Matir Moina

When I began to watch this film for the first time, I knew that it was a good film and was in the limelight that time. At first I was little bit bored because the film was going little slow. But as the film continued, my boredom turned into excitement and by the time the film finished, I was fully contented. Casting, acting , plot everything was great and perfect. It may be called an art film but as entertaining as well. Those who are familiar with Bangladeshi culture would realize the demand of such kind of a film. It tells the story of superstitious and conservative culture of the then East Pakistan. Some parts of the culture are alive in the villages till now. So this film has a great social significance. Its director Tareque Masud said that he made this film based on his childhood memories. That's one of the main reason of its success. Its based on reality. It represents our traditional cultural structure. Looking forward to watch more great films like this.

"""""0 out of 3 people found the following comment useful:- Too many characters and too little story., 13 October 2003 Author: Meejoir from Newcastle, England

I was very disappointed with The Clay Bird.

I found that the story chopped and changed from one character to another all to frequently, failing to stay long enough on one part of the story for you to really care what was happening.

Yes, some of it was beautifully shot, but I have said this before with other films, is it possible to not to have glorious scenery in a place as geographically beautiful as Bangladesh?

I would rather the story concentrated on 2 or perhaps 3 of the characters, giving a far more detailed account of life in this traumatic part of Bangladesh's history.""""

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To Meejoir from Newcastle, England, Don't think this story from the perspective of your culture. You said"Too many characters and too little story." but it based on a great history of Bangladesh and the different mentality of our people..

This movie is simply rich in its story, casting and direction. TWO THUMBS UP !!!

I have marked it excellent and it can be defined by only one word 'ART'. It is rare @Bangladesh to produce ART films Caz these are not commercially benefited.Tareque masud And Catherine Masud have proved that From Bangladesh It is make world class film. Matir moina have a nice combination of simple pictures and a frustrating culture of lower middle class. They have a dark world governed by Religious Dogma. And they don't like to break their narrow life. But nature effects on them. And truth rises. And I have seen here The so-called 'Allah' couldn't save that believer's daughter. A girl was dead. But I question To Tareque Masud did he want to show the crippled culture of Islam or just wished to be liberal to religion and project light to a the direction where religions will go parallel.

It's a story of Bengali conservative family, which later turn into a part Liberation war of 1971.

I must say Late Director Tareque Masud put his all thought, creativity and imagination in this one. Perfect choose of shooting area, a great mysterious, unpredictable story makes it one hell of Bengali masterpiece.

And the casting is also nearly perfect, best use of weather situation, Realistic using of Lighting, we Bengali can not think of better movie than it is!

If you are a Bengali, Believe me you wanna see it.

The Clay Bird, or "Matir Moina" succeeds in reminding Bangladeshis that we have long ignored the basis of our religious beliefs and cultural practices. The spread of Islam was not brought about by the sword alone, but by mystics and Sufis who believed that the love of self and the love of mankind was a spiritual journey in itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the musical score, consisting of a handful of Bangladeshi folk-"Baoul"- songs, performed by skillful musicians. The acting was not exaggerated, although some expressions of emotion in certain scenes seemed a bit contrived. Generally, it was a commendable job all around, a well put on show by ordinary, everyday people who were given a sudden chance to act in an independent movie about extraordinary events in the lives of ordinary, everyday people. The use of unsure, self-doubting, often confused characters, instead of black and white caricatures with clear-cut agendas, infuses this film with life and allows, even invites, Bangladeshis to identify with the sub plot. This movie is worthwhile watching for the musical score alone.