Elippathayam

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Movie
Original title Elippathayam ( എലിപ്പത്തായം )
Country of production India
original language Malayalam
Publishing year 1981
length 116 minutes
Rod
Director Adoor Gopalakrishnan
script Adoor Gopalakrishnan
production Ravi
music MB Srinivasan
camera M. Ravi Varma
cut M. Mani
occupation

Elippathayam ( Malayalam : എലിപ്പത്തായം ) is a 1981 Indian feature film directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan .

action

The film takes place in the dilapidated property of a South Indian aristocratic family of the Nair caste in Kerala . Unni, the male heir and householder, is middle-aged, unmarried and lives there with his younger sisters Rajamma and Sridevi. He lets Rajamma take care of him. The idle life of the traditional patriarchal style made him dependent on her. He is unable to take care of himself like a little boy. His daily occupations mostly consist of sleeping, reading the newspaper and personal hygiene. Sridevi is still going to school and is about to graduate.

Scared from sleep by a rat, Unni screams wildly - Rajamma and Sridevi have to catch the animal for the frightened man. The next morning Sridevi drowned it with the rat trap in a nearby pond. Unnis' visit to a wedding fails because he does not cross the street, which is completely flooded after a downpour, because he does not want to walk through the water. Rajamma has to chase away a cow that got lost on the property for him.

When an uncle comes to visit and Unni makes another marriage proposal for Rajamma, the latter refuses selfishly because the husband is already a widower. Rajamma, who overheard the conversation between the two men, is depressed, but goes about her housework in silence.

In the outside world, Unni cannot assert himself against the villagers. When he catches a boy stealing on a Kashu tree in his plantation, his mother deliberately disturbs him with her sexual stimuli. Unni shamefully withdraws instead of punishing the boy. In his house, however, it is not difficult for him to alienate visitors. He sends his nephew, Janamma's son, away when he asks about his mother's share of the inheritance. Matthew, the son of the property manager, who, after years of work abroad, pays his respects to the sisters, is also scared away with insulting words about his physical labor.

Unni discovers love letters from Sridevi that make him sweat. Overnight another rat tore Unnis shirt. The animal is caught and drowned in the pond by Sridevi. The next day the eldest sister Janamma comes to visit with her son and stays in order to secure her share of the yield from the plantations. Shortly afterwards, Rajamma falls ill and Unni has to be content with what the others are willing to do for him. He cannot cope with the changes. He spits out the food Janamma has prepared in disgust. At her insistence on her share, Unni remains silent, so she leaves the house again.

Sridevi disappeared one morning. Unni is deeply hit. From that moment on, he withdraws to his house, allowing Rajamma to deny himself to visitors. Rajamma is back in bed with a stomach ache, but Unni doesn't take care of her. Villagers come to her aid and carry her away. Unni sits motionless in the courtyard of his house and looks into the rain.

Afterwards he crawls apathetically in the house for days. Only the snap of the rat trap makes him startle. He does not respond to calls from the court messenger who wants to serve Janamma's complaint. The physically derelict Unni also ignores the knocking of villagers. At night they break open the door, drag the exhausted Unni out of the house and, like the rats before, throw him into the cold pond, from which he emerges with a pleading gesture.

background

Elippathayam was Adoor Gopalakrishnan's third film and his first in color. It has been shown at numerous international film festivals, including the 1982 Cannes Film Festival

Awards

publication

The film was released on DVD on Second Run in 2008.

literature

  • Gautaman Bhaskaran: Adoor Gopalakrishnan: A Life in Cinema , 2010, p. 120 ff., Chapter Rat-Trap ( online )
  • Elippathayam . In: Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Paul Willemen: Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema , 1999, p. 450

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Festival de Cannes: Elippathayam
  2. ↑ Elippathayam on Second Run DVD