Floriane Devigne
France | 2013 | 54 min
Languages : French, Tamil
Subtitles : English, French
After being evicted from their housing, the Kamalanathan family, who arrived from Sri Lanka nearly 30 years ago, moved into the cramped back room of their grocer's shop. This film, filled with tenderness and audacity, and peppered by Bollywood-style musical interludes sung by the protagonists, also inevitably raises the problem of integration and the generation gap.
Dayana’s family originated in Sri Lanka, but emigrated to Paris almost 30 years ago. After being evicted from their housing, the parents and their two children moved into the back room of their grocer's shop – the Dayana Mini Market – and are striving to move ahead with their lives in this cramped space, beset by administrative and financial problems. While the parents struggle on so that their children can enjoy a better life for themselves through their studies and hard work, the latter dream about glamorous lifestyles and high-tech gadgetry. Between traditional rituals and a certain Western modernity, at once Tamil and French, the problem of integration is inevitably raised, as are the closely linked problems of the generation gap intensified by this situation. Fifteen-year-old Dayana, who dreams of becoming Miss Sri Lanka or an actress, is symbolic of a certain change, yet never disowns her roots or the love of her parents. Beyond the film's beautiful depiction of family ties, it is also strikingly peppered by Bollywood-inspired musical interludes in which the protagonists sing of their misfortunes and dreams.
Emilie Bujès
+336 88 19 60 59
