SULANGA

The collapse of a marriage leads the distraught couple to a divorce court. During the court proceedings, three viewpoints are heard which may impugn to the breakdown of the marriage. The wife's, the husband's and the mistress' perspectives are exhibited thus beginning an exploration of the concept of 'truth' as it relates to each character's personal story.

SULANGA (The Wind) is written and directed by Bennett Rathnayake and stars Sanath Gunathilake (Senarathne: the husband), Dilhani Ekanayake (Krishanthi: the wife) and Sathya Erandathi Rathnayake (Kumari: the village girl/mistress). The supporting cast includes Palitha Silva, Chandani Senevirathne and Sriyani Amarasena.

Since the exploration of 'truth' is the theme of this film, the simple truth is that this is an immature plot in the guise of a serious adult story. This is yet another film that deals with the "Typical Cheating Sri Lankan Husband" storyline. It makes you question the actual existence of the rare and endangered species known as the "Faithful Sri Lankan Husband." The lack of depth between the married couples' relationship is shamelessly obvious. Scenes of adult conversations are replaced by trivial scenes such as preparing the morning tea and making a lunch packet. Why do present day Sri Lankan filmmakers continue to visually represent love with images of the wife cooking food? "The way to a man's heart is through the stomach," is an overstatement.

The relationship of Senarathne (the middle-aged professor) and Kumari (the very young village girl/mistress) seems unbelievably childish and juvenile. The plot attempts to be original but fails due to the mundane subject matter.

The first act of the screenplay does not waste time with unnecessary scenes, but half way through the second act the progression of the film comes to a screeching halt. Excessive narration seems to spoon feed the story without permitting self discovery. This is yet another film that squeezes the melodrama to its last drop. The fact that the cheating husband displays himself as the victim of the divorce is just hilariously absurd.

What is the screenwriter thinking?    

The cinematography is the only redeeming quality of the film. The frame composition is exceptional and executed with artistry. All interior scenes have been meticulously lit and the attention to detail in the shots is evident. The visual images of the garbage dump are particularly spectacular and show the professionalism of the cinematographer Biju Vishvanath.

Dilhani Ekanayake proves that experience in the art of acting does make a significant difference. Her performance as the distressed wife is heartfelt and empathetic. However Sanath Gunathilake's portrayal of the husband proves that all the experience in the world cannot help a mediocre actor at best. His performance is ludicrous and takes overacting to another stratosphere. But the stand out performance of the film is by newcomer Sathya Erandathi Rathnayake, who gives new meaning to the word 'robotic.' There was more emotional depth on the face of the robot "R2D2 from Star Wars" than there was on Sathya's face. She delivers dialogue as if she was reading it directly from the script. Her monotone expressionless face is excruciating and makes you wonder how the hell she got this role? She has to be related to either the director or one of the producers, because it's difficult to comprehend that anyone would pay money for that performance.

If there's anyone that deserves the bulk of the blame for the shortcomings of this film, it's Bennett Rathnayake. The producer, writer, director really should have tackled less mundane subject matter. The score is irritating and inapt, the casting of Sathya Erandathi Rathnayake in a prominent role is a monumental mistake, but the final nail in the coffin was the pointless open-ended resolution to the ending of the film. Simply giving up on the ending does not make this an artistic film.

Rating: 2/5

S. V. Fernando