i 'll follow you down is a 2013 canadian techno-thriller written and directed by richie mehta .

outside the united states and canada , the film was released as continuum .

i ' ll follow you down

i’ll follow you down opens june 20 in vancouver , calgary , toronto , ottawa and montreal .
although it mostly falls flat , i ' ll follow you down does deliver an ending that serves as a satisfying payoff .
welcome to the official page for the new film ; i ' ll follow you down . we invite you to join and partake in this transmedia reality .
labeling “i’ll follow you down” as a “time travel thriller” sets a certain expectation for action - oriented suspense that is genetically excluded from the movie’s dna . “i’ll follow you down” is intriguing not as saturday matinee science - fiction , but as a metaphor about consequences that come from living a life of unbalanced commitments and conflicted goals .
i ' ll follow you down is the thinking person ' s time travel tale , a philosophical drama that poses a what - if question that carries surprising emotional heft .
mehta doesn ' t summon the most riveting tale with i ' ll follow you down , but his intentions are pure , striving to rework the subgenre from a more human standpoint .
ponderous in spots and not as smoothly crafted as it could be , i ' ll follow you down is also held back by osment ' s performance , which never seems comfortable or convincing . . .
ambitious but clunky ,
i ' ll follow you down
is not quite the picture to be haley joel osment ' s post - adolescent breakthrough , but it is a step in the right direction .
lacking the imaginative stylistic flourishes of such far more ambitious , similarly themed films as primer and inception , i’ll follow you down seems best suited for undemanding younger audiences for whom the idea of reconnecting with a lost parent will have an undeniable appeal . despite the fine performances by the lead actors - - anderson is particularly moving as the emotionally devastated mother - - i’ll follow you down doesn’t have the cinematic heft to live up to its ambitious premise .
one could describe the film as a drama about family masquerading as a sci - fi mystery , but that is an illusion the film itself does not personally propagate . anyone going in under the assumption of seeing an extravagantly designed “time travel thriller” may be disappointed to discover that “i’ll follow you down” is more quietly introspective .
what does that mean exactly ? it means that there are no good guys and bad guys arguing over flapping butterfly wings or high stakes consequences about killing dictators in their infancy . “i’ll follow you down” is more melodrama than mystery with only a slightly futuristic touch to springboard an exploration of themes regarding the worth of idealistic values .
richie mehta’s i’ll follow you down revolves around a different kind of love . the star of the film is erol , a nine - year - old boy whose entire life changes in 2000 when his father , gabriel ( rufus sewell ) , travels to princeton for a conference on theoretical physics , only to vanish without a trace .
haley joel osment leads the cast in the sci - fi thriller i ' ll follow you down . years after his father mysteriously disappeared , erol learns that he was working on a time - travel devise and continues his father ' s research in hopes of finding a way to fix the past . co - starring gillian anderson , victor garber , and rufus sewell , the supporting cast is quite strong . but it ' s up to osment to carry the film , and he lacks both the range and the depth that the role calls for . still , the time - travel premise and the moral questions that arise are quite intriguing . yet despite the rich material , i ' ll follow you down ends up being rather boring and monotonous .
mehta lets the story play out at its own pace ; there is little of the frantic , ticking - clock urgency that often propels such stories , though there is an unexpectedly explosive climax in which a tough decision must be made . i’ll follow you down is the thinking person’s time travel tale , a philosophical drama that poses a what - if question that carries surprising emotional heft .
the movie succeeds because of its cast , but also because its core concept is so strong . weighing the benefits of accepting what cannot be changed versus chasing an ideal only presumed to be preferable is presented as a relatable idea using science - fiction as a frame for entertainment . ultimately , it is this unique approach to a traditional time travel dilemma that makes “i’ll follow you down” absorbing as a thoughtful thriller .
great review ! i found your comment about mit very funny , especially since i graduated from one of umd’s science departments .
noticed an error in your review… . you said : “erol’s girlfriend finds a picture of a guy in a suit , lying face down in a pool of blood … . . ”
a lot of theories are put forward as to why he might want to do this . the one i find most plausible is that gabriel bought a giant foam finger , went to albert einstein’s house , rang the doorbell and , when einstein opened the door , did a little victory dance , shook the foam finger in einstein’s face and sang “i did it ! i did it ! i unified physics ! you’re so square , you can’t even add ! ”
devoid of intent to confuse or to dazzle by being too smart for its own good , “i’ll follow you down” has a straightforward storytelling purpose in mind . erol’s girlfriend grace wonders , if erol affects the present by “correcting” the past , can he guarantee they will end up together in an altered timeline ? is risking what he has now worth pursuing the uncertainty of how he assumes things “should” be ? it is the same internal conflict that consumed erol’s father . and that seesaw battle between advancing a personal goal versus honoring obligations has an impact neither man fully considers .
thanks for reading the review . i can not actually recall anymore . it seemed to me that everything was fixed , but i may have missed some subtle clues .
: well , if you don ' t leave now , you ' re going to miss your flight , and then he ' s going to be late for school . come on , come on . games up .
: yes , ma ' am . come on . i have a plane to catch .
if you’re tempted to post a comment that resembles anything on the film review comment bingo card , please reconsider .
11 of 18 people found this review helpful . was this review helpful to you ? yes no | report this
“i’ll follow you down” wins back a great deal of those lost points through pure star power alone . the scope of the story may not be grand , but the cast certainly is . the film is filled with familiar faces that may not be as prolific as they were in years past , but they are no less talented than they have always been . erol’s mother calls for an actress who can say more with a look than with a word , making gillian anderson a fitting choice for the part . haley joel osment is superbly solid in a mild - mannered role . anything less than exceptional casting and the film’s faults would be harder to overlook , but the reliable talent roster ensures an engaging watch .
jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
unfortunately , the director had some film left over , and , instead of returning it to the dealer for a full refund , minus stocking fee , he decided to keep filming . first , erol’s child dies in the womb . i almost stopped at this point because it had gotten annoyingly depressing . if i want to be depressed i read cnn ( which is depressing both for its content and style ) . i watch movies to be entertained . i was definitely not being entertained . at this point , i was just hoping the director was getting professional help , because the herbal tea was not working for him .
the miscarriage suddenly frees up erol from not wanting to mess with the current time line – because , deep down , he doesn’t really care about his girl - friend . so erol builds a time machine . he even smiles once when he does this . that startled me so much i rewound and re - watched that scene four times . interestingly , erol practices target shooting with a hand gun while he does this . i figure he thinks , “what if things go wrong and i end up in the triassic instead of in princeton in 1945 ? better learn how to shoot in case i run into some dinosaurs . ”
a minimum - three week policy is putting a p . e . i . drive - in theatre out of business
sorry , we just need to make sure you ' re not a robot . for best results , please make sure your browser is accepting cookies .
any how , lots of diagrams are drawn and time lines are drawn and so on and so forth , and i’m getting anxious to see the time machine , because we are more than half - way through the movie and no time machine yet . around this time , erol’s girlfriend finds a picture of a guy in a suit , lying face down in a pool of blood . there is a pocket watch next to him . she immediately jumps to the conclusion that it’s erol’s dad who was a time traveller and died in the past . i don’t know . if i had seen the picture , i would be more cautious with the time travel angle , since , after all , you can’t see the guy’s face and there are a million pocket watches like that and a million more murders like that in new jersey every day .
there are some loose ends that are left untied , but at this point , i’m exhausted and have stopped caring and , indeed , am feeling a bit let down by the ending . 3 stars out of 5 . one star docked because of erol and one star for not knowing when to stop filming .
