| Gamperaliya(Changement au Village) ගමිඦපරලිය | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lester James Peries |
| Produced by | Anton Wickremasinghe |
| Written by | Regi Siriwardena |
| Starring | Henry Jayasena Punya Heendeniya Wickrema Bogoda Trilicia Gunawardene |
| Music by | W.D. Amaradeva |
| Cinematography | William Blake |
| Editing by | Sumitra Gunawardana |
| Distributed by | Cinelanka Ltd. |
| Release date(s) | 1964 |
| Running time | 108 min |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Language | Sinhala |
Gamperaliya is a 1964 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Lester James Peries; it was adapted from the seminal novel Gamperaliya by Martin Wickramasinghe. The movie was groundbreaking in Sinhala cinema shot entirely outside of a studio using one lamp and hand held lights for lighting.[1] The movie exemplifies Peries's use of family tensions to symbolize wider issues.[1]
The movie was internationally acclaimed, receiving the Golden Peacock at the Grand Prix International Film Festival in India and the Golden Head of Palenque in Mexico.[2] The movie won the Best Director and Best Film awards at the 1965 Sarasaviya Film Festival.[1] It was shown in Cannes Film fesitval in May 2008 under the French title "Changement au village." Subsequently it went out on general release in French cinemas.
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Piyal (Henry Jayasena) is a handsome young teacher who is hired to teach English to Nanda (Punya Heendeniya), a member of a high class family. They fall in love, but can't elope because Piyal is of a lower class. Nanda's parents instead push her into a marriage with Jinadasa (Gamini Fonseka), who is of the same class as them. With economic downturn in Sri Lanka, both families lose their status and Jinadasa leaves to try to make a better life for himself; he never achieves his goal and dies penniless. Piyal and Nanda can now finally come together. They have changed however, and the earlier idylic nature of their relationship is not recaptured.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Henry Jayasena | Piyal |
| Punya Heendeniya | Nanda |
| Wickrema Bogoda | Tissa |
| Trilicia Gunawardene | Anula |
| Gamini Fonseka | Jinadasa |
| Shanthi Lekha | Nanda's mother |
| David Dharmakeerthi | Nanda's father |
| Tony Ranasinghe | Baladasa |
| Anula Karunatilleke | Laisa |
Lester James Peries admired Martin Wickramsinghe's work and was inspired to attempt an adaption of Wickramasinghe's novel Gamperaliya into a movie in 1964.[1] Wickremasinghe was initially reluctant thinking it wouldn't make a good movie, but eventually agreed.[1] Scholar Regie Siriwardene was asked to script the film.[3]
Playwright Ediriweera Sarachchandra championed the film writing "At last a Sinhalese film has been made which we could show the world without having to hide our heads in shame. I want to say a great film has been made of a great novel." British director Lindsay Anderson hailed "its elegiac, near-Chekhovian grace."[4]
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