Movie 4 d week : Machan (2008)

Review by Vinoo
Language : Sinhala / English
Director : Uberto Pasolini
‘Machan’ is the story of a non-existent Srilankan National Handball Team put together by a bunch of Srilankan’s looking for any which way they can make money and escape their current state of poverty. A few slum-dweller’s, people not economically well off, neck deep in debt and individuals not able to make it in life think up a novel way of making it abroad. Each one of them has their own story to tell and going abroad is seemingly the solution to all their woes. None of them are able to make it until one fine day they see an invitation for a World Handball Tournament in Bavaria. They decide to put together a Handball team, and one after the other everyone joins in, and after a few futile attempts they fudge papers and they soon get an invitation from the handball federation. Now that they have an invitation to a World Handball Tournament they have a better case. Finally a motley crew of people, all with one motive that is escape to a world of riches rather than play handball, head out to Bavaria. The team now includes people who have helped them get a Visa, a forger and a couple of others as well. The getaway plan is foiled, at least temporarily, when the welcoming committee is at the airport to receive the Srilankan National Handball Team. The team gets a thrashing in the first game, and the second. The third game sees them get thrashed badly but then that single goal they manage to score calls for celebration like they have won the World Handball Tourney. Very soon things catch up with them and their con. The Srilankan government sends a letter to the Bavarian Federation that, leave alone a national Handball team, Srilanka doesn’t even have a Handball Club. By the time the letter gets to the relevant authorities in Bavaria, the entire team makes their getaway. The film ends with a note that most of them are currently working some place or the other in Europe. While the script has its flaws, it offers quite a few hilarious moments. I quite loved watching it at IFFK last year. Hoping for some surprise package this time around too. ‘Harishchandra Factory’ (fabulous), ‘Looking for Elly’ (My pick for the Best Film here this year), ‘True Noon’, ‘Shirin’ been good so far. And as always ‘Antichrist’ by Lars Von Trier has been a riot including a few fainted delgeates, and ‘Dreams’ by Kim Kiduk has been running to packed houses. I let that one pass cos I am not a great fan of Kim Kiduk except ‘Spring, Summer…’ and ‘3 Iron’ that is. Malayalam Cinema disappointing so far. Missed ‘Kerala Cafe’ and can’t comment about it.
The inaccuracies in this review attributed to things I have missed out when recalling the film from the last festival.
Uberto Pasolini has also produced ‘The Full Monty’ and also the in production ‘Bel Ami’. ‘Machan’ is his debut as Director.
Useless trivia : ‘Machan’ is apparently a true story, of a non-existent Srilankan Handball Team. I remember Uberto Pasolini, the Director, mention as he accepted the standing ovation in Trivandrum, “the script isn’t funny, the situations are.”
Anyone in Srilanka who is aware of this story? Quite an amazing true story methinx J. What lengths people will go to, to get to the other side really amazes me.