Third Annual Bridges to the World International Film Festival

Third Annual Bridges to the World International Film Festival: “The Tender Trap”

By Jenny Toke, ENGL 336.002

            During the months of February and March, Frostburg State University has been and will be showing foreign films as part of the Third Annual Bridges to the World International Film Festival. Show times are Tuesday evenings at 7:00 in the LUC room 111 and are free and open to the public. This year the film festival has included movies from Brazil, Japan, Austria, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. All films are shown in their native language with English subtitles.

The first film kicking off the festival was shared on Tuesday, February 14^th and the second on February 21^st. Last week’s showing, the film “Hula Girls,” was originally titled “Hura Garu” was filmed in Japan and is based on the true story of a coalmining community. It gathered an audience of around 10-15 members. This time around, “Sankranthi,” or “The Tender Trap,” was presented and baited in around 11 viewers, mostly community members. “The Tender Trap” is a Sri Lanka film based on a love triangle full of suspicion, suspense, and surprisingly beautiful scenery. The three main protagonists consist of Dr. Diran Gerard and his youthful assistant, Sunimal, of whom the doctor suspects adultery with his also young and very beautiful wife, Pam.

The doctor bases many of his experiments on monkeys and often makes comparisons between humans and monkeys, especially pertaining to male dominance. Although the film is in another language, the film actually consisted of much silence. Within that silence, the director showcased the natural beauty of Sri Lanka and also made use of body language rather than dialogue between the actors. To some, “The Tender Trap” may have overall been a confounding movie. It is never confirmed until the very end that Sunimal and Pam may have actually been having an affair after the doctor fulfills his experiment but has a tragic end because of it, as audience member Fred Smith summarizes as his “flawed thesis.” He goes off alone into the jungle and disappears to prove that the female spouse will become protective of her mate and true loyalty will show in times of danger. This angers Sunimal as he had to stay the night in jail under the accusation of hunting monkeys at night. He becomes fed up with the doctor’s antics and packs his things to leave; however, the doctor makes one last ditch (half-hearted) effort to talk Sunimal into staying, causing Sunimal to push him out of his way. The doctor lay on the ground wincing for a lengthy time while Pam and Sunimal exchange wordless stares for about five minutes. Sunimal marches out into the pouring rain but doesn’t get too far when he hears the doctor cry out in agony: Pam had stabbed him and we are left with a vague cliffhanger as to what will happen to the two rebellious lovers, if the doctor was killed, and did they really have an affair behind the doctor’s back?

Nan Smith commented on the “weird movie” that she “enjoyed seeing what Sri Lanka was like, such as the terrain and the jungle.” “The music is very different too,” as the film incorporates cultural aspects differently, in a good way, from our own. Fred Smith addresses this as unaffected by “western ideas of civilization.” So, if you are an avid movie-watcher these films are not a waste of film or time, because although they differ from our movies consisting of Brad Pitt-like actors, they contain invaluable cultural insights into the beautiful land, music, and people that are not so different from us.