A portrait of the Kingdom of Sikkim, by the maestro Satyajit Ray,
banned by the government of India until recently, and by the Indian
state of Sikkim even now.

This documentary is an exemplary case of how the events that follow a
work of art can completely change how it is perceived.

This 55-minute apolitical film merely documents an obscure little
Kingdom and it's people in a moment in time. The candid scenes of the
everyday hill-folk of the Kingdom of Sikkim, mostly busy about their
own lives, captured by a largely inconspicuous camera in beautiful
frames, form the jewels that adorn the mosaic portrait of the Kingdom
of Sikkim that is 'Sikkim'.

'Sikkim' in quite some ways feels like 'Man With a Movie Camera': it
captures the attempts of a nation trying to wake up to the modern
world, exudes the same realism as the latter, is shot and paced
similarly, and will probably be likewise studied by students of the
art of cinema for generations.

And perhaps likewise remembered for generations will be the nonextant
Kingdom captured by and immortalized in this sublime film, the
virtuosity of which only will make the pangs of longing for this
bygone Kingdom all the more agonizing (or perhaps will rouse such
longing where none existed previously; the scenes from the film being
wont to etch themselves in the hearts and minds of the viewer long
after "The End"). And hence the promonitory bans.

[28 September 2024]