Film Report

"Earth"

written by R.B.E. Agung Nugroho

Synopsis

The story is set in Lahore, British India, 1947. The central character is a little Parsee girl, Lenny-Baby. Lenny-Baby is from a respected middle class family. She spends most of her time in the care of her ayah (baby-sitter), named Shanta. Shanta –a poor beautiful Hindu girl- is in a small group of friends, which consist of Moslems, Hindus, Parsee and Sikh. Two members of this group are Moslems, Hassan (Masseur) and Dil Navaz (Ice Candy Man). Both of them love Shanta. Nevertheless, this is a story of a love triangle because Shanta prefers to choose Hassan as her lover rather than Dil Navaz.

The story begins when Lenny-Baby breaks the plate and asks her mother whether India can be cracked up like a plate and worries how she and Shanta will get to their group if Lahore also gets cracked up. It symbolizes the real situation in India, which will be separated into two.  When Britain grants independence to India, the leaders of Muslims encourage their people to press for a separated Muslim country, Pakistan. Nevertheless, this film still shows the good relationship in Shanta's group. They usually go to the park, have jokes and play the innocent games between friends of different religious backgrounds. Lenny-Baby becomes witness of the warm togetherness of this group.

When Hassan wins Shanta's affections, since mixed marriages are not tolerated, both agree to escape to Amritsr, the Sikh capital of India. However, the other Moslem suitor, Dil Navaz, arranges to kill Hassan. Lenny-Baby is a wide-eyed witness to such erotic scenes as Shanta making love, and such tender scene as her mother taking off her father's shoes and socks. She also sees the phenomenon of love triangle, how jealous is Ice Candy Man.

The news spreads that Lahore is now going to be part of Pakistan due to partition. Violent communal riots among Hindus, Moslems and Sikhs take place in Lahore. Moslems living in India are trying to go to Pakistan; and Hindus living in Pakistan are trying to go to India. Lenny-Baby witnesses how this event, the partition, affects the lives of Shanta, Hassan and Ice Candy Man.

When Ice Candy Man goes to the train that was carrying his sisters to Lahore from Gurdaspur, he finds that all the passengers are already killed. It is caused by rising tensions between Hindus, Sikhs and Moslems. Those tensions are inflamed with reports of massacres, rapes and rioting mobs wrecking homes, shops, temples and mosques. Millions of people are killed. Here, Lenny-Baby is the witness of the massacres.

In the end of this story, Ice Candy Man kills Hassan because of his jealousy. Then, he plans to kidnap Shanta by deceiving Lenny Baby. He also uses the communal rhetoric by sending Moslems to catch Shanta in Lenny's house. A servant attempts to protect Shanta by claiming that she has left the house. Lenny -disoriented by the menacing mob and trusting Ice Candy Man- admits that Shanta is still in her house. Then, Shanta is dragged off to her death without knowing that Hassan has been killed too. Lenny's innocent mistake will remain in her memory for the rest of her life. The story is closed by the endnote that ten million people become refugees and one million people died as the impact of cracking India.

Commentary

The film, Earth, is based on the novel Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa. It is about the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two countries, India and Pakistan, at the time of independence from the British in 1947. This movie also shows us the historic event, which is seen through the eyes of a little Parsee girl, Lenny-Baby.

This film, directed by Deepa Mehta, is the second part of Deepa Mehta’s trilogy. The first film, Fire, deals with a controversial subject because it shows the development of a lesbian relationship between two lonely housewives married to brothers in a traditional middle class family. The third film, Water, will come soon to public. The second film, Earth, is most wonderful one. Here, the events are mixed more psychologically, emotionally, personally and politically. The story about love triangle, witness of     little girl, innocent world, political issue, rudeness, tragedy and history, can be arranged in the excellent cast together with development of characters, plot, narrative, sets, costumes and cinematography.

