How this movie won a prestigious prize at Cannes is utterly beyond me. Call me a dolt, but I utterly did not "get" it. And, I stayed for the whole screening--a lot of people, truth be told, left during the show. The movie was far too gauzy--no character development, too many false starts/blind alleys, and far too little serious message other than "Sri Lankan army = kind of creepy." Please. I can't even accuse the movie of navel-gazing--that would be a significant step up. The older-guy's foot ailment goes nowhere, the army trucks' little dance is left unexplained (other than, perhaps, army = creepy time-wasters), the little girl remains a complete cipher, and the potentially appealing character of the police-man (if that's what he is) remains largely unknown (other than the compellingly original message that bludgeoning a stranger to death is not a nice idea).
Review of The Forsaken Land