i was hoping , after having slaved through the dark and dreary scenes , that the movie would end up being a commentary on how we should live our lives as we have been given , instead of fantasizing about what ifs and how things could have been different and better . instead , the ending was a commentary that said , “if you have a time machine , you can fix everything except a few loose ends which one hopes the audience won’t notice” .
as an amazon associate , i earn from qualifying purchases . amazon and the amazon logo are trademarks of amazon . com , inc . or its affiliates .
privacy & cookies : this site uses cookies . by continuing to use this website , you agree to their use . to find out more , including how to control cookies , see here : cookie policy
i know this all sounds impossible – three genius physicists in the same family ? – but let the film take you along and what results is a metaphysical conundrum both quieter and deeper than most time - travels movies offer . never mind killing hitler , or hordes of aliens , or even your own grandfather ; what are the results when a devoted family man is removed from the spacetime continuum ?
once , just once , i’d like a movie to indicate to us that a character is super smart by showing them getting admission to somewhere like georgia tech , or the univ . of maryland or ohio state or tufts . i mean mit is a good school , but are the rest of us , who went to those other schools , just chopped liver ?
sounds cool . on the other hand , i didn’t like primer overmuch . certainly not enough to give it the 3 - 4 viewings everyone said it takes to make sense of it .
no . erol is the one who found the newspaper article with the photo you described . his girlfriend googled the author of the book ( “wormholes” ) he was reading and saw that the author was into time travel . thus concluding the erol was working on time travel .
this is another one of those movies where the director should have paid full price and bought the better lights . it’s a time travel movie with some shades of “12 monkeys” . it’s good but i almost stopped watching , because it got too depressing , dark ( literally and figuratively ) and i didn’t see any time machine , though they kept talking about it . the ending , though , is happy and paradoxically the tameness kind of spoils it .
still unable to cope with her husband’s disappearance , marika kills herself by overdosing on prescription medication after learning that her son is not attending m . i . t . because he is afraid to leave her . following her death , erol agrees to help sal complete gabe’s research .
we skip the next decade – yes , this is time travel , but not an exciting one – and see erol , all grown up . erol as been looking kind of familiar to us . his wooden mannerism and complete inability to convey emotion finally gives him away as the boy - robot in spielberg’s movie “a . i” .
in the year 2000 , theoretical physics researcher gabriel whyte says goodbye to his wife marika and his nine - year - old son erol as he leaves toronto to spend three days at princeton for a science conference . when gabe does not return as scheduled , marika enlists the help of her university professor father sal to track him down , but gabe seemingly vanished without a trace . on his bus to school , erol charms his classmate grace by presenting her with a lego car depicting them together with space reserved for a baby .
any how , erol , attributes grandpa’s theories to alzheimers , forbids him from mentioning it to gillian , who’s gone off her meds and is all weepy and moping for dad . there are more and more night shots , the lighting gets dimmer and dimmer , and i can’t turn my mac’s display brightness up any more . one night , gillian decides to go back on her meds and takes all her anti - depressants at once and dies .
overlong story short , erol builds a time machine , travels to the past , tells his father everything and then shoots himself . this part was a little unexpected , but i was so depressed at this time , it was a bit of a relief to have mr . wooden out of the way . gabriel comes back home using the time machine and every one is alive and young erol is still friends with the little girl who – in the other timeline at least – became his girl friend .
the director , i think , would have done well to stop at this point . he could have done a little light editing and then sent the film off to cannes where it probably would would have gotten decent reviews and would have the dignity of having an original thought dealing with the paradox of changing the past and how it affects the present and the emotional and personal aspects of those involved , especially if they know the time line is going to be erased . or rather , if some one they love is going to jump out of the time line and vanish into another , leaving them all alone in this one .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
indie science fiction with a rare humanism , a scientific and emotional mystery with a solution hollywood wouldn’t dare go anywhere near .
in the u . s . and canada — did the trick beautifully . this is almost the movie that
wanted to be — kinda maybe , if it could have broken out of the cheap hollywood trope in which fx trump emotion — an exploration of the human impact that time - travel could potentially have . there are next to no fx here , and not even any new sfnal ideas . what there is is a fresh and powerful story about how a couple of wild ideas we’re already familiar with — time travel and the alternate timelines it might spawn — affect people who are actually living with these as realities .
this is closer to * primer * than * project almanac , * but four viewings will not be required . one will do nicely .
copyright ( c ) 1997 - 2018 maryann johanson . all rights reserved . no content appearing on this site may be reproduced , reposted , or reused in any manner without express written permission . [ email ] privacy policy find me on google + image credits : apostrophe , myroom ; both 123rf stock photo hosted by fused
this thematically ambitious sci - fi thriller doesn ' t live up to its intriguing premise . twitter
haley joel osment plays a young scientist determined to go back in time in search of his missing father in richie mehta ' s sci - fi tale .
osment , all grown - up some 15 years after his oscar - nominated turn in the sixth sense , plays erol , a brilliant 21 - year - old budding scientist whose life was forever altered by the mysterious disappearance of his physicist father gabe ( rufus sewell ) during a business trip to princeton , new jersey . although his mother ( anderson ) never recovered emotionally from the event , erol has at least moved on , enjoying a committed relationship with his childhood sweetheart grace ( susanna fournier ) .
twelve years after his father disappeared , erol finds himself once again caught up in the mystery when , after a traumatic event involving his mother , his scientist grandfather finally reveals his theory as to what happened . he believes that his son - in - law traveled back in time through a wormhole in an effort to make contact with albert einstein in 1946 , only to be murdered during a mugging . having access to gabe’s papers containing his theories , he proposes to use the same method to go back in time himself and reverse the tragic course of events . the initially skeptical erol insists on going on the mission himself , much to the consternation of the now pregnant grace who believes that any efforts to change the course of history will result in prevention of their relationship .
the potentially meaty sci - fi tale is undercut by director - screenwriter mehta’s laid - back approach , resulting in many tedious scenes involving erol and his grandfather engaging in convoluted scientific discussions and tiresome philosophical debates about the ramifications of traveling through time . even the film’s climactic scenes , involving erol’s experiences when he finally embarks on the fateful journey , lack the intended dramatic punch .
some parts of this page won ' t work property . please reload or try later .
after the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip , his son and wife struggle to cope , only to make a bizarre discovery years later - one that may bring him home .
want to share imdb ' s rating on your own site ? use the html below .
after her genius husband disappears from a routine business trip without a trace the next 12 years becomes so much to bear . . . but when her son comes of age and is wooed by mit , his ability to unlock the mystery of quantum physics begins to unravel the mystery of time .
when the professor dismisses his class and is talking to his grandson , a bashful male student hurries between them and surreptitiously places an apple on the professor ' s desk . this is an inside reference to a similar bit in ' raiders of the lost ark ' .
when erol opens his phone to read marika ' s text immediately after receipt , it is in his phone ' s outbox .
last line after the final end credits :
we have achieved the day .
with jurassic world : fallen kingdom now in cinemas , we take a look at how imdb users rated the films of the franchise . plus , browse exclusive lego® jurassic world playsets , presented by lego .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
writer - director richie mehta ' s characters aren ' t especially thoughtful . like their creator , they make massive leaps in logic before they do anything .
indie science fiction with a rare humanism , a scientific and emotional mystery with a solution hollywood wouldn ' t dare go anywhere near .
