Arts

Ammawarunay, Elegy for a Mother, A tribute to motherhood

by Ranga Chandrarathne

Ammawarunay is the latest film by maestro Lester James Peries, perhaps, the last as Lester himself admitted at the launch, carries a heartrending story of a widow and her relationship with her children. Sumanawathi is a widowed mother with three grown-up children who have entered into three different paths. Her eldest son, Kassapa is a young monk leading a secluded life in a Buddhist monastery.

The youngest, Saliya, who suffers from acute unemployment in the village, is compelled by circumstances to join the military while Sumanawathi's daughter Premalatha who has married an exorcist lives on occult.

She has been separated from the family ever since she married Ranbanda against Sumanawathi's wish. Sumanawathi's life changes with Saliya joining the Army and the story develops, henceforth, into a series of events leading to the gradual emotional breakdown of Sumanawathi, making her an invalid.

Throughout the film, master film maker Lester James Peries develops the character of Sumanawathi, portrayed brilliantly by Malini Fonseka as a conventional Sri Lankan mother whose life is full of unwanted sacrifices.

Within the larger tapestry of an idealistic village which no longer existed in Sri Lanka, maestro captures the essence of Sri Lankan village life which is based on agricultural economy nourished by the philosophy of Buddhism. In that millieu, the mother's role has a predominant influence over her children.

This is manifested by the close relationships the children maintain with Sumanawathi including that of the eldest, Kassapa who is a Buddhist monk. Kassapa tries his best to help the ailing mother, sometimes, stepping out of his boundaries as a Buddhist monk. Ammawarunay, perhaps, is the most authentic portrayal of motherhood in the wider context of Sri Lankan society.

In the evening of her life, what she expected from her children is not financial gains but warmth of relationship and to see that they are settled well in life.

On another plane, though not directly linked to the central theme of the film, Dr. Peries paints a smudged picture of the on-going conflict and its devastating effect on the social fabric.

Sumanawathi's elder son Kassapa died in a crossfire between terrorists and the security forces while en route to a threatened village by a van with dry rations and food, and her younger soldier son is declared as a soldier missing -in-action and did not surface for a long time precipitating Sumanawathi's deteriorating health and confining Sumanawathi to hallucinations and deliriums.

The conventional Sinhalese village is infested with ignorance and the village-folk, peasants seek solace in age-old mythical practices such as occult, exorcism and witchcraft as manifested by Ranbanda who lives on exorcism.

Sarath Kotalawela who convincingly portrays the role of a shell shocked soldier though seemingly incongruous to the plot, serves to fill some missing portion of the story on decades of conflict as the shell shocked soldier had lost his memory due to war.

Ammawarunay is an in-depth analysis of a Sri Lankan close-knit family and the kind of relationship demanded by the family from each and every member of it.

The film is patent for its rare cinematography and rather a slow motion diction which matched well with the sequence of events. Malini Fonseka as Sumanawathi, Roshan Pilapitiya as Saliya, Gayani Gisanthika as Premalatha and Pradeep Dharmadasa contribute to the overall success of the film.

The cast include Malani Fonseka (Sumanawathi), Roshan Pilapitiya (Saliya), Pradeepa Dharmadasa (Buddhist Priest Kassapa, Gayani Gisanthika (Premalatha), Asoka de Zoysa (Ranbanda), Sanath Gunatilaka (Doctor), Tissa Abeysekara (Buddhist Priest Rathanapala), Douglas Ranasinghe (Divisional Secretariat), Manjula Kumari (Sunanda), Daya Tenekoon (Appuhamy) and Sarath Kotalawela ( Shell shocked Soldier).

The film is produced by Silumina Films on behalf of Jagath Wijenayake, the producer of the film. Compared with Lester's previous creations sans "Wekanda Walauwa" (Mansion by the Lake), I appreciate his previous creations and would think that the best person to criticise Wekanda Welauwa and Ammawarunay is none other than maestro Lester James Peries himself.

Screenplay for Ammawarunay is by veteran novelist Somaweera Senanayake and Maestro Premasiri Khemadasa has directed music for the film. Pandit W.D Amaradeva, K. A. Dharmasena (photography), Assistant Director Upali Perera, Sarath Wijesekara ( Production Manager), Ranjith Rubasinghe (2nd Assistant Director), Hemantha Gamage (Make up), Kaliga Perera (Sound), Wimalasiri Gamage (Music Recordist), Janak Mayadunne (Still Photographer), Chaminda Ranatunge (Production Secretary), Sumithra Ekanayake (3rd Assistant Director) and Madura Prageeth Konara (Production Co-ordinator) have also contributed to make Ammawarunay a success.

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