The Nepali language short film directed by Rajan Kathet was screened as part of the virtual Rising Gardens Film Festival.
Bare Trees in the Mist review: An emotional, layered drama about a mother’s despair
Cinestaan Rating
Release Date: 2019 / 15min
Sukhpreet Kahlon | New Delhi, 18 Mar 2021 8:00 IST
Directed by Rajan Kathet, the Nepali language short film Bare Trees in the Mist tells a simple yet poignant story of a child’s desire for new clothes juxtaposed with the mother’s desperation not to go empty handed to her son.
Set in a village in the mountains, the film is about a young working mother, Kaali (Laxmi Bardewa), who takes care of her family while her husband is away somewhere in one of the Arab countries. Although she toils all day, she struggles to make ends meet. When her son tells her that someone has returned from abroad bearing gifts and would have something for them, she sets off on a long, humbling journey to visit them, while the son expectantly awaits her return.
Through small gestures and the nuanced performance of Bardewa, we realise Kaali's predicament and desperation. We see her dilemma, nervousness, hope and despair, as she goes through a spectrum of emotions. Although the neighbour’s husband isn’t very happy to see her and is quite rude in his jibes about her husband, she swallows it all hoping to get something for her son in the end.
Kathet shows how Kaali does everything that she possibly can, without overtly asking for something. She needs to follow the rules of polite behaviour even though she is desperate. In one scene, Kathet deploys the sound of household chores to create a frenzied beat signifying her inner turmoil. Nature and the stunning landscape is deployed to signify the passing of time but to also reverberate the utter loneliness that poverty brings.
The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2020 and the Dharamshala International Film Festival 2020, among others.
Bare Trees in the Mist was recently screened as part of the virtual Rising Gardens Film Festival organized by Kriti Film Club.
Watch the trailer here: