Glory of cinema, a critic’s view

Asirimath Cinemava

Author: Gamini Weragama
Reviewed by Kalakeerthi
Edwin Ariyadasa

“I read every single review, because I love film criticism and I am interested.”
Melanie Jayne Lynskey,
New Zealand actress

An emerging mass enthusiasm for Sinhala cinema has begun to raise new hopes within those who deeply yearn for a sustained film culture in our land.

Mega cinematic phenomena of the calibre of ‘Aba’, “Mahindagamanaya, “Siri Perakum”, “Vijaya – Kuveni” and of course the surprising film-epic “Sri Siddhartha Gautama”, succeeded in criticising film–goers to cinemas in teaming, thronging crowds that on many an occasion paid repeated visits to re-live their original joy.

The devastating drought that had parched up the box-office at those venues, theatrically presenting Sinhala films seemed at least partially relieved by a welcome drizzle of shekels.

It has to be carefully noted that this freak swell of visitors to Sinhala cinemas to view these jumbo film pageants does not in any way represent the long-awaited dawn of a fully-fledged Sinhala cinema culture.

Film culture

A film culture gets entrenched in a given community, when the cinematic works associated with the lifestyle, thoughts, aspirations and the mores specific to that human group begin to reflect those values profoundly and creatively.

The people in the community should embrace their film tradition with a patriotic fervour. Teachers, social leaders, above all the film-critics should guide the cinematic tastes of the people, leading them to higher echelons of film appreciation and aesthetic taste.

The film-critics are those who should enshrine the values relating to our own culture of cinema in the hearts and souls of our people. If the progress of our country towards a sustained film culture has been slow and was at a tortoise-pace, most of the time – it is because we as a nation have not been able to get the benefit of those who think profoundly about various aspects of cinema.

We need responsible film-historians, cinema teachers are required in adequate numbers. Those who can explore cinema aesthetics, are not widely available. The effects of cinema on various layers of society have not been systematically researched. Capacity-building in various areas of professional cinema has been overlooked.

What has happened in the field of cinema in Sri Lanka especially in the academic and professional area, does not seem to have encouraged the formation of an urge to build a national cinema in our country with an iconic influence.

In such a backdrop, the saving grace we possess, is a stray group of dedicated film critics who have pursued their interest with an unflagging verve.

A shining star in this limited coterie is Gamini Weragama. Over the years, Gamini has performed with such uninterrupted regularity that he is like a natural force that appears on cue come what may.

He contributes his views on cinematic works keeping pace with their release.

His personal mode of viewing and reviewing films is so compelling that a fan-following is always ready to give him a hearing, punctuating their attention with an occasional encore-call.

Favours

Gamini has a forthright stance, towards the material he opts to look at in his reviews. As he is not moved by an urge to curry favours with any party, he has his say at times, with unmitigated directness, courting controversy, as the inescapable outcome of that attitude.

In the present collection of the reviews, he focuses on 35 works that span eight years from 2002 to 2010. He makes it quite clear in his prefatory note that he does not provide these reviews as the last word in ideal film criticism. His intention is to see that these views, lead to a fruitful discourse on cinema.

His anthology opens with a review of director Vasantha Obeysekera's Salelu Varama. The final ending is Vidu created by Ashoka Handagama.

Each of his review is carefully crafted, making it a pleasure to read it through. This way, over and above the subject matter, the manner of writing too is highly entertaining.

Some exceptionally significant films come within the scope of this work. Although a film review may be thought of as an ephemeral literary exercise, Gamini Weragama's incisive and analytical approach raises his reviews to a classical stature. In consequence whether he likes it or not, his critical essays on the films he has viewed, could very well serve as exemplary material for those younger writers who attempt film criticism.

Dynamism

He makes an objective observation about the renewed dynamism, that the stream of film reviews has acquired in the recent past. According to him, film criticism should form a bridge between the mass of film-goers and cinema. And, this ‘bridge’, he feels, has awakened with a new vigour in the past year or two. His views exude an encouraging optimism about the quality of current film criticism.

But, he is of the view, that a wider-scoped discourse is essential to widen the horizons of film criticism.

The typographical presence of his anthology – titled “The Miraculous Cinema” - is impressively enhanced by the photograph of Sinhala cinema's perennial star Malini Fonseka on the book-cover. As Gamini Weragama achieves greater maturity and more profound wisdom, he may as far as I can see, will get transformed into a film philosopher of Sri Lanka.