In India in the province of Punjab, 1984, against the backdrop of a Sikh separatist movement, The Fourth Way reveals the journey of two men to reach Amritsar.
In Punjab, in northern India, the Sikh separatist movement that led to the death of Indira Gandhi, patrolled the military, looking for Sikh militants. Two men want to reach Amritsar, an insurgent city, which is then impossible to reach. They will wait on the fourth track for the hypothetical train that will take them to their destination.During this journey on the rails, long and without comfort, one of them recalls an episode where lost in the night, he crosses the path of a man, owner of a small farm that he maintains with his family and jealously guarded by a dog.
This dog, good guardian and protector, barks at the slightest noise, at the risk of alerting the military to the presence of Sikhs. Ordered by the Sikhs to lose him, to shoot him, to get rid of him, the farmer, despite many unsuccessful attempts, always sees his dog return. However, he will end up loading it, beaten and half dead, in the back of a truck to deposit it far, as far as possible from the farm.
The slowness of this film by Gurvinder Singh, director, abstract painter, is a reflection of the train journey of the protagonists. The minimalist acting, despite an underlying tension, serves the purpose that may seem abstract.
The journey of these men to a forbidden city is a parallel to the trajectory of the dog. He is forbidden to return and yet he returns. It is forbidden to go to Amritsar and yet they go.Photo shots of wild grass in the rain, beautiful photo shots of nature serve this metaphor for the inexorable path of life.
