Maybe films which are
dealing with the genesis or the formation of the world and with the
origin of mankind have always to do with the history of cinema.
Rang Mahal begins
with a mountain landscape. We see the matter as old as the birth of
our planet. An over voice narrator recites the genesis of the world
how it is passed on by the tribe Santal from their mythology. The
Santal belong to the natives of the Indian sub continent. It is about
the creation of all matter, the beginning of life and finally the
origin of men. The film reveals at the beginning natural landscape
which is later modified by human civilization. Sometimes, we
recognize in the midst of this wild and breathtaking beautiful
landscape small paths made by men. Sometimes a few paintings are
showed.
As the images show what
is, the matter, the text based on a myth which is always an
interpretation of the world. It is fascinating how text and images
have its own life independent from each other but they finally appear
as two possibilities to understand the world. In it´s balance of
text and image, Rang Mahal is a close relative of these
seemingly very different films like Marguerite Duras´Les Mains
Negatives (The negative hands) or Terrence Malick´s Voyage of
Time – A Life´s Journey. All these films move between two
different poles of cinema, the first one is the ability of cinema to
reveal the material world, the second pole is to evoke something or
which stimulates our imagination.
As the film proceeds more
and more signs of civilization appear, a man working with the soil or
a cyclist. The natural landscape turns partly into a landscape
cultivated by men. A roof of these houses is based on the structure
of a fish skeleton. Power poles are visible in this seemingly almost
untouched landscape. In some moments this film has something of a
lost dream. The relationship between mankind and nature seems still
intact. A world is conceivable where mankind lives in accordance
with nature instead of exploiting it.
First of all, this is a
very rigorous film about the diversity of cinema between reproducing
images of the world and the storytelling, between realism and poetry.
The idea of cinema actually began ages ago before our common era when
humans began to form what we call civilization and communities. The
old cave paintings are probably the origin of cinema.
In all it´s wisdom, in
all it´s artistic decisions, Rang Mahal still gives space for
this primary, and yes - for my sake - even naive joy in seeing images
and to be absorbed by stories. And images are what this film offers
quite a lot: Children, animals the incredible landscapes, the
beautiful paintings of houses and rooms. In more than one aspect it
is a film which reminds us why we love cinematic images.
Than, sentences from this
over-voice recitation like, “After all, we all are part of the
creator´s dream”, or, “We all are part of cosmic history”.
Rang Mahal is not
only an invitation to see very exquisite images from an endangered
culture, it is as well a crystal clear film about the Seeing itself.
Even though Prantik Basu
cultivates a kind of formal strictness, it is a film you can watch
and breathe freely. That it is free of any dogmatism is evident in
this implicitness the film presents a peaceful co-existence of the
things which are what they are and the things which are evoked
through imagination.
The glory of cinema – it
can also be found in this short and beautiful gem Rang Mahal
by Prantik Basu.
Rüdiger Tomczak
(The film is part of the
program Berlinale-shorts V (The show must go on)
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