PÖFF 2016. Man with the Binoculars

The routine life of the retired geography teacher, living in the wilds of the Indian state of Assam, changes after his son, a musician, comes to visit him. With binoculars, donated by his son, bright colors and energy of the youth come into the life of the old man, because the optical instrument not only brings closer the distant and beautiful scenery, but it suddenly brings to him also pictures from his youth, reminding him of his encounters with different women, who have played an important role in his life.

The optical tool to zoom far-away objects becomes a sort of a magical item in the story told by Reema Das. It allows the protagonist to take a walk in the distant nooks and crannies of his memory. The presence of the binoculars in the hands of the hero gives the possibility to the Indian director-debutant to find new and non-trivial explanation to the presence of constant flashbacks in his story. A detailed and painstaking editing adds mystery and charm to this quite a linear story: secondary reminiscences from the past of the protagonist often catch the audience by surprise and force them to take a closer look into what is happening on the screen.

After successful short films and documentaries, Reema Das took up shooting her first feature film in which she acted as a screenwriter, director and producer. Work on the film with a microscopic budget and a condensed film-crew took her 4 years.

Igor Gouskov