Elippathayam (
The Rat Trap)
(1981) is an
Indian feature film
written and directed by
Adoor
Gopalakrishnan. It is critically considered by many to be one
of the most outstanding piece in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's
filmography.
This film
documents the feudal life in Kerala
at its
twilight. The protagonist is trapped within himself and is
unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him. The film
won the
British Film
Institute award for Most Original and Imaginative film shown at
the National Film Theatre in 1982. The film was shown at a number
of film festivals around the world, including the
1982 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
The film revolves around a middle-aged man Unni and his two
sisters; and their struggle to let go of Kerala's feudal system of
life. His elder sister fights for her share of the property, whilst
his obedient younger sister works for Unni like a slave.
Eventually, succumbing to the adverse conditions surrounding him,
he withdraws like a rat into a hole. The Rat Trap acts as a
metaphor to understand how the women are placed within the feudal
system of Kerala. Gopalakrishnan says in his interview that the
movie was inspired by the feudal characteristics of his own family.
Silence is a huge trope in the move, with large swathes of silence
in dialogue, the way the camera lingers on the characters, follows
them through the scene, almost unbearably patient. The sister
Rajamma is destroyed by the silence of her brother, who does not
support her when she wants to get married, keeps silent when she is
ailing and dying. The patriarchal figure of the "little master" is
completely incapable of facing any threat to his position, he
cannot take care of himself without the women, cannot face the
taunts and the threats of his extended family and the villagers. He
needs to be propped up his sisters who cook for him, clean for him,
while he oils himself when he is even incapable of negotiating the
outer world which is changing the form of patriarchy- from feudal
to nationalist. The Rat Trap is a metaphor to show how the women
are trapped within the system- how they are locked into place. The
women are represented by Rajamma who wears blue to show her
gentleness- she is even incapable of imagining how to chart her
life outside patriarchy but the revolt against it shows in her
silence, in her suffering. Gopalakrishnan says he gave her blue to
wear to show her gentlesness. The eldest sister wears green to show
fruition- she has survived in patriarchy by marriage and bearing
children but not quite- she still worries about wealth and how to
feed her family, who uses her as a tool to get more money from her
brother. The Most interesting character is Rajamma (who wears blue)
to show how she suffers silently against the silence meted out to
her by patriarchy when she asks for justice. She screams in the
movie- "when will I get out of this hell-hole."This shows how
patriarchy is slowly destroying the women, they revolt through
their suffering. The film is beautiful because Rajamma doesn't
revolt like the younger sister but utters her attenuated critiques
through her silence- shows what a hypocritical, cowardly, weak and
despicable her elder brother is. The younger sister, Sridevi wears
red, which Gopalakrishnan says is to symbolize revolt. She runs
away from the family, presumably with a lover. The feudal
characteristics of the patriarchy is shown through the way Unni
treats his servants, the various people who visit him and most
importantly how he treats Rajamma, his sister who takes care of him
with utter selflessness. A beautiful movie and a must watch because
of the absolutely unsettling experience it is to understand the
violence of patriarchy. The music is throbbing, incomplete
throughout the movie to show the sense of sustained urgency, that
the crippling patriarchal structure results in (symbolized by the
crippling mansion which is infested with rats). The rats are caught
by Sridevi and drowned just like the women who are destroyed within
the trap of the feudal system.
Awards
The film has won the following awards since its release:
1982 British Film Institute (UK
)
- Won - Most Original and Imaginative film shown at the National
Film Theatre - Elippathayam - Adoor
Gopalakrishnan
1982 London Film Festival (UK)
1982 National Film Awards (India
)
References
External links
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