. . . a disappointingly half - baked endeavor that feels , for the most part , like a padded - out episode of the outer limits .
this sturdy sci - fi drama admirably poses some big questions , but doesn ' t possess the dramatic firepower to answer them effectively .
directed by richie mehta . with gillian anderson , haley joel osment , rufus sewell , victor garber . after the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip , his son and wife struggle to cope , only to make a bizarre discovery years later - one that may bring him home .
but , like the movie , let me start at the beginning . we are introduced to a glamorous lady , a british dude and their son . the lady turns out to be gillian anderson , who has retired from the x - files to go be a suburban housewife and the british dude is a theoretical physicist , a profession which is apparently back in fashion in the movies , despite the fact that , following the post - cold - war funding cuts , most people doing theoretical physics can’t afford to own a home , certainly not one in the posh suburbs of toronto .
the british dude ( gabriel ) goes for a conference and never returns . before he leaves for the conference erol , their son , pulls an old fashioned pocket watch out of his dad’s waistcoat . we know this pocket watch is going to be a major plot device later because when something so inconsequential is commented on at the beginning of a movie , it usually turns out to be very important later on . plus , the pocket watch is on the dvd cover .
gillian deals with the disappearance of her husband with medication , erol deals with it by being wooden . gillian’s father , also a physicist , studies gabriel’s notebooks and comes to the conclusion gabriel has built a time machine and gone into the past to speak with albert einstein .
erol goes to grandpa and woodenly asks him if all this time machine thing is on the level . grandpa , his eyes full of tears , says yes , the time machine story is real . erol woodenly begins work on the time machine . erol is wicked smart . we know this because he comes to class late , doesn’t do any home work , but still aces every test grandpa ( who’s his high - school teacher too ) gives him . normally we would suspect nepotism , but here we decide that erol’s just very smart . we also know he’s very smart because he’s gotten admission to mit but he’s not decided yet if he wants to go because he’s not a red sox’s fan .
while erol is building the time machine we learn that for all his wicked smarts he doesn’t know how to use a condom , because his girlfriend is now pregnant . at this point the movie finally gets interesting . erol’s girlfirend is quite good at conveying emotions and moods , and poses a very good question : if erol does build a time machine and erases the current time line , which he and grandpop consider to be a mistake , what happens to them ? does he think his relationship with his girlfriend is a mistake ? is the baby a mistake ?
it was part of the equation to kill himself for in killing himself his death ensured his father’s return . his father’s returning would undo his suicide . hope this helps .
my favorite plot hole was that the dad then gets to bring an advanced ipad to the present 10 years before it is released , hopefully with some other information about the future securely stored inside . or does the pad go “poof” because it existed in a timeline that no longer existed ?
sal goes back in time to 1946 to confront his father , who also had gone back in time 12 years earlier . they meet in a princeton , nj bar , the father wants to meet albert einstein . sal shows him an ipad with an old newspaper clip reveals dad had been mugged and killed and never returned . the mother had killed herself in despair at the husband ' s disappearance . sal pleads with him to choose family over his mission . sal also mentions his wife grace had miscarried , all would be set right if the father returned . dad says he will be careful but wants to stay . sal suddenly pulls a gun and shoots himself in the head . dad then arrives back home , from his
business trip
, to his wife and young sal .
devastated by the sudden disappearance of his father as a child , a gifted science student grows up to discover that the event may have been linked to time travel .
by the year 2012 , erol has become a gifted college student in a romantic relationship with grace . his grandfather sal tells erol that he found gabe’s research and discovered that gabe was investigating time - travel using a stabilized wormhole . sal believes that gabe traveled back to 1946 to meet with albert einstein . sal asks for erol’s help in recreating the science so that they can prevent gabe’s disappearance and alter their current timeline for the better . erol dismisses the idea .
because the work consumes all of his time , grace eventually learns of erol’s intent to go back in time . she worries that if he changes the past , they may not end up together in an altered timeline . as the argument between them escalates , grace reveals that she is pregnant . when she threatens to leave , erol agrees to abandon the wormhole research to concentrate on his relationship with grace and start a family .
grace loses the baby . convinced that the universe is guiding him towards realizing an idealized life instead of the crumbling one he has , erol decides to complete the time travel research with sal . from an archived newspaper clipping , erol discovers a story about an unidentified man found shot in an alley in 1946 . erol assumes it was gabe since he sees his father’s pocket watch lying on the ground beside the body in the photo . sal and erol reconstruct the time machine and erol goes back to 1946 .
erol confronts his father in 1946 and reveals his identity , along with what the consequences were of gabe having disappeared in 2000 . gabe agrees to return , but only after meeting einstein and finishing his research . to motivate his father to choose family over his work , erol suddenly shoots himself in the head . gabe returns to the year 2000 and greets his wife and son on the doorstep of their home .
in the year 2000 , theoretical researcher gabriel whyte says goodbye to his wife marika and his nine - year - old son erol as he leaves for a three - day visit to princeton university . no one ever sees him again . by 2012 , erol has grown into a gifted young scientist himself and goes on to a relationship with his childhood sweetheart grace . meanwhile , marika still grieves for her lost love with a regular cocktail of prescription pills and persistent depression .
when tragedy continues striking at what remains of the whyte family , erol’s university professor grandfather sal posits a possible solution . having discovered gabe’s research secreted away in a dim basement , sal comes to believe that gabe neither died nor disappeared . he went back in time to visit albert einstein in 1946 . as crazy as that sounds , sal needs erol’s mathematical mind to puzzle out the physics involved in recreating the wormhole experiment and bringing gabe back to change the present .
like many time travel stories , the script asks viewers to close their eyes and hum during certain scenes . a key detail involves a newspaper clipping from 1946 showing a dead man from behind in possession of the whyte family pocket watch . it is dubious that a news story about an unidentified man would specifically not show the man’s face and of course , if the photo did , the entire plotline would go up in a smoke . it is just one of those necessary conveniences that a story like this has to cheat in order to make things work .
other clichés vary in how forgivable they are . frankly , the ending is too abrupt to be fully satisfying , even though it absolutely works story - wise as a sensible resolution . victor garber’s grandfather character has a go - nowhere subplot involving a possible romance with his tea - fetching secretary while erol and his girlfriend enjoy a hollywood - fabricated childhood courtship , albeit a very cute one . ( it takes a black heart to not smile over the lego car , no matter how contrived it is as a plot device . )
culture crypt is the most reliable website for genre movie reviews and the best in popular culture , specializing in independent horror film entertainment .
viewers are treated to a varietal assortment of bite - sized blah masquerading as an interwoven microbudget movie .
culture crypt looks at a few fantasia film festival features shaping up to be hot topics among horror fans in 2018 .
the movie stocks several secrets up its sleeve to notch it above being another routine run through a harrowing home invasion .
“a quiet place’s” uncomplicated premise unshackles it to impress as a smartly crafted crowd - pleaser packed with terrifically terrifying thrills .
another wolfcop
turns the tables by daring audiences to put a wet tongue on a cold flagpole of midnight movie madness .
