Film review:

Machan - A swing into social reality

E. M. G. EDIRISINGHE

Rather unusual deeply social and objectively reflective of the prevailing restless hybrid character of Sri Lankan society, the film Machan is somewhat a deviation from the usual mill of Sri Lankan films.

Based on a true event, on transition into a work of moving art, Machan gathers episodic and verbal canvas form the environment which is instrumental in shaping the format into a film that flourished into a cinematic experience of a moviegoer.

Two dozens of youngsters aspiring to be both ambitious and adventurous come from a similar socio-political background. Their desire and determination is to escape from the social and cultural escapades that had been afflicting them.

Machan takes the filmgoer into dramatic grip of an uneven development leading towards a singular direction, realisation of which they are thrust into.

With the dawn of a fresh horizon, the disillusionment with which a gang of youngsters suffered was temporarily shelved. The plot bursts into action with the first frame itself. Cinematically its vision and action blend into one virile unit of motion that grips the audience application into a single run of events which is systematically unfolded forcing one not to find what had happened but to enjoy how it happened.

The film logically and steadily flows with a force that reflects a firm commitment of the youngsters who possessed the will and the drill impelled by the circumstances.

The urban social factor however, is not the only reason that drove them out of the country to overcome the obstacles personal and economic in reaching their planned destination. The urban poor live with an abundance of riches around them, yet unable to reach them even at the hem.

So the challenge they have to face is instant and strong with no avenues to reach them. So they wished to vanish into obscurity where their identity would be lost. The social millieu in which they live provides the ideal background and the necessary drive to dwell on the opportunities drawn from whichever direction they flowed.

Thus the driving force that pushed them into migration was not poverty alone, but also the freedom of movement they enjoyed and the desire for material comfort. So the adventure into foreign climate in pursuit of gains in satisfaction of their tormenting self. Their dream is not Germany but any country in the West, but Germany provided an easy entry point with handball coming into play.

The significance of handball is that it is not a sport played in Sri Lanka, and the authorities delving into the question of sending a national team to Germany was therefore, completely out of the picture.

So the interest of the youth did not clash with the national interest and they had a free and smooth flow towards their desired goal with no rivals to confront them.

A friend of those who were planning to go to Germany was sarcastic

about their attempt to go to Germany, told them that only professionals like doctors who were wanted there. That brings to a level of high professionalism because socially and politically Germany is elevated to abundance which turns out to be the reason to seek greener pastures in the West.

So it is total escape from the reality at home for the uneducated, frustrated youth. Manoj (Gihan de Chikera) who finally decided to stay back, being the only one with a knowledge of English symbolically represents those who should take a risk in life and also are prepared to do any manual work is an area reserved for the uneducated. Recognition and future still lies with learning and training.

In contrast, the Manager (Mahendra Perera) who uttered a filthy word in response to him being granted final clearance to enter Germany, is reflective of the demeanour of the uneducated youth whose only qualification is deception. His mean verbal reaction reveals the class character of the youth who were planning to deceive all to reach their goal.

The main feature of the film, a rare experience in Sinhala cinema, is the subjection of the artiste to the character she or he performs. The Director Uberto Pasolini had made the veteran artistes to move into significant magnitude with rare cameo performances. Almost fresh young talent represent diverse youthfulness maturing themselves into a pack of resolute actin.

The editor whose artistic mill and technical skill create a rhythm that effectively kept pace with the speed with which the youngsters were restive with a sense of approaching success. Machan the moving narrative never lapsed into a slow pace with eager eyes of the desperate youth mirroring the inner impatience revolting within them.

When driven by desire for money, one loses every fibre of human quality that is couched in sympathy, understanding and compassion. And, this characteristic is epitomised in the scene when a departing you husband after bidding good-bye to his wife and son, told his friend next to him, that his wife did not know that he was leaving her for good.

Deterioration of human values noticeable in search of mundane comforts, is clearly marked in the parting words he made to his wife who was innocently ignorant of his destination and destiny. It is the climax in the film that seeks to bring the prevailing sources of thinking of hte ambitious youth into focus.

Photography is alluring and impressive; it captures the character in the artiste rather than his or her figure. The few shots that capture Malini Fonseka, Hemasiri Liyanage and Kumara Thirimadura give an intensity and depth that enrich its expressive depth and composition. Dharmapriya Dias (Stanley) a versatile stage actor builds himself as the sole character with a soul who knits the entire team into a single unit. He is forceful, but looks so innocent that he presents the image of the youth, desperate but resolute.

A film that treads a different path where both fact and fiction fuse into a forceful cinematic creation, Machan is entertaining as well as interesting.

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