Rat-Trap

Adoor Gopalakrishnan by Derek Malcolm

Adoor Gopalakrishnan, for long regarded as one of India's pre-eminent film-makers, has not always received the attention he has deserved as far as commercial distribution in the West is concerned. This is as much because of the restrictive systems operating in the West as of any difficulties that might be apparent in his work. But it is certainly true that the South Indian cinema, particularly that of Kerala, is not so easily understood in Europe and America as is that emanating from Bengal or, of course, Bollywood.

Yet Adoor's films have been celebrated with retrospectives and tributes in both Europe and America at festivals and in non-commercial outlets. He is recognised by cineastes as a film-maker with a unique style and the force and compassion to go with it. No other Indian film-maker has been so consistently assured and so determined, whatever the circumstances, to hold to his cinematic and moral principles. In today's climate, that is particularly admirable. But it doesn't make for an easy life as an artist when commercial interests are seen to dominate more and more. This is true all over the world, and in India too. Even Kerala is infected by the bug of the facile, and the idea that nothing is any good unless it makes money. Adoor has always stood for different values, and his obstinacy has paid ample dividends with a body of work, not yet completed, which will undoubtedly stand the test of time.

Such film-makers should be cherished rather than ignored and Adoor has certainly been rewarded with the praise and prestige he deserves. I could only wish that there was an even wider audience for his films because they speak to ordinary people just as well as to cineastes. They come from deep inside his own culture but, unlike those films which desperately seek to reach audiences by denying their own sources and becoming ‘international’, they speak eloquently to other cultures as well. This is because they are not closed to outsiders, however subtle they are in examining Kerala's social, political and cultural history. They invariably contain some of the eternal verities of our existence, and they do so with a humanity and skill that is not easily matched. There are a few other directors who work has the same strength and purpose. But all too few, and I honour him both as a man and a director who has never given up and will never give in to those who would have him compromise his principles.

This is an extract from Lalit Mohan Joshi’s extended essay which appears in the booklet that accompanies the DVD release.

Contents
Essay

A short excerpt from the booklet essay

DVD Reviews

DVD Times
DVD Beaver
MovieMail
Sight & Sound
Moviemail Podcast

Film Reviews

(i) Time Out
(ii) New York Times
(iii) Cinema of Malayalam
(iii) Film Reference.com

Connections

(i) Adoor Gopalakrishnan

(ii) Cinema of Malayalam: Adoor on Rat-trap (Elippathayam)

(iii) South Asian Cinema Foundation

(iv) Hollywood Reporter, Interview with Gopalakrishnan at the Asian Film Festival Deauville, France

(v) Gopalakrishnan visits Auroville (a township devoted to an experiment in human unity)

Awards

• 1982 - London Film Festival - Sutherland Trophy
• 1982 - British Film Institute award for ‘the most original and imaginative film’ of the year
• 2004 - Adoor awarded The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest national honour for a lifetime’s contribution to Indian cinema.

Additionally, in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to international cinema, the French government conferred on Adoor the ‘Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters’ title, the second highest honour given to a civilian.




Disc Info

Rat-Trap Boxshot

India 1981
Length / Main Feature: 116 minutes
Length / Special Features: 22 minutes
Sound: Original mono (restored)
Colour
1.33:1 full frame
Language: Malayalam
Subtitles: English
PAL DVD9  R0
RRP: £12.99
Release Date: 23rd June 2008
Second Run DVD 027

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