NATIONAL8 (Spotlight Weekly]

Cinematic Connection

Nepalis discover how Australian movies mirror some of their own experiences

By KESHAB POUDEL

Constructed in the late 1980s to serve as a nucleus to propagate the Soviet model of communism, the Russian Cultural Center auditorium last week drew crowds that saw the revolutionary thoughts of Lenin and Stalin crumble.

Although almost all of the films screened at the Australian Film Festival were based on that country's culture and society, Nepalese audiences found a local context in the "Children of the Revolution". The slogans of international brotherhood and liberation of the oppressed raised by communist revolutionaries in the film have real-life resonation in Nepal.

"I found ëChildren of the Revolution' very instructive and enlightening," said Gaurab Shrestha, an undergraduate attending the festival. "It shows how our revolutionaries are still trying to sell the outmoded ideas of Lenin and Stalin."

Many Nepalis remember seeing large portraits of Lenin and Stalin hanging on the walls of Soviet centers in Kathmandu. This particular center, too, sold its share of revolutionary ideas and heaped scorn on western values until the Soviet Union was dismantled in 1991. Today it has become a venue for some of the fiercest critics of Soviet communism.

"Children of the Revolution" provides hitherto unknown facets of the life of Josef Stalin. Few knew that Stalin's spent his last conscious night on the planet in the loving and devoted arms of a young Australian.

Nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards, including those for best film, best director and best actress (Judy Davis), "Children of the Revolution" is based on the dreams of a woman, Joan Fraser, who wanted a better and fairer world. She craved nothing but revolution: a worker's revolution.

The film exposes the double standards of the revolutionaries who preached equality while living a life of opulence few of their compatriots could imagine of. This hypocrisy struck an immediate chord with Nepalis familiar with privileged and pampered comrades pleading the cause of the poor.

An Australian film : Scene from down under

Although the film is based on a somber plot, it combines comedy and tragedy by interspersing fact with fiction. It touches upon the early Cold War and moves all the way through to Australia in the 1990s. The movie explains the historical motions from the dawn of the revolutionary era to the collapse of communism.

"Australia, a country with a small population of 21 million, has produced many films. In the first decade of the 20th century, Australia was the largest film producing country in the world," said Diana Summer, scriptwriter of such critically acclaimed films as "Honey Hunter" and "Caravan".

The three-day film festival offered Nepalese film lovers a rare opportunity to savor a rich variety of Australian films, including "The Sum of Us", "The Yolngu Boy", "Looking for Alibrandi", "Hotel Sorrento" and "My Mother Frank".

Almost all of the films received an overwhelming response in the chilly evening of Kathmandu. "Australian films are of high quality and contain stories with depth," said Ananta Pradhan, a medical student. "Although they share similarities with films made in other English-speaking countries, Australian productions have some distinct qualities in terms of portraying specific situations."

"The Sum of Us" also received an enthusiastic reception from the audience. Based on a story of a lonely father and son, the film reflects the agony of desolation. Through the story on homosexuality, the director seeks to convince the audiences that acceptance of alternative lifestyle is simply an act of love.

Winner of the most popular film award in the 1994 Sydney Film Festival and best screenplay prize in the Montreal International Film Festival the same year, "The Sum of Us" tells the story of a father who accepts and encourages his son's lifestyle with an enthusiasm that borders on the meddlesome. The message of the film is that gay people need tolerance and respect. In the film, father and son irritate and support each other with a familial affection that is both rare and true to life.

"The Yolngu Boy" is another interesting film caught in a collision between the brave and New World and the oldest living culture. It tells the story of three teenagers, Botj, Lorrpu, and Milika, who once shared a childhood dream of becoming great hunters together. But things change as the dreams become harder to attain.

The three teenagers developed different tastes, as Botj is walking on the wild side, lost in search for a place. Milika is more interested in sport and girls than any traditional knowledge. Among the three, only Lorrpu seems to care about their early dream.

The film also shows the conflict of black and white cultures. When Botj goes too far and finds himself on the wrong side of the law, Lorrpu must weigh up his own future against saving the future of his friend. The story is based on ancient knowledge and modernity. The challenge for the younger boys is one of adapting ancient knowledge to modern culture. The story is replete with the struggle of three boys to retain their identity and culture.

In "Looking for Alibrandi", Noona, Katia, Christina and Josie are three generations of Italian-Australian women living together in a hot house atmosphere of love, support and drama on an operatic scale. "Hotel Sorrento" tells a similarly interesting story about different generations. The event successfully encapsulated a dimension of international cinema few Nepalis were familiar with.