Matir Moina
8.6 /10 1 Votes
Director Tareque Masud Initial DVD release September 26, 2006 Duration Country Bangladesh | 8.4/10 IMDb Genre Drama, History Sequel Kagojer Phool Language Bengali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Writer Tareque Masud , Catherine Masud Release date 2002 Cast Nurul Islam Bablu (Anu), Russell Farazi (Rokon), Jayanto Chattopadhyay (Kazi), Rokeya Prachy (Ayesha)Similar movies Interstellar , Independence Day , Malcolm X , Eastern Promises , 9 , The Great Gatsby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matir Moina (Bengali: মাটির ময়না; also spelled Matir Moyna and known in English as The Clay Bird) is a Bengali drama film directed by Tareque Masud, a Bangladeshi film director. The film was released in 2002. It was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize in section Directors' Fortnight outside competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and became Bangladesh's first film to compete for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Contents
Matir Moina deals with Masud's own experiences studying at a madrasah against the increasing tensions in East Pakistan culminating in the Bangladesh War of Liberation. Throughout the film there are references to historical occurrences in agitated times, and the film portrays these episodes through the human experiences of the young protagonist, his family, and his teachers and peers at the madrasah. Matir Moina won a number of awards internationally but was initially banned in Bangladesh on the grounds that it dealt with issues sensitive to the religious. The ban was repealed and the DVD version was released on April 16, 2005.[1]
Credits
According to the Masuds, the film was shot almost entirely with non-professionals in local settings often using local sounds. The cinematography attempted to capture the seasons in rustic appeal and the festivals and holidays of Bangladesh.
Cast
Crew
Plot
The film is set against the backdrop of unrest in East Pakistan in the late 1960s leading up to the Bangladesh War of Liberation. In this setting, a small family must come to grips with its culture, its faith, and the brutal political changes entering its small-town world. Anu, a young boy, is sent off to a madrasah by his unbendingly devout father Kazi. Anu's younger sister falls ill and dies because of Kazi's refusal to use conventional medicine. While at the madrasah, Anu befriends Rokon, an eccentric misfit in the rigorous religious school, who is forced by the teachers to undergo an exorcism by ducking in the freezing river to cure himself.
Personal tragedies beset the family and tests its loyalty to the obdurate patriarch Kazi, who still believes in the religious unity of Pakistan, in the face of cruel, contradictory events.
A shattering political development then changes their town, their life, and the inner dynamics of the family, including the patriarch's role.
Awards
Wins
Nominations
Controversy and censorship
Matir Moina became the first full-length feature film from Bangladesh to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival and was the opening film of the Directors' Fortnight section. At about the same time, the Bangladesh Film Censor Board felt the film was too sensitive to be screened in Bangladesh due to some religious overtones. The Masuds took their case to the Appeal Board and were able to get the decision of the government reversed. Thus, the film was finally shown in the country of its creation in late 2002.
Reception
The film currently holds 89% of critics rating at Rotten tomatoes.
DVD
The DVD of Matir Moina was released on 16 April 2005 by Laser Vision. It includes a two-hour documentary that includes shootings, interviews, and opinion from the audience. It is thought to be the first interactive DVD in Bangladesh.
References
Matir Moina WikipediaMatir Moina IMDb Matir Moina themoviedb.org