Elippathayam (Translation: The Rat Trap; Malayalam: എലിപ്പത്തായം) (1981) is a Malayalam film, written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is critically considered by many to be one of the most outstanding pieces in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's filmography.
This film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its twilight. The protagonist is trapped within himself and is unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him. The film won the British Film Institute award for Most Original and Imaginative film shown at the National Film Theatre in 1982. The film was shown at a number of film festivals around the world, including the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.Synopsis
A middle-aged man, Unni, and his three sisters struggle as the feudal way of life becomes unviable in Kerala. Eventually, succumbing to the adverse conditions surrounding him, Unni becomes helpless like a rat in a trap. The 'rat trap' is a metaphor for a state of oblivion to changes in the external world, such as the disintegration of the feudal system, in which some are caught and which leads to destruction.
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