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The
girls in 'Magdalene Laundries': Prisons of Faith The director
has been inspired by the BBC documentary "Sex in a Cold Climate".
The characters depict four women rejected by their families and
abandoned to the mercy of the Catholic Church in Ireland who were
stripped of their liberty and dignity and condemned to indefinite
sentences of servitude in The Magdalene Laundries, in order to atone
for their "sins." The Magdalene
Asylums in Ireland were run by the Sisters of Mercy on behalf of
the Catholic Church. Young girls were sent there by families or
orphanages and once there, were imprisoned and sent to work in the
laundries where they could atone for their sins. The Last of
these asylums were closed in 1996 and it is said that 30, 000 women
were detained in these asylums in Ireland. The three characters
whose misfortunes the movie follows intensely with graphical explanation
of the torment, torture and suffering are Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff),
piquant Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone) and gentle Rose (Dorothy Duffy).
The three girls meet the film's great character and villainess,
Sister Bridget, a sweetly smiling martinet played with deadly insight
and total command by classical actress Geraldine McEwan as she becomes
the perfect embodiment of an evil system, the Magdalene Asylums
in full flower. A believer in the fall from grace and the essential
evil of men and women, Sister Bridget has an absolute chilly certainty
about her right to exploit these "fallen souls." The stories
behind their admission to the Laundries are of Margaret (Anne-Marie
Duff) curiously follows her cousin Kevin (Sean McDonough) into a
small room, where he forcefully holds her down and rapes her. Back
in the wedding Margaret confesses to her friend and the news sweeps
through the wedding, while Kevin is chastised, Margaret's father
explains to the priest what has happened. She has shamed her family
and is carted off in the early hours of the morning by the priest
to the Magdalene Asylum While Provocative
Bernadette, an orphan, is observed flirting with some rowdy boys
in the orphanage courtyard and immediately targeted for the Magdalenes.
And Rose, who is later forced to change her name because another
Rose preceded her to the asylum, allows the hard-nosed local priest
to argue her out of keeping her illegitimate baby, despite her enormous
attachment. Afterwards, she is quickly sent away to the lockup by
her disturbingly emotionless and evasive parents. There are a
number of other remarkable character performances in the film, most
obviously Eileen Walsh as the gawky, simple-minded Crispina, another
unwed mother, who believes she can communicate with her child through
a St. Christopher's medal and becomes maddened with grief when it's
stolen. Britta Smith, as the elderly Katy, a lifelong resident of
the asylum, has several great scenes as well. We first see her as
an unpleasant stoolie, and later, with stabbing poignancy, as a
dying old woman at the end of an empty life that has left her nothing. This film is
from the point of view of four of these young women in the 1960s,
an era mistakenly seen by some as a time of unchallenged female
liberation. These young Catholic women find themselves in an almost
medieval nightmare whilst the outside world tacitly supporting a
theocratic state. In their own ways the girls refuse to be beaten
but what victory is there if they remain imprisoned as little more
than slaves. The decision to escape is heroic in its own virtue as Mullan portrays how deluded people can make a real-life hell behind a false facade of heaven in the lives of girls in Magdalene Laundries. 'Ira
Mediyama'in Canada It is produced
by Soma Edirisinghe for EAP Films Limited. The movie revolves
around three different stories from different parts of war-ravaged
Sri Lanka. Three different groups of people face experiences beyond
their control in a country that has been traumatised by nearly 20
years of civil war. Duminda is
a soldier on leave whose visit to a brothel leads to a surprising
discovery. Chamari is a loyal wife determined to find her soldier
husband who is missing in action at the northern front. Arafat is
the 11-year-old son of a Muslim trader whose family is being expelled
from his village by rebel forces. These three struggle to hold on to their hopes and dreams as their daily lives are battered by the torrents of war. Hulk
in Colombo 'Ang Lee' has
directed such diverse and critically acclaimed movies as Emma Thompson's
'Sense and Sensibility' adapted from a Jane Austin novel, nominated
for seven academy awards and cited as critics Ten Best lists, Crouching
Tiger Hidden Dragon ,which premiered at Cannes Film Festival and
won Best picture at Toronto Film Festival. Now his eclectic career
has taken him into the Marvel Comics bringing one of their most
popular characters for four decades as Hulk . Hopefully there
will be a sequel where we get to see the Hulk as a heroic presence.
It is something that is glaringly missing from this movie. In Lee's
defence we must remember that the Hulk is a comic character. In
Lee's view the Hulk story is a Greek tragedy and in many ways that's
a problem with this movie. It could have
benefited from a lighter touch and more humour. The director's artistic
flair is however, apparent in every frame. He often presents many
of the scenes in multi screen style and fluidity that moves from
panel to panel. The film needs
to move at a faster pace getting to balance transformation before
the audience actually forget it's a movie about the Hulk. It's disappointing
to see the Hulk basically look like a giant cartoon. Barna does
a competent job as Brice Banner capturing the character's repressive
nature. Academy award
winner Jeniffer Connelly as Banar's ex-girl friend and fellow scientist
expresses just fear and sadness and is not asked to express much
else. Nick Nolte as Banner's oddly deranged scientist father gives
a creepy performance as he plays a brilliant father who passes on
a tragic legacy to his son. For those who aren't aware of this popular
tale, following an accident in his lab, scientist Bruce Banner (Eric
Bana) is exposed to a deadly amount gamma radiation. He begins to
experience a terrible sensation inside, and discovers that when
he becomes angry or threatened, he turns into a 15-foot, destructive,
green monster. This is a film
for those who always yearn to have someone around to lookout for
you. Just imagine what
if that someone…was you. Fantastic isn't it.This is what Bruce
Banner says I don't know who I am. I don't know what I'm becoming.
But I know one thing for sure-you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
What if you can say the same to your friends? |
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