Der Fluss Subarnarekha

I've seen this film recently at the Ritwik Ghatak retrospective in the Vienna Filmmuseum in February 2002. I only can say: a masterpiece. A real discovery.

After having seen this extraordinary film, I can't understand why Ghatak's genius was hardly appreciated in his lifetime, why it had to take so long to rediscover him as one of the most amazing film directors of the 20th century.

The beautiful and heart-wrenching story tells about a family of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) who struggle to find a new home in West Bengal. Ishwar Chakravorty gets a job near the river Subarnarekha and goes there with his little sister Shita and Abhiram, a low-caste young boy from the refugee camp he has adopted after the boy's mother had been abducted. They hope to find happiness in this new environment, but when Abhiram comes home after his school years and wants to marry Shita (who is also in love with him), tragic conflicts emerge that shatter the lives of all main characters.

The impressive direction with unorthodox usage of sound and music and expressionistic camera angles, the beautiful photography (notably in Ishwar's "breakdown scene"), and the great performances especially by the amazing Abhi Bhattacharya and Madhabi Mukherjee (though there is also some rather bad acting by some supporting actors, but this is only a minor drawback to the film) all add to the great impression of this wonderful picture. An absolute must-see!

"Subarnarekha" means "Streak of Gold". Even for a layman like me this critically acclaimed film had brought along a golden treasure, in a sense that it makes a mind think about the duality of fiction and fact; of dream and void; and of course of the dilemma about truth and beauty in life. The film showcases outstanding acting performances,featuring some of the most brilliant actors/actresses(Abhi Bhattyacharya,Bijan Bhattacharya,Madhabi Mukhopadhyay)of our age. To me the greatest moment of this film appears when at the riverbank (subarnarekha) Sita's little son eventually asks his uncle Iswar the same questions which his mother had asked years ago when Iswar along with little Sita, had first come to Subarnarekha to settle for a job. The questions,wrapped with childish imaginations, were about their "new home", Iswar,who did not believe in telling fictions("lies" to Iswar) to amuse a child, when confronted with the same questions from Sita's son,stares at him, remaining baffled and speechless. He loses himself in a trans,perhaps in search of an answer, and finally protects the child's fantasies by giving an affirmative answer this time.

A golden thread of life passes through the experiences of refugees over two decades following WWII and also refers to a beautiful Bengali river.

Haraprasad and Ishwar are two moralistic men who attempt to scrape out some semblance of a dignified life for themselves and their dependents in the aftermath of Partition, where the subcontinent was split into two countries (later three), and the crisis that this caused to people who found themselves on the wrong side of borders where different theocratic ideals were playing out. The movie is set in Bengal (Bengal and Punjab were the two provinces that ended up with pieces on either side of the border).

Haraprasad is more of a believer in communal living, whereas Ishwar compromises and becomes a creature of the system. The main issue is that it didn't really matter what you did, leading a dignified and happy life weren't really possible. Human wellbeing is very fragile and our characters here suffer try as they might to readjust to their uprooting.

Director Ghatak tends to follow the stories of the middle classes, perhaps the worse route through life is a downwards one, and many middle class folk simply had their lives destroyed by Partition. The working classes are relatively ignored, although Ghatak is not blind to this: Ishwar can be complacent and there's a scene in a factory where he ignores the important request for leave from an employee, rather absent-mindedly. He had a nickname of "Ocean of thought" at university, the problem here is that as long as we might like to spend time in the idealistic hinterlands of our own minds, this can lead to ignoring others.

Part of Ghatak's charm is that he is self-aware, he knows that long stories of woe are not what people tend to want to watch, and yet he points out that maybe people should be concerned with their conditions, not just trying to momentarily escape them.

The wonderful symbolic cinematography is the best thing about this movie, I would love to see it in the cinema one day. Ghatak is also sensitive to the plight of women and Ishwar tends to have selective hearing towards them or to treat them like children, however well intentioned he may be. Another skill is the ability to evoke with small brushstrokes, The complete injustice of the differential access to politics enjoyed by the rich over the poor, is portrayed in a flash, the character Rambilas casually and callously mentions running for office as he believes the sacred caste system is under threat (the system which keeps him rich and others in grinding poverty and disesteem).

So what exactly is the golden thread? I think the golden thread is hope, the characters live on their hopes, and in admiration of natural beauty. Maybe this is enough. Maybe this is all there is.

I've seen two of Ghatak's films, this and "Cloud-Capped Star". Ghatak creates a distinct and poignant mood of tragedy that is not entirely without redemption or promise. He also puts music to powerful effect; here the lead (Sita) sings so beautifully and sadly it will break your heart. The film has elements of a fairy tale - - I am thinking particularly of the way in which fateful forces separate and then reunite the long-lost characters. Ghatak handles the story in such a way that such elements feel entirely natural.

I cannot figure out why Ghatak is relatively unknown in the United States. He's at least as good as Ray. Both, though, are underrepresented, and their films are pitifully hard to find.

I thought this was one of the best films I've seen.

Watched at a retrospective event at NYC. A true masterpiece .... glad to add this missing gem in my collections of great movies by the great masters ...