The Lighter Side of IFFI 2002

             There was a lighter side to the International Film Festival of India 2002 - it had some movies of humour and laughter, about people in search of identities, on their limitations and their inner feelings. Ichikawa's Tokyo Marigold deals with a different type of love in the contemporary society of Japan. It is much more about the desire for love. Life without a boy friend is meaningless for Eriko. She even proposes for arrangement for one year with her newly-found boy friend, knowing fully he is already having a girl friend. After all, the life span of marigold is also not more than a year.

           Missahi Saito's A Painful Pair, also from Japan, is an overdose of profound love. Here is a couple bent upon adding something new to make their life more meaningful with mutual understanding, love and affection.

            Their kind of love is competent enough to absorb with conviction physical advances of their fellows at respective workplace. Audience at moments appeared to be enjoying it like an Indian comedy with an overdose of dramatic sequences, not fitting well into the film. The message of the film, however, is loud and clear that there is no better option than to surrender to the spouse.

           Le Playcard by Francis Veber is about an accountant Pignon who is about to be fired by the boss. A rumour is spread that Pignon is a gay. This changes the entire perception of him among the management and fellow workers. They cannot politically afford firing an employee on the simple ground of his being a gay. Life, however, becomes harder and harder for Pignon to the extent he has to lead a big public demonstration for the cause of gays. One fine day, however, he is caught by his boss making love with a woman in the office itself. The perception now takes a new turn. French actors, particularly Gerard Depardieu and Damel Autenil, appeared to have gone to the skin of the dimensions of great acting, with their faces registering realistic emotions with natural ease.

            The challenging theme has been handled with care and restraint and without underestimating the intelligence of the audience. Francis Veber has full control over the film till its last scene. His cameraman catches people in their natural moods in crowd shots. Here the camera appears to be moving with the mind of the director. The film provides wholesome entertainment to all, irrespective of their age and philosophy. This is where the beauty of the film lies.

          Man Without A Past, the closing film of the festival, reflects the social realities of Finland. It deals with the gentleness of people in an environment not conducive to normal living - a spin-off of growing prosperity and congested living conditions world over. A man in need of work and having lost his memory finds himself alone in a big city like Helsinki. The film makes a powerful cinematic statement. Gentle people still co-exist with people mostly without heart and soul. The director has been able to create an atmosphere which sustains interest in the film from beginning to the end, portraying effectively the feeling of human understamnding and the idea of life adjustment.

           South Africa's Pure Blood is a dark comedy where fascism is virtually face-to-face with redeeming love. However, its other entry, School Master, is more realistic in content and approach that leaves audiences at the end for a graphic interpretation of a prejudiced society.