“the housemaid” is an elegantly eerie thriller with the grand gothic style of “dark shadows” before barnabas collins became the star of the show .
there are duller spirit board # horror movies than ouija seance : the final game , but not by much . review : urltoken
copyright © 2013 - 2018 ian sedensky and culture crypt llc . all rights reserved . terms of use privacy policy
in the movies , and to a lesser extent in literature , time travel is tightly bound to notions of romantic love . think of christopher reeve willing himself back to 1912 to fall in love in
mehta spends some time in 2000 showing us what a great husband and father gabriel is . when the film shifts to the near - present , the now grown erol ( haley joel osment ; yes , he grew up too ! ) is doing his best to care for his mother ( gillian anderson ) , who never fully recovered from the loss . he’s also considering marrying his childhood sweetheart , grace ( susanna fournier ) , although clearly the trauma of losing his dad continues to weigh heavily on him .
erol’s life gets another jolt , however , when his father - in - law , sal ( victor garber ) , informs him that gabriel may not have vanished off the face of the earth – merely off the face of the clock . sal has partially recreated gabriel’s time machine from notes he left behind , and needs erol’s help to finish the thing so they can go back to 1946 and rescue him . ( like many would - be time travellers , gabriel went to see albert einstein . )
sal is certain he knows the answer . “none of us should be living this life , ” he tells erol . and if they can undo gabriel’s trip , “the last 12 years of our lives will go back to what they should be . ” but grace is terrified . if her husband rewrites the last 12 years , they might not be together anymore . all he had to do was bump into mcadams sometime since 2000 and all bets are off .
and so we have filial duty writ large , with erol forced to decide between moving forward in an unchanged , fatherless present , or risking his nascent family to rescue the old man and repair his nuclear family . in the words of an earlier time traveler , this is heavy .
colby cosh : the liberals’ random breath testing will turn everything into an . . .
the prime minister’s office says trudeau does not recall any ' negative interactions ' during his visit to a music festival in creston , b . c . , in 2000
model outdoorsman : why this supermodel is living off - grid on an island off the coast of b . c .
all rights reserved . unauthorized distribution , transmission or republication strictly prohibited . powered by
when gabriel ( rufus sewell ) , a scientist , mysteriously disappears during one of his business trips , his wife ( gillian anderson ) and son ( haley joel osment ) struggle to cope . years later , a mysterious discovery might be the key to bringing gabriel home .
canadian connection : partly filmed in toronto and hamilton , ontario . several cast members are canadian .
we track hollywood ' s upcoming movie releases through all stages of production . more
copyright © 2018 penske business media , llc . all rights reserved . hollywood™ & design © 2018 hollywood chamber of commerce . the hollywood sign is a trademark and intellectual property of hollywood chamber of commerce . all rights reserved .
ant - man and the wasp , starring paul rudd and evangeline lilly , took the top spot at . . .
hbo ' s new series sharp objects premieres july 8 and follows amy adams as camille . . .
allison kugel joins comedian / actor / author d . l . hughley for a frank discussion about . . .
copyright © 2018 tribute ent . media group last updated : july 9 , 2018


purahanda kaluwara ( death on a full moon day ) ( sinhalese : පුරහඳ කළුවර ) is a 2001 sri lankan sinhala drama film directed and produced by prasanna vithanage .

it stars joe abeywickrama and priyanka samaraweera in lead roles along with linton semage and mahendra perera .

music composed by nadeeka guruge .

the film has received mainly positive reviews .

it is the 967th sri lankan film in the sinhala cinema .

purahanda kaluwara

prasanna withanage , is now waiting to release his internationally acclaimed film purahanda kaluwara soon .
the purahanda kaluwara cast also includes priyanka samaraweera , linton semage , mahendra perera , nayana hettiarachchi , kumara karunananda etc .
speaking of his latest film purahanda kaluwara he said
we started the film in july , 1997 planning to finish by december .
as the event starts at 6 . 00 pm , dr . sunil wijesiriwardena is to give a talk on “art and the state” which will be followed by a special screening of “purahanda kaluwara” in a restored print with english subtitles . ‘purahanda kaluwara potha’ is published by sarasavi publishers .
joe abeywickrama as wannihami in prasanna vithanage ' s
purahanda kaluwara ( death on a full moon day
. one of the greatest performances i have seen… | pinteres…
“pura handa kaluwara” ( death on a full moon day ) a . . .
when asked about his latest creation he said ,
it is too early to comment but if i am asked to redo the film
purahanda kaluwara
i would do it in the same way
.
writings on one of the much talked about films in the sri lankan cinema history , prasanna vithanage’s ‘purahanda kaluwara’ ( death on a full moon day ) made into a book will be launched on december 23 , 2010 at the national film corporation cinema .
what happened to him next ? the answer can be found in the new teledrama bim kaluwara
. every scene of this drama was shot in kandy .
celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of the film , various writings including the screenplay of the film is included in the book titled “purahanda kaluwara potha” . the controversy ridden film was even taken to the supreme court of sri lanka claiming the violation of fundamental rights for freedom of expression when the authorities tried to prevent its public screening .
another new teledrama named
bim kaluwara
is now being telecast every tuesday on itn at 7 . 30 p . m . the teledrama based on a youth who is traumatised by what he saw in his environment during his childhood .
prasanna vithanage ' s film pura handa kaluwara has been shown at film festivals in north america , europe and asia but has yet to be released in sri lanka where it is certain to provoke controversy . the reason is clear . pura handa kaluwara ( death on a full moon day ) deals with the devastation of people ' s lives caused by the brutal 16 - year war carried out by the sri lankan state against the tamils living in the north of the island .
p urahanda kaluwara ( death on a full moon day ) ,
the award winning film by well - known film director prasanna vithanage will be screened from next month . the film will come up on 10 screens in the cel circuit .
purahanda kaluwara is not his first war related creation . involving himself in theatre on leaving school prasanna translated and directed bernard shaw ' s
arms and the man
in 1986 . war related themes in works of art can be seen in the country , he said
my idea was not to make a film in praise of war or against the war . but what i want was to share what i felt when i go to rural areas of the country in anuradhapura , madawachchiya etc . and i believe that a work of art is something that comes from the heart and it should penetrate others heart
, . the film is a self expression of its maker using the medium of the picture to tell his story in visual language
.
born in 1962 , prasanna vithanage’s opus of six previous films has made him one of sri lanka ’s leading filmmakers with a worldwide critical and popular reputation . he began his career in the 1980’s as a theatre director . he translated into sinhala and directed two plays before setting out as a filmmaker in 1992 . his fourth feature “purahanda kaluwara” ( death on a full moon day 1997 ) won the grand prix at the amiens film festival . while also devoting serious time and effort to the education and training of young people in the art and business of filmmaking , vithanage revisited theatre in time spent between making movies . in 2008 prasanna produced the hit comedy “machan” , an international co - production , directed by uberto pasolini . “oba nathuwa oba ekka” ( with you , without you ) is his seventh feature .
prasanna vithanage , director born in 1962 , prasanna vithanage’s opus of six previous films has made him one of sri lanka ’s leading filmmakers with a worldwide critical and popular reputation . he began his career in the 1980’s as a theatre director . he translated into sinhala and directed two plays before setting out as a filmmaker in 1992 . his fourth feature “purahanda kaluwara” ( death on a full moon day 1997 ) won the grand prix at the amiens film festival . while also devoting serious time and effort to the education and training of young people in the art and business of filmmaking , vithanage revisited theatre in time spent between making movies . in 2008 prasanna produced the hit comedy “machan” , an international co - production , directed by uberto pasolini . “oba nathuwa oba ekka” ( with you , without you ) is his seventh feature .
pura handa kaluwara , which was produced on a budget of only us $ 80 , 000 , is one of those few serious movies made each year in sri lanka . self - assured and sensitive direction by prasanna vithanage and an extraordinary performance by veteran actor joe abeywickrama as vannihamy , the film ' s main character , combine to produce an intensely dramatic story about one man ' s struggle with the tragedies caused by the war .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
the writer of this review was only able to see this film by attending the festival of recent sri lankan films ( 14 - 18 february ) held at the alliance française—an institution connected to the french embassy in sri lanka . at this festival a video of the film was projected onto a larger screen , and it has to be stated here that this manner of viewing the film prevents this writer from doing it full justice . despite this disadvantage it is clear that vithanage ' s film is a powerful work and one that will resonate with all those confronting the escalating number of tragedies produced by a war that has claimed at least 55 , 000 lives and left many more maimed , homeless and poverty stricken .
