Bangladesh, the sound of sobbing. A desperate people in need of aid.
Submerging, dying, rotten. Its people must go abroad to work on lousy construction sites, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai from which they fall from 22 floors and rot before their families are even notified. This world is depicted in all its misery while the people deal with their daily bread and shelter and the love or non-love lives they find themselves living.
Our protagonist rubs beetlenut juice on his gums to keep from croaking. Set in the backdrop of the scathing consequences of climate change, an impoverished ambulance driver Saiful staggers between two wives while he sets out on a bone-tired journey of moral decay, murder, deception, and social bashing.
Everyone cries about floods, phones that get stolen or run out of batteries.
We watch as the flood overtake even the highest in the country, both its people and its land, the sound of a real baby crying is almost unbearable, just too real and horrible to watch.
For all their human degradation, how well the women dress and maintain their dignity. But this is not about that; it is merely incidental. Through it all, the women maintain a dignity, innate within them along with an ability to manage others. And yet, the people are all so rude and unpleasant with each other, enslaved at the lowest rangs of society.
This schlump, played by Rocky Chowdury, has more than one wife and can barely take care of himself. His wives are constantly demanding payments while his boss cuts his salary. It’s enough to make you want to commit suicide and just end it all.
Only the promise of heaven when all the good things that will come keeps him going in misery that gets worse and worse. For all the misery I feel no empathy. I think of the country and I am appalled.
It also stars Deepanwita Martin as the second wife. She was also in the praiseworthy film, Made in Bangladesh (See my blog) and as the first wife, Priyam Archi, a Bangladeshi Actor who has brought many challenging characters to life throughout her acting career and whose life epitomizes success in Bangladesh, from a humble beginning of life as the youngest child from her parents. By being the restless daredevil with an indomitable spirit, playing in the wild backyard, swimming in the ponds and staging games with nature, her natural intelligence, beauty and wit brought her far.
The film has played well on the international festival circuit starting in South Korea at the 2021 Busan International Film Festival and going to The International Film Festival of India, Japan’s Osaka Asian Film Festival, and the Asian Film Festival Barcelona before its U.S. premiere at the Asian World Film Festival 2023
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment