Cinema
Rat-Trap
എലിപ്പത്തായം
Adoor Gopalakrishnan · 1982
Synopsis
Unni, a middle-aged man and the last male head of a declining family of Nair landowners, lives in the old family house in Kerala, where the clocks have stopped. He sleeps, is waited on, and refuses any change. His elder sister Janamma demands her share of the property, the middle sister Rajamma serves him to the point of exhaustion, and the youngest, Sridevi, a student, sets a trap for the rats in the house and drowns them in the pond.
Context
The third feature film by its author, who wrote it drawing on the feudal traits of his own family, the film was produced by K. Ravindran Nair; the cinematography is by Mankada Ravi Varma and the sound, very carefully worked, by P. Devadas. Dialogue is sparse. Completed in 1981, it was shown at Cannes in May 1982, in the Un certain regard section, and launched the director's international career.
Who it is for
Two hours in Malayalam, almost without dialogue, with no French release; nothing in it is explained.
Prizes and reception
Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival in 1982; National Award for best film in Malayalam and for best sound; award for best film of the State of Kerala.
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