the film tells the story of vannihamy , an elderly farmer from one of the sinhala villages in the northern dry zone of sri lanka . in the opening sequences we see a land parched by a long drought , and the villagers , including vannihamy , undergoing great hardship due to the scarcity of water . vannihamy , even though he is blind , is an experienced farmer and predicts that rain can be expected within four days . he enlists the help of his future son - in - law to reinforce his mud hut ' s decayed thatching to withstand the monsoon ' s downpour .
vannihamy has two daughters and a son . the elder daughter , sumana ( nayana hettiarchchci ) , has married and moved away from home . sunanda ( priyanka samaraweera ) , the younger daughter , lives with the father in expectation of her marriage to a young man in the village . vannihamy ' s only son has joined the army fighting in the north .
the film begins with the sound of gathas—buddhist doctrinal verses that are rhythmically chanted . the influence that buddhism wields over people comes in for sharp criticism later in the film . clearly this chanting is intended to give the film viewer an awareness of the great disparity between buddhism ' s manner of comprehending life and the reality of a country ravaged by war . the doctrinal verses chanted here signify that the “triple - gem” ( buddha , his doctrine and his disciples—the monks ) will bless the believer and protect him from evil . the chanting of the stanzas merely as an accompanying background rhythm at the beginning of the film does not have the potential to convey to the viewer any other meaning than the traditional one . one may even say that the chanting , which is carried by the wind and reverberates in the distant horizons of the village , could have their age - old traditional effect on an unwary viewer—to lull man into unthinking acceptance of any social atrocity perpetrated on him .
full moon day—a day of immense religious significance to buddhists—arrives . buddhists consider this a day in which “universal ahimsa” ( no harm perpetrated on any living being ) should prevail . it is on this day , when serenity is supposed to reign supreme in the thoughts , deeds and words of mankind , that the coffin said to be carrying vannihamy ' s son arrives in the village .
the film deals principally with vannihamy ' s reactions to his son ' s death , especially his refusal to believe—against all evidence to the contrary—that his son has been killed in the war . vannihamy also rejects the money given by the state as compensation to members of a dead soldier ' s family .
the idea , which provides the film ' s essential foundation , is that the war raging in the north is not considered by the people to be their war . none of the characters representing ordinary people speak passionately about either taking part in the war or winning it . it is certainly something outside the pale of their deep - felt needs , but which at the same time has insidiously managed to become a “necessary evil”—a way to earn a living , when conditions of life are extremely difficult and problematic .
the only character we see making a pro - war , patriotic speech is the buddhist monk from the village temple who , accompanied by a few villagers , visits the bereaved vannihamy . the monk suggests that the villagers should honor vannihamy ' s son , a soldier who has laid down his life for the motherland , by building a bus shelter in his name . vannihamy off - handedly replies that a bus shelter would be beneficial to people no matter why it was built .
the film makes clear that the villagers only consider joining the army when they are in desperate economic straits . vannihamy ' s future son - in - law , for example , says that the way things are he too will have to join the army . vannihamy ' s son had enlisted with the sole aim of providing for his family—building a better home , ensuring a decent marriage for his younger sister . a letter the young man sent from the front , which the family receives after his death , expresses his desire to return home soon so he can set to work on those tasks .
vannihamy hangs on to this letter because it reinforces the belief that has taken root in him that his son is not dead . the coffin arrives sealed by the authorities , and the fact that no one can see the soldier ' s mortal remains also strengthens the old man ' s conviction . vannihamy ' s refusal to believe in his son ' s death is also bound up with his own attitude to life . he has , to all appearances , triumphed over his terrible physical handicap , blindness . only once do we see him as an enfeebled man—when he falls in the field and is carried home by the villagers . at other times his agility , alertness and confidence are such that the spectator forgets that he is blind . he easily stands out as the strongest character in the film . vannihamy ' s belief in his ability to triumph over difficulties leads him to believe the same about his son . he says that the blood which ran through the veins of his family ' s forefathers runs through his own and his son ' s veins too .
a few days before an alms - giving ceremony is to be held in memory of the dead young man , two soldiers emerge from the darkness at night and approach vannihamy , seated in front of his hut , to tell him that they ' ve brought a donation towards the alms - giving . they explain that members of his son ' s army unit have contributed to the donation . we see the old man struggling to face up to this new and irrefutable proof of his son ' s death . this is the most emotionally powerful moment in the film .
early next day , as the eastern sky glints coldly with streaks of morning light , we see vannihamy shouldering his mamoty ( spade ) and apparently heading towards the fields . we wonder whether he has finally brought himself to accept the fact of his son ' s death , but something unexpected takes place . vannihamy makes his way to his son ' s grave and starts digging it up . a young woman who comes to the village tank to fetch water sees vannihamy and informs the villagers . they rush to the scene and take on the job of unearthing the coffin themselves clearly with the intent of laying to rest the doubts assailing vannihamy . they retrieve the coffin , break the seal and open it . vannihamy , who is alert to everything going on , eagerly fingers the contents . all that is in the coffin are some pieces of wood and a large stone—nothing that could prove the death of vannihamy ' s son . as he leaves the graveyard vannihamy is neither a defeated man nor spiritually broken . it is clear that he still believes his son is alive .
vannihamy ' s stubborn refusal to believe that his son is no longer among the living evokes strong feelings in the spectator . the old man ' s refusal to believe in his son ' s death becomes completely plausible only when it is viewed as the result of an unconscious protective mechanism operating against the unbearable reality of his son ' s death .
it should be emphasized , however , that vannihamy is not merely a tragic figure . there is a nobility to his character that the other villagers find almost impossible to understand . this quality expresses itself above all in his refusal to accept the money handed out by the state as compensation for his son ' s death . vannihamy ' s deep attachment to his son makes it impossible for him to face up to the latter ' s death . this same love and a keen sense of spiritual dignity stands in the way of vannihamy ' s accepting the money . “what if my son comes home after we accept the money ; how can we face him ? ” he asks .
though vannihamy may even appear to the others as slightly mad , there is a profound humane logic in the stand he takes . the young man had gone to war seeing it as the only means through which his dreams could be realized . it was his son ' s dream of happiness . to accept the money paid as compensation for his death would be a betrayal , not only of the young man , but also of the dreams he cherished .
once the coffin has been opened vannihamy is no longer nagged by his relatives or harassed by the village ' s government officer to accept the compensation money . after breaking the official seal on the coffin it is no longer possible to apply for the money .
in the final sequences of the film we see vannihamy as we saw him at the beginning—a confident man at peace with himself . he comes to the village tank to fetch water , and listens eagerly to a ripple of laughter coming from the children bathing in the river . a scarcely perceptible smile comes to his lips—perhaps he remembers how his son used to play in the river . here the expectant yet deeply melancholic mood , which had till then had gripped vannihamy as well as the spectator , seems to slacken as an unexpected downpour patters on vannihamy ' s shoulders .
this deceptively simple film , which has been widely praised at many international film festivals , makes clear that the war has no popular support but has been unexpectedly and forcibly foisted by the sri lankan state onto the people , including the poverty - stricken sinhala farmers living in the north . it should be seen by all those seeking to understand the human consequences of sri lanka ' s civil war .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
the book also contains reviews , notes on the government’s controversial banning of the film and the supreme court’s subsequent verdict .
reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page .
