Gamperaliya (Changement au Village) ගම්පෙරලිය | |
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Directed by | Lester James Peries |
Written by | Regi Siriwardena |
Produced by | Anton Wickremasinghe |
Starring |
Henry Jayasena Punya Heendeniya Wickrama Bogoda Trilicia Gunawardena |
Cinematography | William Blake |
Edited by | Sumitra Gunawardana |
Music by | W.D. Amaradeva |
Distributed by | Cinelanka Ltd. |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Language | Sinhala |
Gamperaliya is a 1963 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Lester James Peries screenplay, dialogue and the script by Reggie Siriwardena and Tissa Abeysekara; it was adapted from the novel Gamperaliya by Martin Wickramasinghe. [1] The film starts ensemble cast of several eras together including, Henry Jayasena, Punya Heendeniya, Wickrama Bogoda, Trilicia Gunawardena and Gamini Fonseka. [2]
The film was groundbreaking in Sinhala cinema shot entirely outside of a studio using one lamp and hand held lights for lighting. [3] The movie exemplifies Peries's use of family tensions to symbolize wider issues. [3]
The film was internationally acclaimed, receiving the Golden Peacock (Best Film) at the 3rd International Film Festival of India and the Golden Head of Palenque in Mexico. [4] The film won the Best Director and Best Film awards at the 1965 Sarasaviya Film Festival. [3] It was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. [5] It was shown in Cannes Film festival in May 2008 under the French title Changement au village under section 'Restored Classics'. [6] Subsequently it went out on general release in French cinemas. In 2001, the film was identified as a world heritage by Cinema Thek Institute (CTI) in France. [7]
Piyal ( Henry Jayasena) is a handsome young teacher who is hired to teach English to Nanda ( Punya Heendeniya), a member of an eminent family. They fall in love, but can not marry because Piyal is of a lower class. Nanda's parents instead push her into a marriage with Jinadasa ( Gamini Fonseka), who is of the same class as them. With economic downturn in Sri Lanka, both families lose their status and Jinadasa leaves to try to make a better life for himself; he never achieves his goal and dies penniless. Piyal and Nanda can now finally come together. They have changed; the earlier idyllic nature of their relationship is not recaptured.
Actor | Role |
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Henry Jayasena | Piyal |
Punya Heendeniya | Nanda |
Wickrama Bogoda | Tissa |
Trilicia Gunawardena | Anula |
Gamini Fonseka | Jinadasa |
Shanthi Lekha | Nanda's mother |
David Dharmakeerthi | Nanda's father |
Tony Ranasinghe | Baladasa |
Anula Karunathilaka | Laisa |
Herbert Amarawickrama | Karolis |
C. T. Fernando | Jamis |
Eileen Sarathchandra | Piyal's mother |
Mapa Gunaratne | Family doctor |
G. W. Surendra | Vijay |
Wijeratne Warakagoda | Rathnapura Doctor |
Lester James Peries admired Martin Wickramsinghe's work and was inspired to attempt an adaption of Wickramasinghe's novel Gamperaliya into a movie in 1964. [3] Wickremasinghe was initially reluctant thinking it wouldn't make a good movie, but eventually agreed. [3] Scholar Regie Siriwardene was asked to script the film. [8]
Playwright Ediriweera Sarachchandra championed the film writing "At last a Sinhalese film has been made which we could show the world without having to hide our heads in shame. I want to say a great film has been made of a great novel." British director Lindsay Anderson hailed "its elegiac, near-Chekhovian grace." [9]