Itibritto By Mahmud Hasan (11.32 minutes, Bangladesh)
Biva, a young woman is sitting on the floor of a balcony in her two-storey house, next to a birdcage. She seems very sad, and as we watch the rest of the members of the family (father, mother, brother) doing their daily chores, the reason becomes apparent. A courier delivers a package to the house, and when the father witnesses the DVD inside, erupts.
Mahmud Hasan highlights the fact that “this is a man’s world”, presenting Biva as a waif, whose actions and their consequences are dictated by the men in her life. In such a life, the ending provided by the film’s finale seems inevitable.
Sumon Sarker’s cinematography is very interesting, as he uses his camera in a way that nakes the spectator feel as if he is picking on the action, with shots behind bars, usually from above. The presentation of the everyday chores of the mother, mostly having to do with preparing food, is also quite good, both visually and in the context, although the best aspect of his work is delivered towards the end.
Mahmud Hasan shows much promise with this short, and I would like to see him directing a feature social drama.
Amma, Meri – Mother (2017) by Tarun Jain (19.54, India)
Among the most celebrated Indian shorts of 2017, “Amma, Meri” has won 12 awards in festivals in over 10 countries.
The story revolves around Balram, a man who is burdened with the weight of his whole family, just after his father dies. He has to take care of his elderly mother, who is almost blind and he also has to find a suitable groom for his daughter, who seems to have other things in her mind. Furthermore, Balram has to set up the dairy business again, and to think about whether he should withdraw his mother’s fixed deposit from the bank, at a loss. A number of people give Balram advice about all these matters.
Tarun Jain uses the struggles of a man, in order to present a number of comments about contemporary India. The struggles of being a patriarch in a patriarchic society is the most central one, but Jain also makes a point of highlighting the role of the young women within this society, as the story shows that men decide the fate of the other sex, almost completely. The conservative nature of the Indian society is also depicted through a number of minor scenes, as with the one where two women gossip about a “slut”
One of the short’s most obvious traits is Karal Thapliyal’s cinematography, with him highlighting a number of different settings with realism and artistry. The locations include both the fields (where the image with the huge tree stands out) and the urban setting of the city, with the roads full of traffic and the construction sites. Thapliyal’s prowess is equal both in the various close ups of Balram and the long shots.
Anurag Arora is excellent as Balram, as he depicts a character in constant struggle, who tries to hide his frustration and agony for the future, almost hopelessly.
“Amma, Meri” is an accomplished short, and a film that does not seem to lack anything when compared to feature films, apart from duration. I would really like to see Tarun Jain making a full feature of this one.