TEAFF 22: Four films on the fifth day, including two Indian Competition films, for my two eyes
Since Fatherless had been screened on the first day, in place of ‘6 am’, another film, Asampurno, directed by Amartya Sinha, was screened. By this time, I had realised that burning the candle at both ends, i.e., waking up early and going to bed late, was taking its toll. So, I skipped Asampurno, and arrived in time, well, almost in time, to watch an Indian English film, in the International Competition section.
The Weight of Longing/Iktsuarpok (India: Omkar Bhatkar)
Bhatkar is a Playwright, Poet, Professor, Digital creator, Visiting Lecturer at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Head and co-founder at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts and Founder of the Metamorphosis Theatre Inc. Having met him several times at events organised at the St. Andrew’s Centre, I was aware that he is a thinker and committed promoter of performing arts. Though the Centre has been dormant of late, Bhatkar used this opportunity to make his debut feature film. It is called Iktsuarpok. That itself should give you a hint of what to expect. The word comes from the Inuit language, one of the three branches of the Eskimo-Aleut language family, and means impatient, restless anticipation when waiting for someone to arrive, leading you to repeatedly look outside or check for them, a feeling with no single English equivalent. Bhatkar is midget-sized, and used to be mistaken for a student when he started lecturing. As poet and playwright, he has carved out a niche for himself as a distinctive voice that speaks in a language all his own. Before making Iktsuarpok, he made a documentary about the murals of the chapel at Santa Monica, old Goa. Iktsuarpok is an adaptation of a play by that name, written and directed by Bhatkar himself. On the surface, Iktsuarpok is about a family that comes together after years, to spend Christmas in Goa, and discover a volley of bitter-sweet emotions that will make this journey a memorable one for all of them. That it is adapted from a play is apparent within a couple of minutes of viewing. The going is heavy, and that is putting it very mildly. We are served a blend of poetry, philosophy, and a hundred quotes, from many names that might be familiar only to students of philosophy, flashed on the screen in extra-large sizes, captured in unknown, striking fonts. Add to that up to 13-minute long takes and only occasional token scenes outdoors. For highly intellectual audiences, it might be case of preaching to the converted. For those who seek help in motivational books, this might be a kind of reference tome. And for those who can sit through a 91-minute lecture, which appears to be like an interactive Q & A session between the characters, deceptively unfolding in film form, impressed by French film-makers of yore, like Eric Rohmer, among others, constantly dissecting both verbal and non-verbal communication, sentence by sentence, word by word, it could be path-breaking.
Rating: ** ½
Pinjar/The Cage (India: Rudrajit Roy)
Firstly, do not confuse the title with a Hindi film made a few decades ago. Next, realise that the title is both realistic and symbolic, addressing the plight of caged birds, and humans caged in their invisible cells. Made in the Bengali language, with a smattering of Hindustani, Pinjar interweaves four stories of characters battling their destined captivity A doctor by training, and a practicing one at that, his prescription includes a bird-catcher,