Summary
The filmmakers and crew can be proud of themselves for what they have achieved here.
This review of Netflix’s Navarasa season 1, episode 5 for the short film Peace: Shanthih contains spoilers. We discuss the ending.
The fifth short film of Navarasa season 1, Peace: Shanthih, is certainly different from the other stories so far. If this Netflix series can be praised on one thing, it’s variety. The fifth installment in this anthological series focuses on the Srilankan army front line, with a group of soldiers bantering and feeling ironically at peace in the area they are defending. It’s certainly a short story of anticipation, knowing that it can go wrong at any time. For such a small scope within the run time, Peace: Shanthih manages to encapsulate the urgency and human tragedy of war and conflict. And perhaps, the human cost is the whole idea of the chapter, as it ironically battles with the cost of peace and what it means to show compassion and mercy in times where you are commanded to show little value to life.
Peace: Shanthih uses the usual props and set pieces to set up the environment, and for what it is worth, the production team does enough to make it believable. While battleground productions are hardly benchmarked anymore due to the tried and tested practices, for a funded short film, the filmmakers and crew can be proud of themselves for what they have achieved here.
There’s certainly plenty of irony in this 30-minute short feature and one that the audience will have to wrap their head around and debate what it all means. If anything, Peace: Shanthih is an event piece, highlighting human strength and failure at the same time.
Navarasa season 1, episode 5 – Peace: Shanthih short film ending
With the frontline heating up, the group of soldiers comes across a young boy who claims he has been separated from his family while fleeing from his home. He states his brother is alone and at risk of being killed by military forces. One of the soldiers relates and shows humanity; despite the group of soldiers enjoying a defensive position, he decides to go out and risk their radio lines and base to save this young boy’s brother.
But as the short film progresses, the front line intensifies. The soldier heads to a small home to find the brother, but he cannot find him. It soon turns out that the brother is actually a dog, and the group of soldiers feel they have been tricked. However, after the soldier manages to return to his squad (while wounded by gunfire), the boy embraces the dog with open arms.
The true cost of helping the innocent child then surfaces. The soldiers suffer from heavy combat, with casualties suddenly mounting. The boy runs away from the battlefield with his dog to end the short film. It’s difficult to conclude thoughts on the ending, but that 30-minutes encapsulates humanity, the good and the bad. But finding peace within yourself, and doing the right thing for the next generation, is a wonderful vacuum within the short story.
What did you think of Navarasa season 1, episode 5 – short film Peace: Shanthih? Comment below.
