This one is definitely worth the effort of finding and watching. Although somewhat slow paced, this film is remarkable in it's simplicity and understated approach. It's essentially a 3 character drama, full of melancholy, laughter, symbolism, and nuggets of truth. briefly, it deals with the story of mankind, as it might have been in the beginning (although the period shown is not really defined, there are some references to contemporary times). Friendship, loyalty, pride, lust, envy, freedom and ownership are just some of the themes explored here. This is the kind of film that tends to stay with you long after it ends. If it is hard to find, don't worry.....it's really worth it.
4 Reviews
Beginnings, middles and ends
ana30320 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I chanced upon this film, quite by chance, tucked away unsuspectingly in the midst of my school library, and immediately assumed that the title was an English translation of a Hindi title. But, no. That is what the film is called and it gives an interesting reading of the origin of the civilized world, which is also its middle and its end. Two Adams, one Eve, a messenger from the outside world and an occasional serpent form the characters of the retelling of this story of primal and socialized instincts, and of what people might do if they could start over.
It began rather depressingly, as Hindi "Art movies" of the period tend to, but before I could balk completely and give up, I found myself in the grip of the story. I must admit that I kept guessing the outcome of the story, and that my imagination was thwarted by the superior imagination of Mrinal Sen. I kept expecting the moral of the story to be the fact that the three companions would turn their little utopia into the exact replica of the world that they had left behind, but the story takes an interesting turn.
The figure of Eve (or "the woman", since the characters are generic types not individuals) plays an interesting redemptive role, for she is both Eve and Cassandra.
The trader, the only "go between" in this film that connects the paradise of the ruined village to the outside world, also cannot be judged simply. He has an uncanny sense of what this utopia is about, how the equations between the two Adams may be disturbed, and what preserves or can destroy the delicate balance of this sanctuary. Though he ends up being the angel of death, I thought that the portrayal of this character was very interesting.
The serpent shows up twice. Once when the woman first appears, and the second time when the trader begins to change his mind about the lucrative value of the ruined village. It is also worth noting that only the trader and the woman have the ability to theorize or narrativize what is happening. These two people with the gift of narrative, and a larger vision about the possibilities of the end of utopia, ironically enable the doom.
On the whole, definitely worth watching.
It began rather depressingly, as Hindi "Art movies" of the period tend to, but before I could balk completely and give up, I found myself in the grip of the story. I must admit that I kept guessing the outcome of the story, and that my imagination was thwarted by the superior imagination of Mrinal Sen. I kept expecting the moral of the story to be the fact that the three companions would turn their little utopia into the exact replica of the world that they had left behind, but the story takes an interesting turn.
The figure of Eve (or "the woman", since the characters are generic types not individuals) plays an interesting redemptive role, for she is both Eve and Cassandra.
The trader, the only "go between" in this film that connects the paradise of the ruined village to the outside world, also cannot be judged simply. He has an uncanny sense of what this utopia is about, how the equations between the two Adams may be disturbed, and what preserves or can destroy the delicate balance of this sanctuary. Though he ends up being the angel of death, I thought that the portrayal of this character was very interesting.
The serpent shows up twice. Once when the woman first appears, and the second time when the trader begins to change his mind about the lucrative value of the ruined village. It is also worth noting that only the trader and the woman have the ability to theorize or narrativize what is happening. These two people with the gift of narrative, and a larger vision about the possibilities of the end of utopia, ironically enable the doom.
On the whole, definitely worth watching.
Complex, Wonderful. *CONTAINS SPOILERS*
kamerad20 August 2002
Warning: Spoilers
I had been looking forward to seeing a film by Mrinal Sen for some time. As one of the "big three" film makers of the Indian art-cinema world (Ray and Ghatak being the others of course), Sen was the only director whose films I had not seen. "Genesis", while not one of Sen's better known works, is nonetheless an extremely powerful film. The film concerns two men, a weaver and a farmer, who live an isolated existence in an abandoned village in the middle of the dessert. Their peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious woman, who at first brings them joy and companionship. Soon however the two friends fight over her affections and become enemies.
However, if a description of the plot makes the film sound like yet another sexist movie about a "femme fatale" ruining two good men, don't be fooled. The woman in this tale clearly tries to stop the two men from fighting, but it is their own ingrained macho instincts that keep them from truly benefiting from this woman's presence. The addition of a third male character, a merchant, helps reinforce this view. The merchant clearly resents the presence of the woman as she sees her as a threat to his control over the two men. He feels that they will no longer be dependent on him if she is around so he turns them against each other. In the end he takes over their land and industrializes it.
The final scene is particularly striking because it is the only time we explicitly see modern machinery. Up until then we seemed to be in some strange "lost" time. We had some clues to modernization (the occasional sound of airplanes, one shot of some telephone wires), but because they were both associated with they sky, they passed over the heads of the characters but never made contact with them. They were like a warning of things to come. With the final shot of a bulldozer pushing its way towards us, we are able to see that if only the men had listened to the woman, and not followed their baser instincts, they might not have lost their land. It is ironic that while modernization is usually associated with progress, it is because these men do not reevaluate what is important in their lives that they lose their way of life.
However, if a description of the plot makes the film sound like yet another sexist movie about a "femme fatale" ruining two good men, don't be fooled. The woman in this tale clearly tries to stop the two men from fighting, but it is their own ingrained macho instincts that keep them from truly benefiting from this woman's presence. The addition of a third male character, a merchant, helps reinforce this view. The merchant clearly resents the presence of the woman as she sees her as a threat to his control over the two men. He feels that they will no longer be dependent on him if she is around so he turns them against each other. In the end he takes over their land and industrializes it.
The final scene is particularly striking because it is the only time we explicitly see modern machinery. Up until then we seemed to be in some strange "lost" time. We had some clues to modernization (the occasional sound of airplanes, one shot of some telephone wires), but because they were both associated with they sky, they passed over the heads of the characters but never made contact with them. They were like a warning of things to come. With the final shot of a bulldozer pushing its way towards us, we are able to see that if only the men had listened to the woman, and not followed their baser instincts, they might not have lost their land. It is ironic that while modernization is usually associated with progress, it is because these men do not reevaluate what is important in their lives that they lose their way of life.
Marxist creation myth..
nikhil717927 February 2007
Mrinal Sen's minimalist masterpiece Genesis is a cinematic oddity - like the principal characters in the story - the weaver and the farmer - the film itself seems to exist outside of time and space.
Hardly anyone has heard of it, let alone managed to see it. Even Sen-iphiles continue to be blissfully unaware.
This is surprising considering the kind of talent of which the film boasts. The minuscule cast consists of the cream of the crop - Naseerudin Shah, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi - among the finest Indian actors of their generation.
The picture can be read as a religious and political allegory, but most of all it symbolizes itself - an obscure gem lost underneath the rubble of "progress".
Hardly anyone has heard of it, let alone managed to see it. Even Sen-iphiles continue to be blissfully unaware.
This is surprising considering the kind of talent of which the film boasts. The minuscule cast consists of the cream of the crop - Naseerudin Shah, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi - among the finest Indian actors of their generation.
The picture can be read as a religious and political allegory, but most of all it symbolizes itself - an obscure gem lost underneath the rubble of "progress".
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