THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Brush up those lasting impressions of classics etched by the auteurs of world cinema at the Banner Film Festival at Lenin Balavadi here this Sunday. Under the theme ‘Great Masters’ comes a clutch of renowned works from De Sica, Pasolini, Kurosawa and Bunuel.
Termed a neorealist magnum opus from Vittorio De Sica, Umberto D can draw parallels to contemporary life which has a retired senior citizen in the lead, fighting for a hike in the paltry pension that he gets from the government. He owns no home, has one pet dog for his accompaniment and even lives in a rented home that proves tough for him. When his persistent efforts yield little, he chooses to take the extreme step.
‘The Gospel According to St. Matthew’ falls in the genre of biographical drama film. In a span of a 2 hour 17 minutes, it unfolds the life of Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. The dialogues are mostly from the text of Matthew in the new testament. Jesus is shown by director Pier Paolo Pasolini as a Marxist avant-la-lettre. Jesus from Nazareth travels around Palestine during the Roman empire, preaching with his disciples. The Romans arrest and crucify him and he resurrects from death on the third day.
A lone middle aged man from a bureaucratic position is determined to make his life worthwhile after being identified with stomach cancer. He leaves the government job which he served for three decades. Akira Kursosawa presents a tale of existential struggle, drawing inspiration from the 1886 Tolstoy novella ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ in ‘Ikiru’. The protagonist Watanabe, tries to enjoy some happy days, but fails to get what he wants. Next day, meeting his young subordinate Toyo, a vivacious and energetic woman with a joyous love for live proves a game changer for him. Learning her secret on how have such a joyous life, certain dramatic changes occur in Watanabe which amuses his former co-workers.
‘Viridiana’ was filmed by Luis Bunuel in Spain after a quarter-of-a-century long exile. The movie invited the wrath of the government for blasphemy and obscenity. The lead, young Viridiana decides to make one last visit to her uncle, the sole living relative, Don Jaime’s place before taking her vows. He who sees a resemblance in her to his dead wife pops the question but drops the plan when she denies the request. Jaime then plans to outrage her modesty after rendering Viridiana unconscious but backtracks. Later the uncle hangs himself. The show begins at 9.30 am.