Dancing Bells

Little Uma, an 11-year-old schoolgirl, has an apparently simple desire: she wants to take dancing lessons. She is an Indian girl and lives in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. There is nothing exceptional about that, because since the British colonial era, ten percent of the Malaysian population is of Indian descent. The way that group originally lived and was kept outside society was beautifully shown by the same film maker in his first film The Gravel Road. That film was set more than 40 years ago on a rubber plantation; this film is set today in the city and it is apparent that the Indian community still doesn’t play a full part in Malaysian society. Partly as a result of this, Uma’s ordinary desires are not easy to fulfil. She lives with her mother and her elder brother in the down-at-heel Brickfield. Her brother didn’t finish school and is bitter about their living conditions. A career in crime beckons.
Just as in his first film, Menon draws a beautifully realistic and detailed portrait of a family that has to survive and above all has to maintain its dignity. The film was shot entirely on location in Brickfield and the cast is made up of local amateurs. This makes Dancing Bells not only authentic, but also emotional. These are real feelings of real people portrayed in a realistic way. (GjZ)

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