Rightful Vision Film Review

Star rating: 4/5

Writer: Chamara Prasanna Kodithuwakku

Director: Ranga Bandaranayake

Starring: Hemarisi Liyanage, Ramya Wanigasekara and John Dinesh Sandrawan

Rightful Vision is an intelligent, caring piece of cinema.

Written by Chamara Prasanna Kodithuwakku and directed by Ranga Bandaranayake, this story set in Sri Lanka showcases a very specific, crucial moment in a father and son relationship, where ambition and background, heritage and modernity, work and ethics all come to a head, and the son has crucial, life-changing choices to make.

Starring Hemarisi Liyanage, Ramya Wanigasekara and John Dinesh Sandrawan, the script brilliantly explores the change in dynamics between mother, father and son as the son’s character makes decisions which are observed by his parents, and which affect them profoundly. The characters in Rightful Vision are well-written and memorable, with very well-defined character arcs, and they are brought to life with concise, intentional performances that express the story wonderfully. There is clearly much love for the material from these actors.

Technically, the film is really strong, in the way independent films are. The beginning consists of beautiful documentary style moving shots, and dynamic TV segments. The predominantly rural and small-town locations are sumptuous, colourful, and full of sound, which makes them almost a character unto themselves. Sound, which is crucial to the film as it contains quite musical scenes throughout, brings the setting and cultural significance of the story to life. Even the introduction, which also contains music and is a memorable part of the film as was the fashion in decades gone by, gives it a ‘retro’ feel which, as the viewer will realise by the end, speaks to the story.

Watching Rightful Vision from a non-Sri Lankan background and being, admittedly, ignorant of much of Sri Lanka’s history and current affairs, one cannot help feeling that more knowledge of the context would allow for even richer interpretation of the film, but this is through no fault in the film and equally serves to make the piece shine in a particular, truly stand-alone way for an audience member like me.

The above being said, the universality of Rightful Vision’s story is undeniable. Heritage, personal choices, professional ethics, and the navigation of generational differences are recognisable experiences throughout humanity, throughout history. As the final (at points almost too sentimental) scene in this film portrays, with love and true consciousness, all of these can be lived through in a way that can make us stronger and better.