Film Review  

The love child

by Dilshan Boange

When a man and a woman's physical union results in 'procreation', can 'love' always be assumed to have been an essential ingredient in that equation? As familiar as we may be with query there is need for meaningful introspection on the matter of how adulthood and parenthood are not necessarily entwined.

These are some of the kernels of thought that appeared to be woven in the Swiss film 'Sam'. Directed by Elena Hazanov and written by Georges Guerreiro, the movie marked the opening of the annual Bonjour Cinema Francophone Film Festival at the National Film Corporation on March 26, 2015.

The French Embassy and the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, and the Alliance Française of Kotte must be applauded for organising this event.

The French language film was screened with English subtitles and proved to be a wonderfully heart-warming story that speaks deeply to the human sensibilities transcending ethnographic and geographic boundaries.

'Sam' portrays how the onus of parenthood as a moral and legal obligation from the vantage and predicament of a financially embattled divorced writer with failed relationships, transpires in to a sacrosanct paternal pursuit to redeem his crumbling role of fatherhood.

The relationship between the father Gerome and his son, the eponymous Sam, shows how the elder realises his need to earn 'filial piety' from his little boy displays and live up to his role as 'father'.

Thus, 'Sam' shows a man's endeavours to be worthy of 'filial piety'. A film that I would commend and recommend without hesitation, I believe furthermore 'Sam' should be watched especially by the young-adult and the nubile generation who would arrive at the crossroads of deciding whether or not to take on the mantle of parenthood.

Children are the cement that holds together most marriages after a certain period of time. That belief is strongly applicable in cultures like ours where the well being of the child under parental togetherness as 'family' is viewed as prime among priorities of individuals who are married with children. Divorce, thus, as we know, is strongly frowned upon and somewhat even stigmatised by traditionalists.

I would venture to say that perhaps the basis of that traditionalist outlook is that divorce shatters the child's sense of security from a twofold effect. Firstly the displacement of the familiar parental presence and secondly in the face of their community where most children are unlikely to be from what some callously call 'broken homes'.

One could say the lessening stigma towards divorce and divorcees, especially in urban Sri Lanka today shows more enlightened thinking.

But also one could argue as to whether the growing leniency towards obtaining divorce and not making conscious efforts to reconcile the conjugal fissures leading to divorce, shows how an entire generation is getting more dimmed in their outlooks and understanding of marriage as a scheme of compromises and commitments.

And after all, it is no secret that the divorce rate in Sri Lanka is sky rocketing since of late! Therefore, this film with depictions of failed fatherhood and its impact on a child has much to say to present day society.

Czech born French novelist Milan Kundera in his masterpiece The Book of Laughter and Forgetting says European society is increasing in 'atomisation' as people become more isolated and individualistic.

The character of Gerome, to an extent I believe speaks of that atomisation of European society where individualism takes on a significant presence in defining ones outlooks and priorities in life.

However the wonderful thing about what is seen as the transformation of Gerome is how he consciously endeavours to redeem his lost sense of fatherly mettle making it his new mission in life.

There lies the thread of hope and positivism in evincing the prospects of happiness for Sam.

The importance of a father's positive presence in a son's life when he is growing up cannot be overstated. To the male child, his father's household presence and role becomes 'directionality for personality'.

Children often try to mimic their elders and believe their parents have all the answers to their questions. And the endearingly inquisitive Sam is one who never runs out of questions to satisfy his curiosity to learn about the world.

One of the remarkable elements in the film is the way children's perceptions of the 'world of adults' is gauged through children's conversations presented through the dialogues between Sam and his friend the endearing little Lucille.

The two of them project an effect that arrests the viewer's heart at the very outset. In this facet I believe the film director and screenwriter have proved how the synthesis between the two creative functions must merge to give effect to capture the 'character of a child'. The spoken words must be characteristic of children and also be convincing onscreen.

The theme of 'children as storytellers' is a significant ingredient that characterises 'Sam' giving insight as to how children will perceive the concept and purpose of creating a story.

And one of the premises for bridging the gap between the world of Gerome and Sam is interestingly the premise of how Sam expresses his take on what a story ought to be and subsequently tells his father a story which he offers his father to consider authoring.

One of Sam's questions is why doesn't Gerome write stories for children? Is it because he doesn't like children? That matter is telling of how more than disliking children, how Gerome is sadly in a state of mind where the world of the child is utterly elusive to him and he finds no nexus with the mind of the child.

This is one of the tragedies any artist could face, finding himself unable to relive the joys of childhood and unable to relate to what it feels to grasp the world uncluttered with its complications of adulthood. What is the tragedy of childhood may I ask? It is, I believe, being fated to give way to adulthood.

In the book Nameless Love: Portraits of Russian Writers, (The book is a publication from the soviet era dating to 1974, by Progress Publishers) Maxim Gorky presents sketches of his conversations with the great Leo Tolstoy, and states Tolstoy had once said "Children do not pity anyone, they do not know what pity means." But 'Sam' resoundingly disproves that perception of Tolstoy. The way in which Sam tries to ease his father's burdens and the way Lucille out of her dearness to Sam helps him, speaks of how children can feel the need to be 'solution providers' to the problems of their visibly beleaguered elders.

The child actors Sacha Guerreiro who plays Sam, and Anastasia Baucher who play Lucille deserve the respect of a robust round of rousing applause.

They, in my opinion, deliver world class performances that evince the immense acting talent they have to offer.

While watching the film half way, hanging onto the significance of the opening dialogue between Sam and Lucille I felt that there is a central question that is engrained in the larger picture - Is every child a 'love child'? It was a line that sprang in me as I watched the film. That line of thought, I felt, requires some pondering.

The term 'love child' as we know after all refers to a child born out of wedlock, and is termed 'illegitimate child' by law, and derogated socially as 'bastard'. But the term 'love child' would suggest that the sole reason for the procreation of the child by two people not married to each other is to manifest, an as undeniable truth, irrefutable proof of their love for each other.

Sam believes that adults procreate when they are in love, and children are the result of two people being in love. It's quite a logical thing by his understanding of the world. And what must be seen in this line of children's thinking is that such a belief offers them hope of unconditional parental love and security.

The truth is of course that not every child is a 'love child', and further, there is no guarantee that even every 'love child' will always be a 'loved child' by his or her parents. Sam was a child born to a married couple. He is no 'love child' by the definition of the term.

But he desires intensely to believe that he was the result of his mother's and father's love for each other. In that sense, regardless of what the religious and legal institution of matrimony may say, at heart, every child desires to be a love child, and thereby a loved child by the two who created him or her as a living token of their love. 'Sam' has a striking message for the times we live in. 'Sam' is a voice that adults would be better for giving ear to.

And 'Sam' will leave an indelible impression on you.