Guerrilla

Guerrilla is a movie about the Independence war of Bangladesh in the year 1971. At that time, Bangladesh was a eastern state of Pakistan (called East Pakistan), and the central government was formed in the now Pakistan state (West Pakistan). This war was spanned over 9 months, from March 26th to December 16th. The movie is based on the lives of civil people of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, who stood against the Pakistan Army and fought in the guerrilla format.

As far as the script goes, it is based on a novel "Nishiddho Loban" (The Forbidden Scarf) by Syed Shamsul Haque, and also based upon real-life events from several freedom fighters. The director himself was an active member of the guerrilla group.

The most striking thing about this movie to me was the interpretation of the struggle and sufferings to a personal level. War is bad and we all know the statistics of the genocide. But these are not merely numbers, but actual people who fought and bled as the nation rises from the ashes of their sacrifice. The severity of the genocide, the rapes, the tortures were very graphic in the movie, and probably not suitable for a young audience.

On the brighter side, it was a movie well-written, the portrayals of the character Bilkis Banu, Altaf Mahmud, Capt. Sarfaraz Khan were very close to the actual truth. The cinematography was beautiful, considering the fact that it was a very low-budget movie.

It might not be outstanding in the standard of the international cinema, but as far as the cinema industry of Bangladesh goes, it was a remarkable work of art. No other movie based on the Independence war was so vivid in the portrayal of its terror and destruction.

I do not comprise the technical knowledge to comment on whether the direction of the movie is up to the mark or lacks something, the special effect is high quality or not. however i want to emphasize on the fact that, from my point of view the movie is successful because it serves one of its goals perfectly and that is,it brings out the real cruel bloody picture of liberation war.the movie does not only focus on the patriotism or any heroic story of a muktijoddha but the real face of the traitors (rajakar). its the first time their actions are bring into the spot light. Hats off to the whole Guerrilla unit. Job well done !!

This movie informs us how Pakistani army tortured the whole Bangladesh.They killed and raped the people of Bangladesh. Nasir Uddin Yousuff just made a miracle by making this movie. This movie is the best movie I have ever seen on our liberation war of 1971. Pakistani army did the same as Germans. They did not have any humanity.We can know all things clearly from this movie.This movie is a perfect reflection of 1971. And the main character of this movie Joya Ahsan acted her best in the movie.So it is more than excellent.There are some movies on 1971 incident. But none of them was able to catch our heart. But this movie could catch our heart. This is the great success for Guerrilla. I think Guerrilla should get good recommendation.

While some (a very few) may find this movie bigoted enough to the Muslim community. They simply do not understand the social demography of 1971. They tend to forget that the Liberation War of Bangladesh was above race or creed. It was all about the independence of a deserving nation. It was fought by Muslims, Hindus, Christian, Buddhists, Natives you name it. Those who wanted the state of Pakistan to prevail merely used religion to seize their advantage. It's a shame that during the war a number of Imam (priest) and Moulanas (religious leaders) used Islam as a platform to commit atrocities which was colorfully depicted in this movie. But it is also a fact that many of them had fought along or collaborated with the freedom fighters which was not depicted. I can see why it is a little confusing for a few people. I am sure bigotry was not Mr. Yousuff's goal to achieve.

As far as the movie is concerned, it has it's faults. Such as the poor quality of CG or whatever they used to create explosions. The few combat scenes were uninspired and amateurish. With a more healthy budget, all of this could've been averted. The authenticity of sets, props, wardrobe and locations were merely satisfactory.

The major aspect mesmerizing the audience is acting. Joya Ahsan as the lead actress touched her full potential as well as the antagonist Mr. Wadud. A.T.M. Shamsuzzaman's dauntless characterization and gem of an acting was quite inspiring. The only disappointing thing was the abrupt ending. Without a concrete epilogue the movie pulled itself a little down of expectation.

Nonetheless, Guerrilla was refreshing, sometimes breathtaking and always moving. My only hope is that this movie will set an example so that the diminishing condition of Bangladeshi cinema could pick up itself from the abyss.

There have been a lot of movies lately based on the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. One common feature all of them lacked, including the critically acclaimed Joy Jatra, is an interesting plot with a detailed narrative. In all of these movies the war and the sorrow of the victims were the main focus and it overshadowed the storyline. As if the makers thought "well, this is a war movie. So it really doesn't need a good story. All it needs is some screaming, heartless murder and cool explosion." While this strategy may satisfy the audience for the moment it is sure to fail to leave a deep impression in the minds of thoughtful viewers.

This is where Guerrilla was different. It knew its limitations. It knew it does not have the budget or technology to create a intensified battle sequence. So it invested on the storyline, it invested on the acting and creating some nerve wrecking moments. It didn't try to be overly educative or informative. It tried to be entertaining. And guess what, it succeed beyond expectation.

The plot was fairly new, has enough pace and a few twist here and there to keep you engaged. Its nothing you can't predict before hand but it will still entertain you. It took time to develop the main characters which is a very important aspect that was missing from the recent war movies.

As for the acting, Joya Ahsan did a very good job portraying the wife of the missing engineer. You can see how much committed she was to the character and it payed well.Nothing exceptional from the other actors but they all delivered what was needed.

I felt the makers could do a little more with the Cinematography and editing. Some background music were rather odd and the explosions and gun shots should have been a little more realistic. As any other Bangla movie the dialog is too cheesy but the actors made it work. As a contemporary war movie i expected more of tactical urban guerrilla warfare but... well, guess i just have to wait (why don't the makers consult with a guerrilla fight specialist before writing the screenplay??)

Overall Guerrilla is a nice addition to the summer movies of this year. it is also a step made forward for war movies of Bangladesh.Go watch this movie, you wont be disappointed.