Agreement has stopped the war =
temporarily, the ceasefire has to culminate either in permanent peace or =
again in war. If the terrorists do not compromise, show flexibility in =
their demands and insist on a separate state, the government has to wage =
war to preserve the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the =
country. For, if not, the terrorists would achieve their objective.
The decision to wage war is taken by the politician and the fighting is =
done by the soldier. The soldier is supposed to protect the nation and =
every citizen of the country, including artistes like Handagama & =
Mahadivulweva. Peace is desired by everyone and it is the soldier who =
treasures it most as he is the person who directly experiences the agony =
of war. If the soldier is well trained, properly equipped and has high =
morale it would deter the enemy from taking the initiative to wage war =
against the government. Hence in peace time the soldier prepares for war =
and deters the enemy and in war he fights the enemy to defeat him and =
bring back peace to the country. Therefore the soldier's contribution =
towards peace is comparatively greater than most of the different =
categories of men in society.=20
When the soldier fights to ensure security to the nation he does it by =
sacrificing his own life, causing immense pain and worry to his family. =
Under the circumstances the soldier deserves respect from the public.=20
What is implied by respecting the soldier is not that he should be =
saluted whenever you see him on the road, but to generate a feeling of =
regard by seeing him as a person who protects the nation / people. That =
type of feeling can be generated only in patriotic hearts who love the =
motherland. Such people, under any circumstances, do not insult the =
servicemen or engage in any work detrimental to the morale of the =
troops. Any patriotic citizen who is cognizant of the threat the country =
is facing today with regards to national integrity, naturally behaves in =
such a manner.
Rabindranath Tagore, the world renowned writer and poet once said that =
in a national crisis, even artistes must show patriotism in their =
respective work. But what is the service rendered, specially by the =
cinema artistes, towards addressing this national problem? There have =
been a handful of films based on war and in all these films one could =
observe a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the soldier, his =
wife and Sinhalese culture as a whole. This is very surprising, =
especially when considering the role played by artistes in other =
countries, to boost the morale of the soldier during crucial times.
Well-known film critic Tissa Premasiri has written that, cinema should =
not be an attempt to show only the misery of life but be an aesthetic =
endeavour to bring out the much treasured human aspect too. In my =
opinion, films based on war, love and affection for the soldier should =
also be included in the said humanity aspect, so that a respectable or a =
dignified picture of a soldier is drawn in the mind of the spectator, at =
the end of the movie.
However, on the contrary, today what we see in the so called films on =
war is quite the opposite. "Me Mage Sandai" a film by Asoka Handagama =
begins with a scene of a morose looking Sinhalese soldier raping a Tamil =
woman inside a bunker. This film which received the Presidential award =
merely for winning an international award, throughout shows how the =
people in a village in Sri Lanka engage in sexual intercourse like cats =
and dogs, inside bushes and under the trees. It shows how a soldier =
lights a cigarette from the burning pyre of a dead soldier and how the =
widow of the dead soldier passionately embraces another man, even before =
the flames of her dead husband's pyre have died. Is this the reality?=20
This film, which also shows how a Buddhist monk throws away his robes =
and elopes with the Tamil girl, can be considered a despicable exercise =
to disgrace the soldier, soldier's wife, Sinhala culture and the =
Buddhist monk. What is the impression the international community gets =
about our motherland when seeing this film? Isn't it supporting the =
diabolical false propaganda campaign being carried out by the terrorists =
against the Sinhalese? By showing an indisciplined Sinhalese soldier =
raping an innocent Tamil girl in a bunker and Sinhalese society as =
people with no moral values, doesn't it help the terrorist propaganda =
and indirectly justify taking up arms by the so called freedom fighters, =
in the eyes of the world ?
In Mahadivulweva's film "Sudu,Kalu Saha Alu" it shows how the soldier's =
wife sleeps with a ruffian because the soldier cannot take leave to come =
home. It is unfortunate to note that the very first thing that comes to =
the mind of these directors whenever the subject of war comes up is the =
soldier's wife, and she as a nymphomaniac who always tries to entice the =
man next door to have sex with her whilst her husband is away on duty. =
This film too has let down the soldier very badly. Mahadivulweva also =
tries to show that, any hardcore criminal can become a monk merely by =
shaving his head and putting on a robe and that the villagers are an =
illiterate bunch of riff-raffs who accept any person as a monk.=20
It is also observed that these directors who only show the miserable =
aspects of war often deviate from the "reality" in trying to prove their =
point of view. I wish to challenge Asoka Handagama to try and light a =
cigar from the burning pyre of a soldier who has made the supreme =
sacrifice for the motherland.
