Ode to single-screen cinemas! Wonderful author's Bengali film about "cinema", about everything related to it. I think it's dedicated to that bygone era of filmmaking, the handheld camera, when the work of the cameraman was very valuable in making every film. The word "cinema" basically brings the aura of dreams to the minds of viewers who sail in the boat of this dream to fulfill their hopes and desires. Cinema is the way to salvation for millions of people (as well as books for other millions).
Director Kaushik Ganguli’s search for this dream through the mind of Pranabendu Das or Cinemawala/Cinema Filmmakers creates poetry on the screen. The director was clearly influenced by the cult film Satyajit Ray"Jalsaghar" ("The Music Room"), but he has his own specific, unique and modern narrative.
I often walk past one-screen cinemas in my city (which are now closed altogether). Because I liked the impressions of the films I watched there as a child (when I visited my grandmother in Angarsk all summer), and later, when they were still shown, when these cinemas were in their prime, and because I like to remember it. Like when I was a kid, I would put my bike in front of a movie theater (not afraid that when I left the theater, it wouldn’t be there) and be fascinated by the big posters hanging over the entrance to the theaters, with my favorite stars on them. Movies created a certain aura when you had to pour sweat, standing for tickets in lines that did not seem to end.
In this film, the director manages to reproduce these memories. Memories of a bygone era of projection films. The era when films were life not only for those who created and watched them, but also for those who projected them onto heavy equipment, where every click and change of rollers provided a change in the narrative. "Cinemawala" - is a tribute to the bygone era of film films. An era when projecting films was challenging.
The film is based on the conflict between the past, which has a glorious heritage, and the present, based on technological progress. Pranabendu Das, in the past, owns a single-screen cinema "Kamalini", named after his wife. But with time and technological progress, the era of single-screen cinemas declines, and the era of multiplexes with a digitized version of the cinema has arrived. Pranabendu Das lives a glorious legacy and does not want to succumb to the pressure of time, and because of this his cinema is closed and abandoned, but is served by his longtime assistant HariPranabash, the son of Pranab>Prandab>< But the overly stubborn Pranabendu is not ready to let it go. He goes to the cinema every day after his day job selling fish. Accompanied by his loyal assistant, the two sit in a movie theater, reflecting on old actors and talking about their love of projectors. While drinking, Pranabendu also talks about his hatred for his son Prakash, an opportunist who makes a living selling pirated DVDs.
The narrative continues with this conflict of past and present against the backdrop of a family drama about the changing face of dreams on a silver screen called cinema.
Another scene shows Pranbendu's assistant, Hari, cleaning the projection machines in the cinema, as he's not ready to let them go either. He devoted half of his life to this cinema, and nothing, absolutely nothing, brought him greater joy than showing films available to a highly specialized audience. What follows this scene is very sad.
"Cinemawala" - poetic. Each frame is perfectly worked out and sustained at a perfect pace. Paran Bandopadhai is simply magnificent in the scenes re-creating the joyful moments of those golden days "Kamalini", as well as in the conflicting and controversial scenes with his son Prakash. Parambrat Chatterjee with his excellent acting skills is simply incredible in the role of Ib>Khrakhat in the role of the characters andIb>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>Ib>I
"Filmmakers" - is a director's film, created by Kaushik Ganguli, with a simple but thought-provoking narrative that holds the audience to the end. The film is based on a contemporary problem, and the director does not try to find an answer, but asks the audience questions with powerful supportive statements.
"Cinemawala" - is a well-intentioned movie that works for several reasons. All the roles are great. The relationship between Parabendu and Hari is an important aspect of the film, and in fact the strongest.
This is a family drama, which is filmed I think in order to remind people of the long-abandoned corridors of cinema halls and the shimmering light of chandeliers in these halls. The cinematography of Khaldar's Soumik is perfect for the tempo of the film, which is also skillfully edited. I think the film is made using old technology, on film.
I found out about this film absolutely by accident, I came across a description for the film on one site, I recorded it for viewing. I don’t know any actors, I’ve seen them all for the first time, but the acting skills of some are simply outstanding. And the director's work - thin, clearly built, calibrated to a millimeter is also visible immediately. You look and you can't get away. The director's name is familiar to me, I think I've seen some of his work before, but I don't remember what. Something very powerful, like this movie. There are no songs, no dances, no fights, no traditional love story, no other such familiar attributes of Indian cinema. Film - dialogue, film - reflection, film - reasoning.
Bengali film "Cinemawala" received five awards, including for best film and best director at "Filmfare Awards East 2017" in India.
10 out of 10