-Brian Mendonca
Just finished watching Subarnarekha (1965) by Ritwik Ghatak. I wanted to watch this film for a long time. Today I did it. Watched half with my students and half on my own.
The movie, in black and white, is just over two hours, but the pace is fast. The usage of light and darkness is masterful. Close-ups and extreme close-ups give a sense of being in the film.
There is a lot of emphasis on childhood as the two characters Sita and Abhiram spend time together and grow up.
Caste raises its head when Abhiram is looked down upon. This prejudice hounds him away from society to begin life with Sita who runs away on her wedding day for him.
The long, slow shots of the unrelenting landscape mirror the struggles the poor have to go through to survive in this world.
In the end Sita is victimized after her husband, Abhiram, perishes owing to crowd violence. Her passing results in the derangement of Isvar who once asked her die, in order that there may be no blemish on the family.
I loved the frequent shots of the steam engine, it's massive body, like a behemoth surging forth to its destination - or arriving at it.
The surreal scenes in the bar with the nemesis, Haraprasad take the film to another level making the viewer question what is the use of wealth if you do not have values. The detachment from riches is lyrically expressed in the Baul song, the first in the movie in the 13th minute.
Pining for his mother, Isvar is cathected and sees her image in his sister Sita. He redeems himself - again, through the agency of a child, his sister's son - and they both move towards their imagined new home beyond the Subarnarekha river.
Updated 15/3/24.
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