2. Emile Zola’s Nais: Film
Synopsis & Background
Nais,astory abouta youngwomanwholiveswithhermotherandfather. Naisgrew upalongside
a lawyer’sson,andthe twoformeda close childhoodfriendship.Ashe growsintomanhood, the
lawyersson beginstotake hisfather’sfortuneforgrantedandbecomes rash. Withouthisparents
knowing, hiseveningsare often spentdrinking,casual affairs,andgambling.One day the lawyer’s
son realisesthatNais hasblossomedintoabeautiful woman andfallsinlove withher.
Nais’s friend, who is also in love with her, is a differently abled person and is employed by her
father. This role is played by a real life differentlyabled individual which is one of the unique
points of this movie. He loves Nais from afar, but is unable to show his love for Nais due to his
handicap as he fears rejection. He triesshowing her that he loves her by smoothing the path of
herrelationshipwiththe lawyer’s handsome son.
Naisiswomanwith naturalnessandsimplicity butherfatherthe oldfishermanbeatsthe girl and
treats her more like a servantthan a daughter.Nais’newfound love affairwiththe lawyer’s son
makeshimangry. As the relationshipbetweenNaisandthe lawyer’ssonprogresses,the tension
between the three key people in the love triangle escalates. Nais' father swears to kill the man
whodaredtotouchhisdaughter. Naishowever,choosesonewiththe intentof hurtingherfather
for histreatmentof her.
Thismovie isbasedonthe bookNaïsMicoulinbyÉmileZola.ÉmileZola
was a French novelist, playwright, journalist, the best-known
practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important
contributortothe developmentof theatricalnaturalism.He wasalsoa
majorfigure inthe politicalliberalizationof France and wasnominated
for the firstand secondNobel Prize inLiteraturein1901 and 1902.
The movie is filmed with the involvement of all three ethnicities and
the location is focused on where all three ethnicities live together.
Various areas such as Colombo, Trincomalee, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya,
AnuradhapuraandJaffnamay serve aslocationstoportray the diversityof individuals.
While the originalstorywassetin19th
centuryFrance,thisisapplicableeventoday. The filmleads
youtoexpectaromanticending,thenthe unexpectedhappensandstaystrue toreality.Reallives
don’toftenhave passionateromance,confrontationandhappyendings.The worldismuchmore
random,and we oftensettle forthe fate it has in store for us. Just as it portrays the darker,less
beautiful side of this paradise,it offers a realistic ending that does not satisfy expected endings
like mostconventional movies
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