In Dark Night of the Soul Vithanage goes against this sloppy tradition. He spent many expensive hours in the dubbing studio with his actors to strive for a high level of technical and aesthetic perfection. The standard is far from what one expects from a European or Hollywood production, but the fact that it is way above the standard for a Sri Lanka film is reason enough to rejoice. But he goes further. He does things that other Sri Lankan directors find difficult. He limits the length of his film to suit the needs of his story and holds audience attention. He is not afraid of the myth that Sri Lankan audiences will only see a film if it is three hours plus in length. Vithanage directs his actors, they do not direct him, He has extracted performances of quality from his entire cast and it is a pleasure to see the supporting players giving performances of real depth. The care and patience he has taken with each of them is evident on the screen.

Rarely have the two stars Swarna Mallawarachchi and Ravindra Randeniya been better. Dharmasiri Bandaranaike is probably the only other Sri Lankan director who knows how to handle Mallawarachchi. She is one of our best actresses, but not everything she has acted in lately has been a success. She has had some poor script, but the main reason is that she has been poorly directed. In Dark Night of the Soul she has had the best of both and she responds with her considerable acting ability.

Vithanage knows how to pace his scenes, to tell his story with an economy of dialogue. Most important, he is not afraid of silence. A major problem in Sinhala cinema is the lack of hard work and care given to the script before a foot of film is espoused. Vithanage has learnt a lesson from his first film, Sisila Ginidani (Ice on Fire), where the script could have been better planned and thought out. In this new film he has worked at his script and the results show. There are still many weak spots but it is a major advance. This is what gives one hope for this young director.

I have asked whether Dark Night of the Soul will mark a new era in Sinhala cinema purely within the content of the technical and aesthetic aspects of the film. If it was asked in the context of its content, its storyline and the social, political and cultural basis of its story, then the answer will be "no". Even though he has many interesting things to say about his theme - which is essentially about a man's guilt, and how he will never be able to rid himself of it - Vithanage is going over ground that has been tilled before. There is no era being heralded as far as this is concerned. What is important is the cinematic manner in which he tells a simple story. It is here that we see him far ahead of his contemporaries. One awaits the rest of his filmmaking career with great anticipation and high hopes.