Kaliyappan is the executioner of the Maharajah of Travancore. He lives on the edge of a small village in the magnificent countryside of Kerala. For generations his family has lived on the benefits granted to the Maharajah after every execution. But these are becoming increasingly rare, and Kaliyappan's family lives in misery. Paradoxically, the old executioner, tired of fulfilling a mission that had become a curse, has also become a healer.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan is one of the central figures in Indian cinema and one of the outstanding filmmakers from Kerala, whose film culture he and Shaji Karun have a major influence on. His film "Le serviteur de Kali" is a fable based on real facts. The first shot shows an old executioner looking at his hands. He feels guilty about the last execution and is afraid of the next one.

When he again receives the order to execute the sentence, Kaliyappan feels miserable, staggers around and drinks to forget his remorse and misery. As if the alcohol could lift the responsibility and replace the executioner. The son will execute the sentence, the curse threatening the family cannot be averted. In the end, the shadows of the procession are the dark shadows of an endless succession of mourning, unless they are the shadows of the cave. A hidden pearl of cinema.

«Surprenant et magnifique.» Les Inrockuptibles «Il faut courir voir le nouveau film de Gopalakrishnan, le cinéaste le plus important du Kerala (Inde du Sud). C?est un film de grand maître.» Cahiers du Cinéma «Aus Kerala, Indien, kommt ein neuer Film des grossen Adoor Gopalakrishnan, der Altmeister des Kinos in der Malayalam-Sprache. Ungeheuer feinfühlig, poetisch, mit hinreissend schönen Bildern, verfolgt man auf zwei gleichzeitigen Ebenen (Geschichte innerhalb einer Geschichte, Wahrheit innerhalb des Erfundenen) die langsame, unabänderliche Tragödie, eingebettet in den moralischen Konflikt eines alternden, religiösen Scharfrichters zur Zeit der britischen Kolonialherrschaft.» Gideon Bachmann

dossier_de_presse[fr] (73 kB)

epreuve_couleur[fr] (682 kB)

epreuve_nb[fr] (155 kB)

inserat_farbig[de] (680 kB)

inserat_sw[de] (154 kB)

mediendossier[de] (110 kB)