The premise of the movie is quite good. It unfolds like a greek tragedy, wherein you know what's coming and still you hitch a ride in the protagonist's car (or elephant in this case!). As with many of Shakespeare's characters, his own flaw i.e, his excessive pride leads to his ultimate destruction.
This is the story of an aging and lonely zamindar who tries to live the final days of his life with as much splendor as possible. He has seen a lot of ups and downs in his life (in fact more than most people). Being blue-blooded, it seems that all he's ever been trained for is ruling people and having expensive tastes. Thus, once the zamindari system gets abolished, he has nothing to turn to. By today's standards, he's quite a difficult man to live with. He's prejudiced towards the capitalist neighbor who has made his own fortune through his own hard work. He doesn't really pay any attention to his wife's advice that he should oversee his lands better and not squander his remaining wealth throwing lavish parties. He has so much pride that just in order to upstage his neighbor, he organizes a lavish celebration impromptu, and enjoys the neighbor's discomfort. Unfortunately, the fates decide that he has run out of luck and he ends up paying a very heavy price for his pride. While crossing the river to attend the celebration, the boat carrying his wife and son gets caught in the storm and they perish. In the years since, he's been reduced to the shell of a man he once was. But even so his prejudice against the working class neighbor and his pride about his noble lineage are still present. Using the very last of his resources, much to the chagrin of his ever suffering retainers, he holds a last music and dance performance at his palace. He again bests his neighbor by paying more to the artists. Afterwards, he realizes he has totally and utterly lost everything. Then, in a fit of his old arrogance and exuberance, he decides to ride his horse. However, muddle-headed that he is, he ends up spooking the horse and is eventually thrown off it. Oh Well, at least he had a royal end!
What I didn't like about this movie was its extremely sad mood, which clung to every scene of the film. Even the moments which were supposed to have been celebrations and parties did not uplift my mood. I realize that this is the story of a sad and lonely man, but there were moments when he was happy too. I only wish his happiness, howsoever ephemeral, had sucked me in just like his sadness did. Then, I could've felt his journey in its entirety and not just experienced the bad parts.
This is the story of an aging and lonely zamindar who tries to live the final days of his life with as much splendor as possible. He has seen a lot of ups and downs in his life (in fact more than most people). Being blue-blooded, it seems that all he's ever been trained for is ruling people and having expensive tastes. Thus, once the zamindari system gets abolished, he has nothing to turn to. By today's standards, he's quite a difficult man to live with. He's prejudiced towards the capitalist neighbor who has made his own fortune through his own hard work. He doesn't really pay any attention to his wife's advice that he should oversee his lands better and not squander his remaining wealth throwing lavish parties. He has so much pride that just in order to upstage his neighbor, he organizes a lavish celebration impromptu, and enjoys the neighbor's discomfort. Unfortunately, the fates decide that he has run out of luck and he ends up paying a very heavy price for his pride. While crossing the river to attend the celebration, the boat carrying his wife and son gets caught in the storm and they perish. In the years since, he's been reduced to the shell of a man he once was. But even so his prejudice against the working class neighbor and his pride about his noble lineage are still present. Using the very last of his resources, much to the chagrin of his ever suffering retainers, he holds a last music and dance performance at his palace. He again bests his neighbor by paying more to the artists. Afterwards, he realizes he has totally and utterly lost everything. Then, in a fit of his old arrogance and exuberance, he decides to ride his horse. However, muddle-headed that he is, he ends up spooking the horse and is eventually thrown off it. Oh Well, at least he had a royal end!
What I didn't like about this movie was its extremely sad mood, which clung to every scene of the film. Even the moments which were supposed to have been celebrations and parties did not uplift my mood. I realize that this is the story of a sad and lonely man, but there were moments when he was happy too. I only wish his happiness, howsoever ephemeral, had sucked me in just like his sadness did. Then, I could've felt his journey in its entirety and not just experienced the bad parts.