The Clay Bird

I watched this film with my parents, who lived through the 1971 war between Pakistan and Bangladesh. I was struck by the beauty, imagination, and intense development of the characters. My mother and I both cried at moments, as if we were ourselves in the shoes of the little boy, Anu. I had no idea what madrasas were like, but even in these types of schools, there is some beauty that children hold onto. The director also depicts the superstition that permeates small villages, where people are accused of madness for erratic behavior. For me, the clay bird is both faith and a symbol of the arts, a thing that is often squashed when there is violence. When the Nazis persecuted the Jews, they seized their books, their literature, their music, along with property. There was an annihilation of the spirit and the heart of culture, which again flourished after the war. I remember when I first read Ann Frank in school, I considered what totalitarian thought really accomplishes--maybe self-hatred and cultural amnesia. That's what happens when extremism of any kind is made to dictate every thought and control every behavior--which is what the film reproaches. Strangely, The Clay Bird reminded me of the Pianist, with Adrian Brody. This was one of the most beautiful films I have seen. I will find a way to watch it with others. I highly recommend this film.

My rating is more of a 3.5 Thanks for reading! 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 is a 2002 Bengali war-drama film written and directed by Tareque Masud. When Bangladeshi father Kazi becomes a conservative Muslim, he opts to send his son, Anu, to an Islamic school in order to shelter him from the worldly influences of the 1960s. Meanwhile, Anu's thoughtful mother, Ayesha, who isn't inclined toward zealotry, handles the changes in stride. As the country heads into turmoil, the rigid beliefs that Kazi adheres to and his son tries to understand may have a lasting impact on the family. Set around the year 1969,𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 surmounting conflict is largely predicated in political negotiations having occurred decades prior. In 1947 following the termination of British rule in what is now modern day Bangladesh, borders in this region were initially agreed as a partition of Bengal between India and Pakistan; Bangladesh at the time was ‘East Pakistan’, with concentration of political power being in what would have been ‘West Pakistan’. The disregarding of an election won by an ‘East Pakistani’ political party in 1971 in combination with believed exploitation of the region economically further aggravated grievances, leading to further idolization of Western principles as they apply in a legislative capacity. Such factors culminated in the Bangladesh Liberation Movement, during which the genocidal targeting of Bengalis (Especially Bengali Hindus) in the millions transpired over the course of approximately nine months. Following the involvement of Indian Forces Pakistan surrendered on December 16th 1971, and Bangladesh was recognized as an independent country shortly after. . Amalgamated with the historical events that 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 are individual upbringings: more specifically, that of Tareque Masud, a Banglasdeshi native who would have been a teenager during the Bangladesh Liberation Movement. Masud started his education at an Islamic program (A madrasa), though as implicated in 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 his schooling was interrupted by events intended to release his homeland from under the thumb of Pakistani rule. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅, first and foremost, offers a look at madrasa that is contrary to Western depictions; moreover, it dispels the hasty suggestion that they are ‘terrorist factories’ in the making. They are revealed to be quite the opposite, actually, as Masud’s writing explores the diversity of Bangladesh life through an innocent lens and reveals a paradox of militancy as evidenced by Tareque’s reflections on 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 as an autobiographical vehicle: 𝑰𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒂 - 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 - 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒂 𝑯𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐-𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓, 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍, 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒙: 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒉-𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇-𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔; 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏-𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔; 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒎. 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏, 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏-𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏-𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏-𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖. 𝑩𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏-𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐. Of course, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 wasn't written with the intention of making a villain out of two opposing forces, much less any single character that could be considered “involved” even if only in an ideological capacity. What unfolds unceremoniously illustrates the issues with religious conviction when applied without flexibility, eventually begging the question of whether or not Kazi is a victim of circumstance that has been blinded by his faith and forced to reconcile with violence to which he otherwise felt immune to. The title alone points to a point of contention with relative restrictions: clay being what humans are made of according to the Qur’an, and yet in this physical form (A clay bird, which symbolizes the transient nature of the soul) something Masud was not allowed to have as it was considered a Pagan token. Barring religious nuances, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅’’s conclusion is ultimately an indictment of Islamic Fundamentalism: which, as an extreme take on relative principles can be pontificated as the reason so many Bangladeshi Hindus were massacred in the early part of 1971, and a tragedy that a secular government (As rooted for, and eventually acquired) might have dissuaded altogether, or mitigated at the very least. In spite of his most formative years being harpooned by warfare, Masud earned a master’s degree in history and and remained steady in his intentions when it comes to the portrayal of Bangladesh as a story writer and film-maker. Bangladesh has since witnessed a significant amount of economic growth and poverty reduction since becoming independent, as made possible by those with the sacrificial capacity of those represented by 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅’ and Masud’s filmography. In 2011 Masud was working on a production that would be a prequel in spirit and follow Kazi through the partition of Bengal in 1947, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, but it wouldn’t be completed following his most untimely death via a motor vehicular accident. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 remains one of the least contrived and exploitative looks in to a locality and culture so easily reduced to stereotypes and prejudices; if that was all Masud’s legacy amounted to, it would still be more than enough.

From 1947 till 1971 Pakistan was split into two wings on either side of India, the Western wing being what is currently Pakistan and the Eastern one being what is now Bangladesh. Both wings were predominantly Muslim but the political power rested in the Western wing despite Bangladesh being the more populous of the two areas. The tension between the two regions culminated in riots and ultimately a civil war that led to the countries being the separate nations they are today. "The Clay Bird" is set in the late sixties in the Eastern wing when this tension was growing and the struggle against military rule was building. The film presents the political upheaval within the country by showing it in microcosm through the struggles of one family: the patriarch, a kind of born-again-Muslim, standing in for the oppressive forces of the military, the rest of the family, led by the mother's brother representing the growing impulse to break free. The plot is constructed around the family's young son as he is sent to a madrasah (in this case a strict Muslim school) where, unable to connect with most of the other boys, he befriends the outcast of the class - a young boy who escapes the tormenting of his classmates by living in an imaginary world. The film exoticizes the world it portrays by showing many of the folk traditions of the culture from a tourist's point of view, probably to maximize its appeal to a western audience. It is also fairly heavy-handed in presenting its message through dialogue rather than action and occasionally lapses into melodrama. The characters often come across more as types than real human beings. Yet, despite these flaws, it somehow pulls you into its world through the sheer beauty of its imagery. It's a tourist's point of view but the view is of a tourist with a good eye. The film can also be lauded for attempting to present a more balanced and complex view of Islam than the simplistic one typically promoted in the west. Not a great film but worth checking out if you're interested in learning more about this region of the world.