Between Arms

Soldiers from both sides of Sri Lanka’s civil war fall in love. But their time out of war in the safety of a monastery threatens to be short, with detachments of both armies closing in. Although shot more than a decade ago, Rob Nevis could only finish his debut now. A true blast from the past.

Northern Sri Lanka, September 1998, during the war between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Janakie rescues the severely wounded Rohitha after a landmine blast and drags him to safety in a nearby monastery where an old monk welcomes and hides them.

She fights with the LTTE, he with the regular army. Despite being enemies, they fall in love… Although shot more than a decade ago, set and costume designer Rob Nevis could finish his debut fiction feature only now, and in Malaysia at that. The tale of impossible love in times of war might be a narrative evergreen (Nevis actually worked on one: Eric Weston’s 1989 actioner The Iron Triangle), but Between Arms has a lot of locally specific details on offer. Of special interest here is the monk who served with the British army during WWII, and whose presence serves as a reminder that the civil war in Sri Lanka, like so many comparable armed conflicts all over the globe, is a product of colonialism.

– Olaf Möller

Trailer

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