«Green Days by the River»

Fribourg International Film Festival - Loris S. Musumeci

«You left school to pick cocoa?»

Drums, songs. Fishermen at the river; birds flying from tree to tree, crossing the sky. In this immaculate natural setting, a boy named Shell experiences human nature: he watches, bewildered, as a young girl bathes in the river. Her form is graceful, her skin warm and her gaze seductive. She is Rosalie, daughter of the Indian farmer Gidharee.

He knows Shell's family. He is a friend of the ailing father, and develops a particular sympathy for the son. Gidarhee offers to take him and his dogs hunting and gathering on his vast estate. Shell sees this as an opportunity to kill the boredom of summer vacations, get closer to Rosalie and appear as the ideal son-in-law. The light-hearted flirting begins, the work intensifies and Shell becomes a man. With its pleasures and responsibilities, even the most restrictive.

A quintessentially Trinidadian work

Green Days by the River is adapted from a novel of the same name by Trinidadian author Michael Anthony. Director Michael Mooleedhar wanted to draw on local sources for his first feature film. He also retained the specific time period in which the story takes place: 1952. His film is thus part of the quintessentially Trinidadian cinematic tradition. It pays homage to his country, both for its natural beauty and its history. At a time when the island was still a British colony, cultural differences were particularly pronounced between Indians and Blacks.

In this regard, the film could fall into the trap of chauvinistic propaganda; Green Days by the River might seem like an advertisement for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. But that is not the case. The director takes great care to use shots of his homeland to serve the film’s narrative and aesthetic. It is worth noting that the film’s cinematography is undoubtedly among the most refined of all the feature films in competition at the Fribourg International Film Festival.

To the Rhythm of the Dance

Not only are the images brimming with crystalline beauty—depicting, in particular, the green of the leaves and fields without ever being excessive—but they also possess a genuine rhythm. On the one hand, there is rhythm created by the cyclical return of static shots, such as those of the river or the sky; on the other hand, there is rhythm in the work scenes.

These movements take on the appearance of a sublime dance. When Shell is working at Gidarhee, the music accompanies the lovely Rosalie as she grinds the cacao, blending her work with seduction. Shell, too, joins the dance while he works: moving his already strong but still frail body with grace.

From Suggestion to Complexity

Since the film is about love—and, above all, about learning to love—suggestion plays an essential role. It offers the viewer all the sensuality of young people while never crossing the boundaries of an uncompromising modesty that is strict yet gentle. Is it now up to African and South American cinema to teach Western cinema once again the art of suggestion when it comes to romance and sex?

Furthermore, the love in question takes on some rather surprising forms, ranging from the most natural and sentimental to the most instructive and harsh. The complexity of the characters is revealed precisely through the different forms of love, and the impending upheaval threatens to shatter the carefree atmosphere of those lush, green days by the river.

«I believe in the earth and in farming.»

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Photo credit: © Green Days by the River