"You were my enemy. I lost my enemy when I became a mother. Now I'm free." These are the unspoken words of a daughter addressed to her mother that conclude Prasanna Vithanage's Flowers of the Sky. The dimensions this outpouring opens out are many. It is not easy to put in words the nuances that go into a mother - daughter relationship.

It may be a theme that is worn out, but this film stands out for the chemistry it creates through composition, precise dialogues, evocative use of silence and very controlled performances from the actors, especially Malini Foneska, who plays Sandhya Rani, an actress who was once the darling of the silver screen but is now lonely and forgotten. Married at a young age, she was forced to leave her daughter and join the film industry to feed her family. Now she makes a living renting out rooms to film and television stars, which brings Shalika, an upcoming actress, into her life. When Sandhya Rani gets a call from the police about someone who claims to be her daughter, a new portal into her past is thrown open. Now it becomes Shalika's turn to support her, and they go on a search together.

The narrative progresses through static but poetic shots. The pace is built up not through dialogues or action, but through the shades of expressions captured by the camera. Medium shots with shifting focus help convey what is left unspoken. In almost all the frames, women are placed such that they both contrast as well as complement each other. Weaving into its narrative the many roles played by women, this film is an ode to female bonding both off screen and on. Flowers of the Sky is also an introspective look at the medium of cinema and what it does to human lives, especially those of women.

Swetha Antony
©FIPRESCI 2008