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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

How the Intruders ruined our society
It is consoling to see yet another clever filmmaker making his mark. He is Sudath Rohana who has made an impressive entry into the local film world through 'Sudu Kaluwara' (The Intruders). He has been bold enough to try his hand at a challenging theme in his maiden effort and it has worked.

Set in the colonial era, the film based on the novel 'Ulugedera Arachchila' by N. Karunatilleka, portrays how the British cunningly saw to the disintegration of the traditional Sinhala society. They operated at different levels with one goal in mind. That was to stabilise their hold on the land, on the people and on the country as a whole. They manoeuvered at different levels to break family ties, traditional values and age-old customs. The Englishman who buys the land under the Waste Lands Ordinance - land that is forcibly taken over by the colonial administration on the pretext that they are not being utilised for cultivation - acts as the agent to fulfill the task of breaking down the entire framework of the rural village.

Sudath Rohana picks a single family to convincingly relate the sad story. The aging father, respected by the sons, begins to lose his grip as the events develop. The unity among the sons starts breaking with each one having his own agenda. The trader (a convert to Christianity) arrives in the village from a distant place and soon introduces the 'hot stuff' to the village. He selects the key men and gives them a free drink to begin with. Soon he opens the 'naya potha' whereby the villagers keep on buying their needs on tick. He slowly lets his victims get a taste of a little opium. Soon he is a well- to- do mudalali.

The 'sudda', in the meantime, extends his domain through the expansion of his coconut estate, builds a posh house by the tank and leads a cushy life. The occasional challenges thrown out by the elderly father have no impact. The final result is capitulation.

The top grade cast plays their roles extremely well. Jayalath Manoratne (the eldest son with a weakness for the bottle), Buddhi Withanachhi (the second son trying to get the best of both worlds), Indrajith Nawinna (the father figure in the village), Palitha Silva (the grandson getting the best from the white man) and Sanath Gunatilleka (the cunning trader) are a treat. Then there are other seasoned players doing their bit in their usual convincing manner - W. Jayasiri, the tough 'arachchi', Hemasiri Liyanage, the innocent villager earning the wrath of the 'arachchi' and Bandula Vithanage, the village monk.

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