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WATCH THE FILM HERE with all proceeds going to the filmmakers!
First, the Recap:
Is it true that love can conquer all? It’s a beautiful sentiment, and as most would like to believe, much less experience, it stands firm to its notion through demonstrated circumstances where it shines forth in the midst of seemingly impossible obstacles rife with conflict and unsettled manner. Yet, if finding oneself in that place of questioning and contemplation about whether love will win the day, perhaps at minimum in keeps us rooted in certain realities about what can and cannot be mended. A young couple (Tanika Basu & Riddhi Majumder) are on a road trip together and have chosen to pull to the side of the road to rest against the utter exhaustion they feel. But, it soon becomes a time contemplation in what is now a stormy relationship that may or may not have hope of being rekindled to what it once was.
Next, my Mind:
Reflection on stirring moments, the loss of connection, the uncertainty of the what the future holds, and the realization of what used to be are all thematic foundations that take precedence in this sixteen and a half minute dramatic short film effort from co-writer/co-director Raunaq Das, co-writer/co-director/editor Abhirup Halder, and producer/actor Riddhi Majumder, screened at the 2020 Berlin Revolution Film Festival. Carrying a tone that is heavy, with a potent mix of heartwarming and heartbreaking intensity and purpose, it is a narrative about all that love is and all that can be lost when it is tossed aside, even if by circumstance, potentially never regained.
Told through the narrative voiceover of the young woman, it’s a portrait of reminiscing primarily through flashbacks and specific focus on the ocean and what it holds for her and the journey being portrayed. Illustrated as a metaphor for the former romance and adoration the couple has experienced in the past, the concepts of waves, ebbs and flows, even riptides pulling you under are all being utilized to make the points here, and do so with deeply effective weight. Every instance that would seem to define their love is then torn apart by storms, trying to separate them, and causing each to have their hesitations and frustrations with it all.
The even more deliberate showcasing of the couple’s harried path, though, comes as quite a shock if I interpreted their base circumstances correctly through a key sequence closer to the film’s finale, and it puts a much more impactful meaning behind their currently tumultuous times, events that have kept them together, but fractured, desperate to salvage what’s left, picking up the pieces, even appearing worn and older than they used to in earlier instances during the film. It makes for a compelling look at the idea of devastation from both a physical and emotional level, smartly executed to ensure that you find yourself empathizing with them wholeheartedly.
Basu is truly amazing for this critic in her role as the young woman, a soul longing for something more, a bond to be restored yet also resisting, caught up in her own internal struggle to rectify all that has occurred between her and him, trying to recall the more joyful aspects of what they’ve shared perhaps hoping to see a fire reborn. Yet, her sense of self-worth and tattered heart may or may not allow her to experience what she desires, or at least not in the form it used to take, and the urgent passion I felt Basu projected throughout the film comes via displays that are both understated then overt emotionally, and it really sells you on the character, a credit to Basu’s skills.
Majumder likewise delivers a different kind of fervor to his role as the young man, a world weary and physically weary individual who only longs for literal rest and perhaps inward rest for a heart that’s been shaken to the core by all the occurrences that have lead to these moments of anxious, unnerved disruption of the relationship he has with her. While much of how his complete and total affection for her is seen through her perspective via the flashbacks, it still reveals his commitment to her that still remains and how he can also find a way back to that place of unwavering support remains unclear, with Majumder offering a well-grounded, believable turn as the character, filled with genuinely sincere performance.
Therefore, in total, “Ellipsis” is a tapestry of love’s triumphs and failings amidst factors both controllable and uncontrollable as it relates to the devotion between two people being shattered and the fight to seek a path back that comes as the consequence of it all. If anything, one hopes it issues a challenge to all of us in any form of connection with others-spouse, friends, family–that it is worth fighting for to regain that which is so unequivocally necessary in this world today–respect, understanding, reconciliation, forgiveness, healing, and the complete restoration of all the ways we are meant to interact as human beings.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