Strictly speaking, this film captures historical facts on three levels. The first is national level, which is heard only by voices on the radio and what people said about massacres. The second level is regional level, which can be seen in the situation of lawlessness, riots between different religious backgrounds, even the police themselves being among the perpetrators. The third is personal level, which shows the internal conflict between Lenny-Baby, Shanta, Hassan, Ice Candy Man, and among them in their relationship, even in their group.

Therefore, this film is very different and more qualified than the common Bollywood film. When nationalism prevails in the popular culture, this film is a breath of fresh air, a salutary warning of the consequences of chauvinism and religious fundamentalism, and a testimony from an innocent world of a little girl. Earth is recommended to those who want to see a different type of Bollywood film, which only shows the story of a boy meets girl, singing, dancing or common dramas.

Dialogue with the Gospel (John 17:1-26)

“Father, with Me in them and You in Me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realize that it is was You who sent Me
and that I have loved them as much as You loved Me”
(John 17: 23 – The priestly prayer of Jesus Christ)

Nowadays, Earth pictures the real situation in our country. Our friendship with other religions is disturbed by many conflicts based on racial movements and religious fundamentalism. This phenomenon challenges us to do the right and useful action for our beloved country. So, what kind of actions can we do for this purpose?

As Jesus’ prayer for us, He wants us to be completely one. It means that we are invited to build good relationships with all people around us. Jesus has said that the world hated Him, so it would hate us too. Nevertheless, our Christian vocation asks us to be Christian not of the world, but we are in the world. So, Jesus’ invitation has a consequence that we have to embrace our spirit of martyrdom as Jesus did in His life.

It is true that the problem in our country is on the national level, but we can learn from the Earth to begin with the regional and personal levels in our daily life. We know that the consequences are difficult enough. But, we have to consider that our belief is a choice for our life, and the choice is linked to possibility. So, there are three aspects of martyrdom, such as: choice, possibility and consequence.

In our country, which pictures the difficult situation, each person has a million choices to face this reality. But for the sake of His glorious name, Saint Ignatius gives us the particular charisma in our way to be the real Christian, which is discernment. This way of our proceeding is used to go to the battle of a million choices of the world. So, the first martyrdom is to live in a habit of discernment.

Usually, people link possibility with chance. As we live in a conflicted country, a kind of dynamic world, we –without doubt- have many chances to do whatever we like. But, chance is also offered to us. Here, after we pass the first exam –discernment-, we already get a chance to do our choice. Then in the process of struggling of our choice, we should have a fighting spirit. Jesus is our pattern to live totally with the fighting spirit till the end. To make the best of our chance, we have to enforce our fighting spirit and fulfill the possibility offered to us. So, the second martyrdom is to live in a fighting spirit to challenge the difficulties in our life for the greater glory of God.

After we make a decision by discernment and try to get the best for the greater glory of God by enforcing our fighting spirit, we have to consider that whatever we do there are consequences inside. Inherently, we have to face the following reality, the consequence. It always happens in our life and it will be continued like that. For this consequence, we should develop our responsibility. If the consequence comes across to us, we just respond to it by receiving whatever will be and trying to open widely our heart to the graces God offers to us. So, the third martyrdom is to live in responsibility to ourselves, to the others, to our environment and especially to God Himself.

Therefore, by trying to build our new-age-martyrdom, we can fulfill the invitation of Jesus’ prayer for us. It is our effort to build our beloved country to be the great country where God is always present and accompanies us.

Prayer*

Lord, as Father Arrupe said, we consider that nothing is more practical than finding You, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. We consider that what we are in love with, what seizes our imagination, will affect everything. In Your hand, O Lord, we will decide what will get us out of bed in the morning, what we will do in our evenings, how we will spend the rest of our life, what we will read, who we will know, what will break our heart, and what will amaze us with joy and gratitude. Lord, make us fall in love with You, stay in Your love, and it will decide everything in our life and fulfill Your invitation for us. Amen.

Note:

*) This prayer is adapted from “Father Arrupe, A General For Change” by Fr. Ignacio Cacho, S.J. in the book of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Reflection And Remembrances Ten Year After His Death, 2002, Manila: The Philippine Province of The Society of Jesus.