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| Sumitra Peries: ගැහැණු ළමයි / Gehenu lamai / Girls (LK 1978). Ajith Jinadasa (Nimal) and Vasanthi Chathurani (Kusum). |
ගැහැණු ළමයි / Gahanu lamai / Les Filles.
Sri Lanka (LK) 1978. Prod.: Lester James Peries.
Director: Sumitra Peries. Sog.: dal romanzo Gehenu Lamai (1966) di Karunasena Jayalath. Scen.: Sumitra Peries. F.: M. S. Ananda – b&w. M.: Sumitra Peries. Mus.: Nimal Mendis. Int.: Vasanthi Chathurani (Kusum Liyanage), Ajith Jinadasa (Nimal Satharasinghe), Jenita (Soma Liyanage), Shyama Ananda (Padmini), Trilicia Gunawardena (Kusum and Sona’s mother), Senaka Perera (Kusum and Sona’s father), Chitra Wakishta (Kamalawathie Satharasinghe).
Opening song: Neela Wickramasinghe: "Wioy Gee Gayena Hade".
In Sinhalese.
110 min
Not released in Finland.
DCP with English subtitles by Tizal Amit from Film Heritage Foundation.
Restored in 2024 by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, from the 35 mm combined dupe negative and two 35 mm prints preserved at National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Funding by FISCH: FranceIndia – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage – Saving Film Across Borders.
Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna 2025: Cinemalibero.
Viewed at Cinema Jolly with e-subtitles in Italian, 23 June 2025.
Kusum = a flower that blossoms during the day.
Soma = the Moon which shines at night.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (Bologna 2025): "It was my long-time friendship with legendary Dr Lester James Peries who often drew me to Colombo first, but over time I discovered Sumitra Peries – editor, filmmaker, producer and diplomat."
"Referred to as the Poetess of Sri Lankan Cinema, she went on to make nine films after the success of her debut film Gehenu Lamai, all of which centred on female protagonists. Sumitra Peries often spoke about her wish to restore her films, but restoration seemed far-fetched, when the National Film Corporation was battling for the survival of the film’s elements."
"I knew that if we did not act soon, we could lose the film forever. Recognised as the Outstanding Film of the Year at the 1978 London Film Festival and described as “spare and restrained, with shimmering black-andwhite images,” by critic David Robinson who wrote “the film is a rarity, maybe unique, as a work of a wholly feminine sensibility”, Gehenu Lamai, set in rural Sri Lanka, is a lyrical film that tells the moving tale of two sisters whose dreams and aspirations come to nought in the face of rigid social conventions and insurmountable class barriers."
"The film beautifully captures the confusion and fragility of adolescent love and yearning, further elevated by an outstanding performance by a 16-year-old Wasanthi Chathurani as Kusum in her debut role."
"The restoration was the most challenging of the films that we had taken up so far at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. The film literally had to be constructed from three different elements ranging in condition from average to poor to critical, with badly marred images, problematic sound and embedded subtitles."
"Working on the resurrection of her film was very emotional for me. I was struck by the imagery, the sensuality of the close-ups, the poetry of the cinematic language, the intensity of the performances and the many-layered complexity of the relationships between the characters… it made me marvel at the fact that it was her first film. I only wish that Sumitra Peries was still with us so I could show her the beauty of her film come to life again." Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
In memoriam Sumitra Peries (1935–2023).
AA: Sumitra Peries's Gehenu lamai / The Girls is pure cinema. It is musical cinema in a profound sense: like born out of the spirit of music. The music invites us into a warm embrace. Fabulous music, including the haunting theme song "Wiou Gee" that resembles "Malaika", carries us through a bitter but ultimately life-affirming éducation sentimentale. There is a compelling drive, flow and inner force. Recited poems are an organic part of the whole. Harmony is the keyword.
We enter a pantheistic world. A sense of nature is overwhelming and all-encompassing. Life is like a river, slow but irresistible. Sumitra Peries's regard is assured and focused, her camera alert and curious but also delicate and sensitive. Her mobile camera at times seems handheld. She observes looks and touches. Peries respects duration but knows how to use fast edit. Meditative passages are intertwined with associative montages.
Like ancient poem singers, Peries invites us into a magic spell of a collective dream. She spins a gently sensual web in a way which feels like making love.
Gehenu lamai is not escapist fantasy. It is a tough story of unrequited love in circumstances of insurmountable caste barriers. Kusum is in love with Nimal, a boy of a higher caste, and when his mother finds out, Kusum is banished. Later, when Nimal becomes a teacher, Kusum fails in her studies, rejects Nimal's help, and turns up unemployed.
Education is a major subject. We learn about Gunapala Malalasekera, the author of the first Sinhala-English Dictionary in 1948. Discussion topics range from colonialism, economic slavery, democracy and socialism to the importance of studying, also in educating character, integrity and respectability. The conversations of the young lovers are serious.
Beauty is important. "In imagination nothing is impossible": in her dreams, Kusum sees herself in a wonderful bridal gown. Her sister Soma wins a beauty contest but gets seduced and abandoned and ends up with a fatherless baby which she refuses to give to adoption. Kusum takes good care of the baby.
There is no happy end to this movie, but happiness is inherent in the lifeworld itself, and Peries takes us into its presence, fullness and duration in an enthralling way. A key motif is a mirror attached to a tree, where Kusum goes to meditate and see herself in tears. She is not a fighter but neither is she a loser. Among her superpowers are her wisdom of the heart and the closeness of the girls.
All this Sumitra Peries conveys with tact, grace, beauty and tenderness.
The restoration has brought us a copy of good definition and contrast of a lovely masterpiece.
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