The extent of devotion and its consequences are investigated and tested in Faith Connections, writer/director Pan Nalin’s journey through the world’s largest spiritual assembly. As the Samsara and Valley of Flowers filmmaker submits to his own commitment to this father, he becomes immersed in following the journey of others to their own source of inspiration. Sparked by a personal promise but fleshed out by a communal quest, Nalin’s musings cover the varying manifestations of the usual existential yearnings for acceptance, understanding and meaning.
Nalin immediately shares the reasoning for his efforts, borne of duty as much as dedication, and prolonged by his documentarian instincts. ‘My father told me that I should travel to the ultimate pilgrimage of Hindus, Kumbh Mela and fetch him a bottle of holy water. He told me that Kumbh Mela is the biggest gathering on earth, and there I shall feel the force of faith that connects us all.’
Every 12 years, more than 100 million followers of the Hindi faith trek to the 50 square kilometres of Triveni Sangam at Allahabad, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna, as well as the invisible river Saraswati. Bathing in the waters is their ultimate aim, in a centuries-old ritual that spanned 55 days in 2013. Many of the attendees willingly live in the world, taking time out for this ultimate act of faith. Others are devout in their renunciation of all the customary trappings of modern living.
Meandering through the makeshift city provides a colourful and considered overview of the event and those drawn to it, with the filmmaker swiftly ensconced in the far-ranging frenzy, and more concerned with telling stories other than his own. His approach is astute, its wisdom made evident as each new member of the Kumbh Mela faithful wanders into his orbit, building the documentary, strand by strand, into a rich tapestry of India’s religious centre.
Some of his subjects are significant for their emblematic status within the cohort, be they police officers searching for one of the 97,000 children reported lost at each gathering, or Sadhus smoking and philosophising about their lifestyles. Others stand out for their personal circumstances. Hatha Yogi Baba brings up an abandoned baby due to his belief in the boy’s reincarnated heritage. Young runaway Kishan Tiwari possesses a wise-beyond-his-years character that threatens to burst through the film’s frames.
With an ever-roving lens that mingles in wideshot and probes more deeply in close-up, Nalin brings the inherent hustle and bustle to the screen, contextual shots littered throughout the intercutting of the more intimate vignettes. The film’s structure is purposefully loose just as its style is observational, following the ebb and flow of the crowd and his five chosen points of focus. Of course, in its hints of psychedelia, the feature values its presentation of the experience most of all.
From such a sprawling yet rhythmic construction, what resonates in Faith Connections is its scope, but also its unassuming beauty. The film may surge sporadically through flat spots and sequences of lesser interest; however devotion lingers in every frame. Also evident is the feature’s contemplation of the fragile ties of humanity – to each other as much as to their beliefs.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Faith Connections
Director: Pan Nalin
India / France, 2013, 115 mins
Rated: MA
Distributor: ACMI
www.acmi.net.au
2 – 24 April
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