In Indian cinema, it can be considered reality if it shows how a widow =
of an dead Indian soldier jumps into the husband's pyre and commits =
suicide, because "Sati" had been a custom in India. But I am sure, the =
type of widows who copulate with other men whilst their husband's pyre =
is still alight, live only in Handagama's mind. However, the grave =
insult Handagama has cast upon the entire community of soldier wives =
cannot be simply ignored and it is up to those ladies to do the needful =
in that regard.
It is worthwhile to ask Mahadivulweva, who is of the opinion that even a =
moron who looks after buffaloes can join the present day army, whether =
he is aware of wives who have lost their soldier husbands just after =
marriage? These noble ladies, knowing that their husbands would never =
return, still live a dignified life, preserving chastity and dignity of =
the family and engaging in meritorious activities.
I do not know whether Vimukthi Jayasundara knows that there are =
distinguished young Sinhalese girls who willingly marry the soldiers =
wounded in action and disabled, and even sacrifice their entire youth =
looking after their husbands? I would like to ask Prasanna Vithanage =
whether he has ever thought of the state of mind of the officer who goes =
to break the news to the parents, of a sailor son who has been blown up =
at sea.
It would be interesting to ask all these four directors as to why the =
Indian directors, in their films on war, always try to promote national =
pride, and depict the bravery of soldiers and never todate have tried to =
show how a Indian soldier's wife sleeps with a lecher in Bombay whilst =
her husband fights for the nation in Kashmir? Is it because none of the =
wives of the million strong Indian Army goes astray, or that these =
directors lack the professional ability to reveal the reality of war, or =
that they do not possess the required artistic instinct to comprehend =
the sexual frustration experienced by Indian soldiers' wives or is it =
because of the devotion and respect they have for their brothers who =
sacrifice their entire life, including family life, to protect their =
motherland?
Today the war is a national problem and hence in my opinion, anyone who =
makes a film on war must exercise utmost care. Everyone knows the =
destructive nature of war. Any individual can make any number of films =
on war showing direct/indirect impact on the society, social life etc. =
But through such films, if the services of the troops, are condemned or =
if the soldier and his wife are scoffed at, and if the potential youth =
in the country are discouraged from joining the services, then it is =
time to raise objections.
There had been a few weak protests in the past regarding these kinds of =
films but the relevant directors have been adamant that no one should =
attempt to lay down "conditions" on them. However, the funny thing is =
that all those who are ever ready to show the collapse of the social =
fabric due to war have todate not attempted to create anything showing =
the agony of the Tamil society, under the hand of the terrorists.
One must try to find out the reason why these great humanists haven't =
created a single film so far showing how Tamil fathers get brutally =
assaulted when they try to prevent their children being snatched away =
from their homes or the lamenting Tamil mothers who peep into all the =
vehicles passing through Muhamalai roadblock to find out whether their =
children, abducted the previous day are being taken or about the =
innocent boutique owners who unable to pay taxes to the terrorists =
commit suicide.
There have been many films/ tele dramas on the massacre of innocent =
Tamils during July 83. But nothing has been done on the subsequent cold =
blooded massacres perpetrated by the terrorists at Aranthalawa, Dollar =
and Kent farm, Kitual Othuwa Aluth oya, Sri Maha Bodi, Kaththankudi etc. =
Today the soldier contributes immensely towards peace.=20
Therefore the main aim of the terrorists, specially during this period, =
is to engage in various nefarious activities to lower the morale of the =
troops, in order to break the ceasefire with an added advantage. Hence =
if there is a film on war and it scoffs at the soldier, insults his wife =
and tends to demoralize the soldier, such films indirectly contribute =
towards fulfilling the terrorists' objectives.
If someone does it wilfully, then it amounts to treason and should be =
dealt with severely. If done through ignorance, we ask them not to =
repeat it and request them to handle the soldier and his wife at least =
with a little respect and also engage in an aesthetic attempt to =
appreciate the services of the soldier in order to generate a feeling of =
respect towards him.=20
That is the least they could do as patriotic citizens.
Courtesy: The Sunday Times 04-09-2005
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