© copyright 2010 | wijeya newspapers ltd . colombo . sri lanka . all rights reserved . | site best viewed in ie ver 6 . 0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution
your browser not compatible with some features of our website . so we recommand you to update your browser version or switch to another browser .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 strict / / en
urltoken
after an explosion kills a man ' s ( joe abeywickrama ) son , the government offers him compensation , but he refuses it .
there are currently no user reviews for this film . be the first to rate it below !
grieving over the death of his son , a blind and superstitious sri lankan brickmaker causes family conflict when he refuses to accept government compensation for his loss .
logline : a young reporter dares to cover press freedom in one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists – sri lanka .
synopsis : despite the dangers involved in working for the tamil newspaper uthayan in jaffna , young journalists like thadsa still join their ranks . apart from the chief editor , uthayan does not have a single news journalist over the age of 40 . as they grow older , young journalists come under family pressure to find a safer job . thadsa is passionate about reporting and wants to cover a story on a journalist who disappeared in 2007 , and look into the ongoing restrictions to press freedoms in sri lanka today .
kannan arunasalam , director kannan is an award - winning filmmaker , narrative journalist and media consultant who uses documentary , photography and multimedia forms of storytelling . his work has appeared in the guardian , the new yorker and broadcast on bbc and al jazeera english . kannan’s films have been screened at international documentary festivals and selected as the best documentaries from south asia for 2011 - 12 and 2013 - 14 . his first film ‘kerosene’ ( 16 mins ) won best documentary short at the south asian international documentary festival 2013 , seattle . his subsequent documentary short ‘the story of one’ ( 19 mins ) won the manuel rivera - ortiz foundation grant prize , 2013 .
the film set , in post war sri lanka , brings us close to two characters who collide quite accidentally , and through them we experience the deep and seemingly unbridgeable chasm that conflict almost always creates . will love help them cross the bridge ? or will the past continue to color the present ? a man and a woman from the two ends of the thirty - year - old bloody civil war in sri lanka discover that the color of love is blue , and life , shades of grey .
synopsis : grieving over the death of his son , a blind and superstitious sri lankan brickmaker causes family conflict when he refuses to accept government compensation for his loss .
august sun , set in sri lanka during the mid - 1990s and tells three simultaneous stories against the backdrop of the country’s savage civil war ( 1983 – 2009 ) chamari ( nimmi harasgama ) is searching for her husband , a sinhalese sri lankan air force pilot shot down in flight , whom she believes has been taken prisoner by the tamil tigers . desperate to know the truth , she enlists a sympathetic journalist and sets out on a journey to track him down .
28 original title : 28 genre : drama director : prasanna jayakody cinematographer : chandana jayasinghe cast : mahendra perera , semini iddamalgoda , rukmal nirosh synopsis abasiri’s wife suddhi abandoned him a long time ago . now , abasiri and his young friend mani are summoned to identify a woman who was raped and murdered in colombo . hiding his distress after the shocking discovery that it’s his own wife , abasiri embarks on a strange journey with the coffin back to his village where rumours about suddhi’s demise are already spreading .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
ayurveda treatment in sri lanka - dr . ( mrs . ) seetha p . ranasinghe arachchi athukorala
the film , the fourth by prasanna , has won the grand prix award at the amiens film festival , the international critic ' s award - fribourg and best actor ( singapore ) .
the film written and directed by prasanna himself is woven around a blind father - wannihami ( joe abeywickrama ) who refuses to believe that his son is dead .
the lake on the edge of the jungle is almost dry and he collects water from what is left in the lake , but he knows the rain will come soon .
the day rains fall on the day that his soldier son ' s body , which is in a sealed coffin , is buried . wannihami who firmly believes that he is alive strongly refuses to sign the papers which will entitle the family to compensation for his son ' s death .
finding a dramatic premise for a film is important to me ,
says prasanna , adding that it is the major guiding principle in his search for truth through medium of film .
so far , all my films have tried to portray the mediocrity of everyday conventional living and how conformity to social rules can hinder a person ' s search for happiness and the truth about himself or herself .
prasanna directed his first film
sisila gini gani
( ice on fire ) in 1992 and the second , anantha rathriya ( dark night of the soul ) in 1996 . his third film pawru walalu ( walls within ) in 1997 went on to win the best actress award at the 1998 singapore film festival .
commenting on his films prasanna says :
my films have gone against the grain of sri lankan filmmakers in many aspects . the most obvious difference is the length of my films .
i wanted to make films in the way that european , japanese and other filmmakers do , which means i had to pay attention to details . i believe that persevering with the search for truth invariably leads to brevity and sometimes even silence .
the art director of the film is k . a . milton perera while the director of photography is m . d . mahindapala .
it is produced by makota ueda ( nhk ) and prasanna vithanage productions . [ sas ]
h is name is well - known within the film making industry , but not outside of it . having actively contributed to 34 films as an assistant director , danesh lanka peiris remains a very silent personality .
i did not want to go after publicity and just concentrate on my work ,
danesh says .
after completing formal education at mahanama college , kollupitiya , danesh entered the film world with the support of his uncle - hemasiri sellapperuma - a very popular sinhala film director .
since the beginning , i have been interested in the technical side of film making , which helped me to get an in - depth knowledge about the film industry .
the first film he worked on as an assistant director was
chandingeth chandiya
directed by sellapperuma . among his other films are
neva gilunath ban choon , nommara 17 , uthura dakuna , salambak handai , asai bayai etc . most of these have been screened over 100 days breaking records on the local silver screen .
during my film career , i was able to associate with top stars of the local silver screen and i got an opportunity to work in countries like india , thailand and england as some of the films were shot overseas .
apart from being an assistant director , danesh has already touched film production . so far , he has produced one film
soorayo wedakarayo .
washington ( afp ) - with the tragedy surrounding last week ' s devastating attacks seared into the american consciousness , us movie studios have taken steps to re - edit or delay the release of films depicting scenes now considered insensitive .
among the rejigged productions are several featuring the now - destroyed twin towers of new york ' s world trade centre and some with terrorists as characters .
bad company
, an action - comedy starring anthony hopkins , has been pushed back indefinitely from its scheduled december release because terrorists , of various ethnic extractions , are the
bad guys
in the film , which also features a suitcase bomb on the verge of detonation , the hollywood reporter trade magazine said thursday .
the film was made by walt disney , which announced immediately after the september 11 attacks it would also postpone the release of
big trouble
, a comedy about a bomb in a suitcase featuring fbi agents .
another high - profile casualty of the attacks is arnold schwarzenegger , whose
collateral damage
, a story of a man seeking revenge after a terrorist bomb kills his family in a skyscraper , was a yanked from its october 5 release .
among the films in production being re - tooled to remove potentially offensive scenes is
men in black 2
, a sequel of the 1997 hit starring will smith and tommy lee jones .
a scene filmed against the backdrop of the twin towers will have to be re - shot , the producers of the film told variety , the entertainment industry trade daily .
also , a trailer for
spider - man
, a live - action movie featuring the comic book - hero bitten by a radioactive spider , has been pulled from theatres because it shows bank robbers trapped in a spiderweb spun between the twin towers . the scene is not in the movie , which is going ahead virtually untouched .
and hong kong action star jackie chan is having
nosebleed
, a film he was about to begin filming , completely rewritten because it originally portrayed him as a window cleaner on the world trade centre who battles terrorists targeting the statue of liberty , media reported .
produced by lake house copyright 2001 the associated newspapers of ceylon ltd . comments and suggestions to : web manager
doctype html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 0 transitional / / en
eighteen years ago , young journalist , attached to now defunct newspaper ' sun ' , left the job to take up music as a full time occupation .
nobody expected him to lead his band for almost two decades , but he did through storms , ups and downs .
sajith muthukumarana , the leader of the band ' ecstasy ' has never taken ' no ' as the answer .
