Empathy begets humanism
Film Appreciation with K S Sivakumaran
Those of us who have seen Eran Riklis' film The Lemon Tree would
agree that it is an appreciable film. It could be appreciated in many
ways. Primarily it is a film from West Asia (Middle East). We don't see
many such films from the region here in Lanka.
We are used to seeing Iranian films at local festivals but not a film
from Palestine. This film speaks Arabic and Hebrew with subtitles in
English.
Secondly, it has many aspects of what we may call an artistic
'Cinema' as opposed to 'Movies'. In other words it comprises elements of
the grammar of cinema that are very often missed in the so-called
'glossy' movies that provide mass entertainment.
 |
|
Scene
from The Lemon Tree |
Readers might wonder what 'Grammar of Cinema' means. We shall get to
know about it by looking up in the Wikipedia. Here it is briefly:
"In film, film grammar is defined as follows:
1. A frame is a single still image. It is analogous to a letter.
2. A shot is a single continuous recording made by a camera. It is
analogous to a word.
3. A scene is a series of related shots. It is analogous to a
sentence. The study of transitions between scenes is described in film
punctuation.
4. A sequence is a series of scenes which together tell a major part
of an entire story, such as that contained in a complete movie. It is
analogous to a paragraph.
The term film grammar is best understood as a creative metaphor,
since the elements of film grammar described above do not stand in any
strict relation of analogy to the components of grammar as understood by
philology or modern linguistics.
D W Griffith has been called the father of film grammar. Few scholars
still hold that his 'innovations' really began with him, but Griffith
was a key figure in establishing the set of codes that have become the
universal backbone of film language."
What aesthetes and cineastes expect in 'good and artistic cinema' is
a blend of a powerful and intriguing story and acting with understanding
the respective roles, the grip it holds on the audience, the tempo in
the film and most importantly the impact of the visuals via constructive
cinematography.
The director's individual art in adding silences in the film
appropriately, for instance, thus not making stagy with spoken word,
also contribute in understanding and appreciating a film. The Lemon
Tree, in my opinion, is not only a well-made film, but also a
'humanistic' film begetting empathy from unexpected people transcending
political and language and ethnic differences.
In this context the characterization of Israeli Defence Minister's
wife, the Minister himself in his off the cuff remarks, the Isreali
sentry's conversation with the Palestinian widow, toning down in the
treatment with the protagonist who from their point of view violated the
rules of the military men suggest strains of softness towards the enemy.
Conversely, the Palestinian woman's angst is not so much towards her
'aggressor enemy' but over the arbitrary fencing between her orchard of
lemons and the residence of a vital politico. Robert Frost's 'Mending
Fences' comes to mind instantaneously. Her problem and dilemma was of a
different kind. It is more personal to her - her livelihood, loneliness,
widowhood, sexuality and the like. But she stands out the real heroine
in the film with her courage, boldness, fighting spirit for justice and
fair play in her own terms.
The minister's gentle wife too has her own 'feminist' identity to
show empathy with her antagonist. She shows her courage by moving away
from her adamant husband whom she suspects has a crush on his private
young secretary. But outwardly she leaves as a protest against the
inhuman treatment meted out by the powers that were to a helpless woman
by walling her and her lemon tree plantation that was destroyed.
The film ends with hope that the destroyed tree could be replaced
with fresh plantation by the widow who escapes from societal or
religious immorality by not falling in love with a much younger attorney
who was previously married to a Russian woman and has a child. The
Palestinian woman too had lost her husband and has a grown up son
working in America.
The film is subtle in it its implicit commentary on many issues and
maintains a delicate balance that enthused me to be entertained. The
film was shown last week at the ICES where some fine international films
are periodically shown. [email protected]
|
