A Mother Alone

Jilted by her boyfriend as soon as she becomes pregnant, young Thushari is sent away to stay with her aunt; obviously, she can't now marry as her parents had arranged. It's pre-Independence Sri Lanka, and Thushari has already tried to induce a miscarriage. The problem is not all's well between aunt and uncle; Thushari comes home and is sent to another aunt. Adapted from a story by GB Senanayake, this rigidly episodic film conveys the stigma, confusion, helplessness and even tedium of being a single, young, disenfranchised mother. But for all its humanism, the plain storytelling never works in the film's favour; and at over two hours, it's very very slow.