The Girls review – poignant coming-of-age romance is an understated gem of Sri Lankan cinema

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Sumitra Peries’ 1978 film about teenage sisters and thwarted romance is laden with passions that can’t be spoken aloud Here is a gem of South Asian cinema from 1978, by the Sri Lankan director and editor Sumitra Peries. With its lucid monochrome cinematography and calm, natural, unselfconscious performances, there is a freshness and warmth to this film. It is often on the brink of melodrama or soap opera, many shots having a tendency to slow zoom into the actors’ faces, and yet The Girls is in fact rather understated. A great deal of its poignancy resides in this very suppression of emotion. We are in a world of passions that can’t be spoken aloud. It is a story through whose entire running time I wistfully hoped for a happy ending, but that is what Peries ruthlessly withholds from her audience. Kusum (Vasanthi Chathurani) is a studious, serious teen from a poor family with a scholarship to a very good school. Her father is seriously ill and her mother works hard to make ends meet. She...
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Its ethically dubious but thats love: The 24-year-old with a brain tumour filming his familys reaction

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When Kit Vincent was told he had terminal cancer, he decided to shoot his parents and girlfriend during his final years – no matter how uncomfortable it made them. The result is an extraordinarily moving film, which premieres in Sheffield on Friday

‘I’m like the grim reaper,” says Kit Vincent at the start of Red Herring. He is filming himself in a mirror, appearing ominously behind his girlfriend Isobel’s back. “No one ever wants to talk about death, but I guess that’s what I remind them of.”

Kit is 24 and has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour. The prognosis is not great: four to eight years, say the doctors. This means some difficult, emotionally raw conversations need to be had with his family. Hard enough in any situation, but especially tough for Kit’s loved ones because he insists on filming them throughout. Whether it’s questions about end-of-life care, discussions of sperm freezing, or live footage capturing him struggling with seizures, no private moment is spared the glare of Kit’s camera, often to the clear discomfort of those closest to him.

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