1985 - little hut night club of mt . lavinia hotel 1986 - 87 ' sunset night club
of browns beach hotel , negombo , 1988 - 89
colombo 2000
of le galadari meridian , 1990 - 91
peacock night club
of mount royal beach hotel , and again from 1991 to ' 96 ' little hut ' for a second time and then taj samudra hotel from 1997 - 2000 to name a few .
' other than these venues , special mention must be made about ' coral gardens hotel ' hikkaduwa where the band played long contracts since 1986 , and
bentota beach hotel
where we still continue to perform , ' said sajith .
in addition to local commitments , ' ecstasy ' has performed a three month contract in singapore in 89 / 90 and a couple of shows for the ' lanka lions ' in doha , qatar in 1996 .
a unique feature in the band is the versatality that they have shown in adopting well to the musical requirements of the venue , be it night club or hotel lobby .
the present line up is a mixture of experience and youth , which has been combined correctly to create a feeling of ' ecstasy ' .
sajith mutukumarana who has been leading the band from the inception is in overall charge , looking into all aspects of the business . all practices and musical arrangements too are under the strict scrutiny of sajith .
then there is ranjith perera on bass who has been a steady part of ecstasy far a long time since 1991 , and clifford de andrews who needs no introduction in the field of guitar artistry also has been with the band for over 7 years . then comes the talented drummer with a voice to remember marian francis who joined the line up about 3 years ago .
the newcomers to the band who joined this year are nishantha abrew on keyboards and chaminda dantila , a very versatile singer on vocals , both of whom have rock / folk inclination as well as oriental flavours in their music .
the band is on the lookout for a dynamic frontline female vocalist who could be ready by the season .
if we find someone good and matching we will take her on permanently , otherwise we intend to session work with the present day female vocalists in the scene as and when the need arises ,
says sajith .
ecstasy is now ready for the kill in the new century and is looking forward to the first ever season of the new millennium with a wider repertoire than even before .
the fourteenth ' international jazz festival ' will be held from may 20 to 27 on board the ' azur festival lines ' cruise ship .
azur - festival line cruise ship is a floating three star hotel with all modern facilities including swimming pool , a cinema , casino , a gym , a couple of specialized restaurants and five bars .
the jazz festival will feature over fifty musicians from around the world and this will be the first time this type of festival being held on board a ship .
the popular groups include ' the festival all stars ' ( usa ) , the three divas ( usa ) , oscar kleins jazz show , ' blue galore ' with guitar crusher & tommie harris trio ' , ' the swing men 2000 ' , ' lady bass and jazz ladies ' , ' johnny rogers and the midnight soul show ( usa ) , ron ringwoods gospel messengers ( usa ) , and paris washsboard ( france ) .
the whole festival includes 80 concerts on five indoor and outdoor stages . the music ranging from new orleans and mainstream jazz , blues , gospel , ' rhythm & blues ' , dixieland to ' swing and soul ' .
the cruise starts at the greek port pireaus and sails for seven days through the blue waters of the mediterranean - italy , malta and greece . the ports of call are savona , capri , catania , malta , katakolon , corfu , dubrovnik and venice .
the local agents for this cruise is ' kontiki ' , which brings a new wave in the local travel business .
there will be special programmes with constantly changing line - ups . the open jam sessions will be another attraction .
the exciting trips in the ports of call to places of historical and cultural interests will also be arranged through ' kontiki ' .
according to a spokesman from kontiki , festival cruise has a special workshop for gospel , jazz and blues on board .
' this would be an extremely relaxed atmosphere without a dress code required elsewhere , ' he added .
i have gone past ' habarana ' many times , but never bothered to take a look around .
when they say ' habarana ' , the main thing that got into my mind was dry , dusty and sticky heaty weather .
but i never expected the ' lodge ' to be different from most of the hotels in the area .
swimming pool , a / c rooms , posh dining area , wild life excursions , are the common sales points of the hotels in the cultural triangle . but the ' lodge ' has something more with extra weight . the trees .
the main attraction of the hotel is the greenery . ' most of the trees were saved in the area , when the hotel was built nearly eighteen years ago ' .
that ' s what i believed before the manager suraj perera explained and said that they all came from mahaweli area now under water .
the ' lodge ' is set in a 27 acres land with hundreds of big trees by the beautiful habarana ancient irrigation lake . the air is pure and filled with the songs of exotic sri lankan birds . some people do come for ' birdwatching ' and to spend the night by the lake on a tree top .
this sounds mad but believe me it ' s facinating and romantic . the lake was tranquil and beautiful and it is out of the world for lovers . apart from the scenic beauty , the ' lodge ' provides 53 chalets with 150 rooms with a / c , balcony or terrace , hot and cold water , and with absolute privacy .
' the lodge is the first resort hotel in sri lanka to get iso 9002 certificate and is now working towards the iso 14 , 000 top grade certificate from the iso , ' said the manager suraj perera .
the main restaurant is by the pool and a spacious open sided place . this serves western , eastern , chinese and international cuisine with seafood specialities .
' but most of our guests both local and foreign like to taste the traditional sri lankan food specially from the area , ' mr . perera said .
theme nights , special bar - b - q buffets are some of the attractions of the restaurants .
' we serve local cuisine on traditional clay pot style and show cooking is another attraction , ' the manager said .
the lodge is centrally located in the cultural triangle and is just one or two hours drive from important places . the lodge is a plendid place to explore the ancient cities like anuradhapura , polonnaruwa , sigiriya , dambulla and minneriya wildlife park . ritigala , pidurangala and the surrounding areas .
the architecture used in the lodge are more similar or has the influence of ritigala of 5th century bc .
' the pathways and the buildings were almost similar or influenced by that era , ' suraj said .
veda aspuwa with traditional herbal treatment draws large crowds at the ' lodge ' .
large grounds for cricket , tennis , badminton , jogging track , indoor games , fishing , elephant safaris and calypso music are some of the recreation and entertainment activities available at the hotel . also ' lodge ' has conference facilities with a large hall for 90 pax .
with all these modern facilities and the scenic beauty , ' lodge ' has become a
park
.
it is after15 years , neil alles is bringing his stage play
sihina sappuwa
( the dream shop ) in to the limelight again .
the play that won the most popular stage drama award at the sama drama festival as a new production was first staged in 1984 and had to stop due to many reasons .
' sihina sappuwa ' which speaks about the problems of the youth is more appropriate to today ' s society than the time that it made . the problems discussed at that time now has worsened , said neil reasoning that made him to bring back the play .
i made the play after 1971 insurrection where thousands were killed and highlighting the problems relating to education unemployment and war and poverty ,
he added .
compared to eighties era , the war has become a part of every one of us and one reason that lead me to bring back the play was that at least some one must be alert about these problems
.
according to him the problems of the youth are now just covers up without searching permanent solutions .
starting from the part he played as
chutte
in
kelani palama
( kelani bridge ) neil alles has been playing over 50 stage dramas up to recently staged dharmasiri bandaranayke ' s
trojan kanthawo
( thetrojan women ) and sunethra sarathchandra ' s
yerma
, including famous plays like
tharawo igilethi
,
avi
, and
gajaman puwatha ,
etc .
neil alles , an actor in profession also had played over ten tele dramas including
bumuthurunu
,
du daruwo
,
gajaman nona
etc .
playing many roles in the stage for last three decades , neil alles still believes that the stage which gave him the recognition in the world of arts is above the cinema or the teledrama .
as one can not forget the mother who gave birth , i can not forget the stage
, said with his loyalty to the stage .
the professional stage drama actor is not in a happy tone when he is speaking about the present youth who are taking in to stage .
nowadays the younger generation use the stage only to make a name for them . they come to stage not with the idea of staying there whereas we played without expecting any financial benefit ,
.
but we really enjoyed those hardship instead of thinking about them as burden ,
said this well experience actor .
speaking on the stage dramas that brings nothing except humor and the plays that are produced for only commercial benefits , neil said
people are ready to pay a price to get momentarily happiness . this has lead to produce plays with any taste just to earn money . but the with the hardships we experienced we can ' t make the stage a place of a business
.
when asked about the steps to make the stage more popular place among the public neil allas said
firstly everyone must go for stage drama . and must find solution for the main problem face by the producers , the way to find the finance
.
there are so many sponsors for sports but no one going to sponsor for a play which is also important for the upliftment of our culture and tradition
, he said . he also admitted that there are lot of talented youngsters among us whom without anyone to back them to come up .
neil allas is ready to take his ' dream shop ' through out the country .
my idea is to put all earning from the play to produce another ,
said with many plans to take more people to theatre in our country .
prasanna withanage must be one of the few directors in the country , who were fortunate enough to have won awards locally and internationally for all the films he made .
though quantity wise the film done by prasanna is not immense he has take the film world by storm .
the four films he directed were ' sisila gini gani ' ( ice on fire ) in 1992 which won nine ocic awards including best director , best actor and actress ,
anantha rathriya
( dark night of the soul ) in 1996 participated in several international film festivals and won jury ' s special mention at the 1st pusan international film festival and won main awards at the 1996 sri lanka film critics forum awards including most outstanding film , best director and script writer .
pawuru walalu
( walls within ) in 1997 won the best actress award for nita fernando at the 1998 singapore international film festival and ten awards at the sri lanka film critics forum awards .
after viewing his film ' anantha rathriya ' ( which is not yet released here ) , japanese broadcasting corporation ( nhk ) selected prasanna withanage among the asian film directors for sponsorship of his next film .
from the day i received the letter from the nhk selecting my next film for production sponsorship , we had to work really hard on the film . it was a hectic period where we worked 18 hours a day . the full period was unforgettable
, prasanna said .
the award winning film maker describing the encouragement that awards bring he said
awards are not to be kept in showcases but they give stability to filmmakers to stand independently and bring out their creative talent .
when went to madawachchiya to find locations for this film i had to mould the script according to what i saw there .
the half built houses started by the youths who had joined the army and were killed in battle ; the parents who are waiting for their sons and the gramasevakas who has lists of people who had joined the army are part of the scenario . when i was going there for three years there had been no rain to cultivate in the area and youths had no other job than joining the war .
of filmmakers who thinks only about its commercial benefits , prasanna withanage said ,
the film is not a commodity for sale . it is an expression of ones self . there are two kinds of people i know in this world . they are people who exploit the world for the mere purpose of earning money and people who genuinely care about human beings
.
salelu warama
is the latest film of creative script writer and director wasantha obeysekara .
the film in which the major part is over and is to be mixed soon . ; said the obeysekera . ' salelu warama ' an adaptation from a true incident was filmed in the areas of horana and akuressa took 27 days .
starting from the film
wesgaththo
in 1970 , mr . obeysekara ' s tenth film is his latest
salelu warama
. among the films he made some of them were landmarks in sri lankan film industry .
award winning films
palagatiyo
,
dhadayama
,
kedapathaka chaya
and
maruthaya
were some of them which became very popular among the filmgoers in this country .
the film maker ' s last film was
theertha yathra
, in which he made a story around adopted girl , who later go in search of her parents . there he brought out the idea that we are not belonged to anyone and it is meaningless going on thinking about who am i .
the story in
salelu warama
is around two university students and one student who passed out from there .
the film is based on a triangular conflict a around tragic love story . speaking on the completely different theme from all his other films , obeysekara said that the film tells ' how far correct is the judgment we make about others and how dangerous they could be ' . sometimes we tend to hide the real side of us due to this judgments make about us and the judgment we make about others .
ultimately we are not what we are we have given a different picture about us
, he said .
the cast in the film comprise tony ranasinghe , kamal addararachchi , sangeetha weeraratne , pradeep senanayake , nayana kumari and others . jayanath gunawardena is behind the camera in
salelu warama
, while elmo halliday was the editor .
film score of the film is by the well experienced music director rohana weerasinghe and the script written by wasantha obeysekara .
the film was produced by sarath abeysena who produced mr . obeysekara ' s earlier film
dorakada marawa
, .
the award for the best short film at the mumbai international film festival for documentary , short and animation films this year was bestowed upon s . sriram , for his debut film titled ' blindfolded ' . hailing from chennai , this young cinematographer is equipped both with experience as well as a diploma in film from the adyar film institute . he has gained practical experience from the training and guidance he achieved through assisting santosh sivan , a renowned indian film director , in the making of ' malli ' and ' the terrorist ' .
sriram ' s twenty - four minute short film is based on the theme of child abuse in cities . this is a social problem that is occurring profusely in all the mega cities in asia . sriram himself admits that as far as social change is concerned his film is but only a ' drop in the ocean ' . however , his debut attempt in directing has at least created some awareness among the public .
the film portrays the life of a little girl - selvi , in a slum community , with a drunk for a father and a trollop of a mother . the whole film is shown through the eyes of the little girl who struggles valiantly to improve her miserable existence despite the constant physical and mental abuse by her uncaring parents .
the giant wheel at the fair symbolises the fantasy - like aspirations of the child whose eventual desire is focused on riding it .
she gets the chance to ride it after all , but her actions culminate in disaster . she is accused by her demented household of stealing ten rupees to go to the fair , and is thus brutally punished by being doused with kerosene and burnt alive .
the child selvi is portrayed by shweta and ghanapriya takes the role of her friend amuda .
as most child actors , both little girls were quite spontaneous in their actions in front of the camera and relied very little on direction . hence , sriram adapted his techniques accordingly in order to make the children ' s spontaneity an attribute . despite the director ' s modest appraisal of himself , ' blindfolded ' is sure to attract a lot of international attention throughout the coming year .
the story revolves around the difficulties faced by this young man both mentally and socially in his day to day life .
anil ( gamini jayawardana ) , who lost his father when he was a kid , was living with her mother ( suwinitha weerasinghe ) and his step father ( w . jayasiri ) . his step father is a funeral undertaker . anil grows up with a disturbed mind as he always see the coffins brought to his step father ' s shop .
when he becomes a young man he sees one of his friends being murdered by an unidentified gang . this incident aggravates his weak mental state further and he gets scared whenever the incident comes to his mind . his mentality does not allow him to reveal the incident to anyone . even though the family of his murdered friend wants him to testify before police he refuses to do so .
worried over his unstable mind his parents decide to send him to his aunt ' s place which they believe would give him an opportunity to overcome the situation . while at his aunt ' s place he gets married . but the change of environment or the marriage does not help to change his mentality but worsens it . as a result he loses his job and unable to bear the poverty his wife commits suicide .
it was written and directed by nimal ratnayake and produced by kapila kumara atupalage . the casts as follows : w . jayasiri , suwinitha weerasinghe , gamini wijewardana , chamila sanjeewani , granville rodrigo , g . r . perera , luxika fonseka , raja sumanapala , sriyani mahawatta and neela liyanage .