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Tuesday, 06 July 2004 |
 
"The world fears violence and bloodshed.
That fear will generate respect for us."
Malli is a pretty Indian girl who, at nineteen, should be going to school or getting married. Instead she's a killer. For most of her life she's been a revolutionary, dedicated to her cause and determined to destroy her enemies. Then she's given the opportunity to make the ultimate sacrifice: plans have been made to assassinate an opposing V.I.P. by using a human bomb.
Malli volunteers for the "honor" and is accepted. She will be following her late brother into martrydom. She will have done her part. But the assassination is to take place in a town far away and the journey there gives her ample time to reflect on her actions and beliefs. Is there more to life than the cause?
As the fateful day approaches, Malli encounters a succession of characters who instill in her a newfound appreciation for life: the lonely young boy who guides her through a mined forest, the optimistic pundit she boards with, an old woman waiting in vain for the return of her only son. All are victims of the revolution and have responded in different ways. Malli is familiar with death, but not so much with the collateral suffering inflicted on those left behind. Though her own memories consist of fragments of violence - her most tender recollection being of the time she comforted a dying comrade - she never realized the extent of the damage she has done. She never realized there were different ways to live.
When an unexpected complication arises, Malli must make a decision: complete the mission or betray her comrades. While failure would bring shame, refusal would bring charges of treason. And Malli knows how traitors are dealt with.
The Terrorist is a sobering study in contrast. The lush terrain Malli travels through seems desecrated by the incessant violence: the booby-trapped forest becomes an unholy perversion of the Garden of Eden. An early conversation between Malli and a friend revolves not around boys or clothes, but of killing and bloodlust. A strand of hair becomes a tripwire, a pane of glass a prison wall. Malli travels under the ironic guise of an agriculture student: she is a sower of death, not of life.
In one chilling sequence, a shot of a jumbo jet gliding gracefully across the sky is intercut with scenes of Malli rehearsing her final act. This is perhaps intended to show that Malli is thinking of fleeing, but it's a prescient and ominous vision after the events of September 11th.
Ayesha Dharkar, last seen in Attack of the Clones, is Malli. At first impassive and resolute, then pensive and hopeful. It's a memorable performance.
Though it has the earmarks of a novice work, The Terrorist is stylishly directed and crisply photographed by Santosh Sivan. It brings to mind the equally beautiful and similarly-themed Before the Rain, the debut film from Milcho Manchevski. Both movies put a face on the interminable strife so prevalent in Asia and the Middle East. Sivan based his story on the assassination of Rajiv Ghandi but wisely chose not to include any specifics: we never learn what cause Malli is fighting for. Instead we witness fanatical killings with no explained motive. That lends the film a broader impact, for most of these long-standing agendas no longer have any real validity. They have devolved into a series of retalitory murders and xenophobic rhetoric with no easy way out. If only we found trust and cooperation as easy as killing.
"Violence brings one thing
More, more of the same
Military madness
The smell of flesh and burning pain
So I sing out to the masses
Stand up if you're still sane!
To all of us gone crazy
I sing this one refrain
We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace"
"Bomb the World" - Michael Franti
Starring: Ayesha Dharker, K. Krishna, Sonu Sisupal, Vishwas, Anuradha, Bhavani.
Director: Santosh Sivan
Studio: Phaedra Cinema
Rated: UR
Running Time: 95 mins
Release: 1999
Reviewer: Steve Gonzales
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