Good show, could be better

It’s all very well to promote Asian cinema, but efforts must be made to get the best films from these countries, writes Ervell E. Menezes

The 5th Asian Film Festival held in Mumbai in mid-October in theatres here (Plaza, Metro Adlabs and Chavan Centre) offered a wide variety but if one wanted to get a rounded slice of it, one had also to suffer through the not-so-good cinema, like Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Top on the list of course were Iran, China and the Majid Majidi retrospective.

Electric Shadows (left) and Colours of Paradise were a feast for film buffs at the festival

The Third Eye is the continuing theme and they called the current event "Take 5," quite hep one thought, but the good thing about film festivals in Mumbai is that they draw an audience deeply committed to good cinema. Some of the oldies who began with the Sexy Sixties (when folks came essentially to see uncensored films) are still around and are joined by youngsters whose only aim is to watch good cinema. Also, there are no social barriers. Cinema, and one’s love for it, is the only leveller.

The two Iranian films I saw lived up to the high standard they have achieved in the last decade or more. I kept away from Majidi’s films as I’ve seen them only recently. Kazem Ma’asoumi’s Left Foot Forward on the Beat is a brilliant effort on the monster that is war. Shades of that classic No Man’s Land, it is centred on a handful of soldiers in trenches on the battle-front. It is that yearning for water that sends them out of their minds.

One soldier thinks of what it will be to meet his fianc`E9 after having lost his leg. Another consoles him. The third is worried about what the enemy is doing. Director Ma’asoumi weaves a chequered tapestry, alternating between pathos and wit and how the moods of the men at the front goes up and down like a yo-yo. It is a strong middle but we know that only a powerful ending will be needed and Ma’asoumi does not flinch from the reality. What’s more it isn’t unduly prolonged. It is effective, even stunning and the culmination of a serious and incisively handled subject.

Darius Mehruji’s Mama’s Guest (Iran) is just the opposite, a delightful comedy about how struggling Iranian family entertains its newly wed relatives. Since they are short on money, they pool in their resources (essentially their good neighbours) and turn out a sumptuous repast. But it is the manner in which it is achieved that is so fulfilling. Differences are ironed out and it is all heart. In the process, skeletons tumble out of cupboards but all’s well that ends well with some of the situations truly outlandish. The filmbuff husband is an excellent cameo. That Mehruji also made Leila a serious film a couple of years ago, only speaks of his versatility.

The Chinese film Sunflower by Zhang Yang is set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution and deals with the strict, autocratic approach of a father to his son. That the authorities tortured the father, an artist, so that he would not be able to paint again, may have contributed to his rigidity but he sincerely hopes his son will be able to d what he couldn’t. Beginning in 1967 it moves on to 1976, 1987 and finally to 1999 and through these jumps one sees the change in China. The Oriental element of parental domination comes across loud and clear and so does the inter-relationship between the three family members but it blots its copybook by going on near endlessly, all of 129 minutes, which surely is overstating the obvious.

The same is the case with the Japanese film Little Birds, which deals with live footage of the Iraqi war and the plight of civilians, especially children, who were killed by the American bombing. Verbal abuse at the American soldiers is rampant and some of the scenes of the children in pain are insufferable. The director Watai Takeharu, a video journalist with Asia Press International, shot 123 hours of footage, and as usually is the case, it was a problem of plenty. Reducing the film to 102 minutes is not easy but Takeharu could have been more selective. Less is more in such cases and Little Birds could have been the icing on the cake if the director had avoided repetitiousness.

The trouble with festivals like this is one is often exposed to weak cinema. It’s all very well to promote Asian cinema but efforts must be made to get the best films from these countries. The Myanmar film True Love may have been endowed with noble intentions but its inordinate length (128 minutes) was clearly off-putting.

The Turkmenistan film Daughter in Law is visually strong as it deals with life in the desert and a woman’s unwillingness to accept the death of her husband.

But the plus point is that the Film Festival movement is surely growing and may it continue to do so. Accessibility to films is very important.

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