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Film Review:
Uppalavanna: Well-crafted cinematic creation
Dr. Senarath Tennakoon
CINEMA: Prof. Sunil Ariyaratna has selected a reverting tale
for his latest cinematic creation. The focus is on a pretty young Dasa
Sil Matha, Upplavanna who exerted and extended loving care to a young
murderer. The director of the film maps out a difficult topography of
rural wilderness (illukpallesa) in 1989, drowned in abject poverty,
while a youth rebels were experiencing internal conflicts.
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DASA SIL MATHA: Sangeetha Weeraratne in a different role. |
In this wilderness there is a Buddhist Temple and a Dasa Sil Matha
Aaranya. The river divides the Aaranya from the village and a local
ferry service is the only means of transport. A chilling still-life is
carved in the nunnery where Uppalavanna resides under the supervision of
the chief Matha and other Mathas fully devoted to the detached worldly
life of piety and simplicity.
Balmy days
Sunil efficiently captures the attention of the audience by exploring
the truth of Uppalavanna. The truth is like oil, always comes to the
surface and everybody has his wounds to bandage. Uppalavanna belonged to
the upper ten in her lay life.
She sacrificed her balmy days because of her love over head and heels
to a youth considered to be out of the gutter, by her parents. Her
mother apparently died through grief as her only daughter eloped with a
man of the gutter.
On her funeral day, the daughter comes to pay her last respects to
the mother with her chosen husband. But her father in a frenzy shoots
and kills her husband. So Uppalavanna has every reason to give up her
lay life.
Everyone is the architect of one's life. In the film, her lay life is
elegant and intriguing. In particular, her exquisite feats of feminine
gestures of youthful vigour during her training period of dancing are
vivid and spellbinding like moonlight falling on the flowing river
water.
Local medicine
Uppalawanna very well knew that she was treating the wounds of a
murderer. She applied local medicine and bandaged his wounds. She
offered him food and water until he could rise up and walk about.
Her sister Dasa Sil matha (Podi Atthi) knew it and has informed about
it to the Chief Matha too. Although the police had a different legal
point of view, the Buddhist point of view is quite different and
Uppalavanna and the Chief Matha believed that rising to the occasion at
a pinch is in accordance with the Buddhist way of service. Uppalawanna
has signified the truth of it by symbolic means.
The script by Tissa Abeysekara with appropriate, clear and relevant
ethnographic linguistic speech, acts and events which are not verbose,
but concise and crisp is a rare resource for the communicative
significance of the film.
The contrasting social environments of the Buddhist Nunnery and the
villagers have been reflected in the context. The Dasa Sil Matha speaks
a serene, pious, soft toned language deviating from the standard
conversation pattern.
Foolish villagers
However, the village priest uses a high toned genre and even abuses
the foolish villagers for refusing to offer alms to the Mathas, because
the village women thought that the Mathas had a link with the death of a
village lad and the murderer.
The village monk's behaviour is quite different from that of the
Mathas, but he exhibits the features of a leader, manager,
administrator, advisor and a director.
Sangeetha Weeraratne shows her skill and talents in the lay role as a
flowering beauty with glittering performances. She in her saffron robes
and shaven head, has cooled down with subdued passions, presents quite a
different demeanour fitting for a Dasa Sil Matha.
Malani Fonseka, as usual has easily played her role as the Chief Dasa
Sil Meniyo. Special mention should be made of Sandali Welikanna who
plays the role of Podi Atthi.
She displays promising performing talents. Roshan Ravindra, Jagath
Chamila and Sanath Wimalaweera too play their respective roles
efficiently, while the music of Navaratne Gamage and the photography of
Suminda Weerasinghe conjointly have made the visual journey, a luminous
one.
Inherent talents
Dr. Praneeth Abeysundara's lyrics sung by Nanda Malani and Damayanthi
Jayasuriya coupled with art direction by Hemapala Dharmasena and
costumes by Wasantha Vittachchi have contributed to the artistic tenor
of this creation. Chandani Seneviratne as a rural mother displays her
inherent talents in a memorable scene.
She dashes with a raised axe to finish her son's murderer. But at the
scene of the dying murderer she cools down and offers him a mouthful of
water keeping his head on her lap. What a dramatic scene it is!
Duminda Sirisena, the village native physician and Uppalawanna's
father, shooting her chosen daughter's husband raises some conceptual
issues. Firstly, is it acceptable for a mature villager to do such a
rash act? Generally, the parents forget and forgive the misdeeds of
their children.
The death of Uppalawanna's mother (Chitra Warakagoda) has not been
causally and teleologically connected. Rohana Beddage is used in a
typical stereotype role of a dancing master. His talents could have been
better used.
Uppalavanna is a thoughtful well crafted cinematic creation. It
grace, elegance and lush are undeniably intriguing. |
