Cinema
Line of Destiny
රේඛාව
Lester James Peries · 1956
Synopsis
Miguel, a stilt-walker, musician and palm reader, arrives in the village of Siriyala with a trained monkey. The young Sena defends him against two thieves, and Miguel, reading his palm, predicts that he will become a famous healer. One day when they are flying a kite, Anula, Sena's friend, suddenly loses her sight; the village doctor can do nothing, and Sena touches her eyes. His father, a moneylender, quickly sees the profit to be made from his son's gift.
Context
The film was shot outside the studios, on location, at Bandarawela and then at Wewala; Willie Blake, who shot the images, made his debut on it, and K. A. W. Perera wrote the dialogue in the language people actually speak, to music by Sunil Santha. Released in Colombo in the last days of December 1956, it failed in cinemas. In London, Peries made a subtitled 89-minute version of it for abroad.
Who it is for
A film in Sinhala of about an hour and a half, to be seen in a subtitled version; a village tale that is easy to follow.
Prizes and reception
The first Sinhalese film in competition at Cannes, in 1957; regarded as the birth certificate of a properly Sri Lankan cinema.
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