Me mage sandai

This is a groundbreaking Asian film. First, it is truly "alternative". It rejects, to a significant extent, traditional Western styles of filmmaking and tries to create a distinct "Asian" or "Sri Lankan" style. There is no tracking or fading in or out of scenes, simply cuts. Apparently, the director tried to shoot this film in a style similar to the Buddhist murals that one sees in Sri Lanka and other countries in South and Southeast Asia. It works well, but is bound to alienate viewers - particularly Westerners but also Asians - who cannot appreciate a film outside the parameters of Western filmmaking techniques.

Second, the film has a strong Asian character. It is a highly effective exposition of the extent to which the war in Sri Lanka has degraded rural village life, to the point where every act and thought is circumscribed by the war. There is also an interesting examination of the relationship between gender and ethnicity and a devastating critique of corruption in organized Buddhism.

This is a brilliant film, and has won an award at least one film festival (not surprisingly, at an Asian festival-the Bangkok International Film Festival), but it may be ahead of its time. I suspect that its value may only be appreciated 10-20 years down the road, when a threshold of distinct Asian filmmaking has been reached.