With You, Without You

With You, Without You

Year: 2013

Runtime: 90 mins

Language: Sinhalese, Sinhala

Director: Prasanna Vithanage

Drama

Set against the backdrop of post-war Sri Lanka, the film explores the unexpected connection between two individuals caught on opposing sides of a devastating civil war. As they navigate the lingering effects of the conflict, they must confront the deep divisions that threaten to keep them apart. Their journey examines whether love can bridge the chasm created by years of violence and loss, and how the shadows of the past shape their present.

Melancholic
Ambiguous ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Slow pacing
Moderate complexity

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Timeline & Setting – With You, Without You (2013)

Explore the full timeline and setting of With You, Without You (2013). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Contemporary (early 21st century)

Set in a contemporary rural area of central Sri Lanka, the story unfolds in the years following the height of the civil conflict. The environment reflects post-war social dynamics, economic precarity, and the persistence of ethnic tensions in everyday life. The narrative centers on the lives of people who navigate love, fear, and survival in a fragile society.

Location

Central Sri Lanka, Upcountry tea plantation region

Set in a remote upcountry town in central Sri Lanka, the area is framed by patchwork tea estates. A two-storey building dominates the scene, with a pawn shop on the ground floor and Sarathsiri living above it. The town is quiet and insular, where daily life revolves around small trades, family ties, and the occasional cinema outing.

🌄 Remote town 🏠 Two-storey building 🍃 Tea plantations nearby

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:57

Main Characters – With You, Without You (2013)

Meet the key characters of With You, Without You (2013), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Selvi (Anjali Patil)

A 24-year-old Tamil girl from Kilinochchi seeking safety in the upcountry, she visits Sarathsiri's pawn shop to pawn belongings and begins a relationship with him. She is cautious, resilient, and deeply shaped by displacement and loss, including the death of her brothers and threats she faced. Her experiences drive the plot as she confronts secrets, trust, and the possibility of belonging.

🎯 Protagonist 💔 Trauma 🧭 Search for family

Sarathsiri (Shyam Fernando)

A forty-five-year-old loner who runs a pawn shop in the remote town. An ex-Sri Lankan Army soldier, he keeps his past concealed while manipulating his relationship with Selvi. His quiet exterior masks guilt over war-time actions, which he gradually reveals through confession and acts of care.

🧭 Ex-soldier 💼 Pawn-shop owner 🔐 Secrets

Lakshmi (Maheshwari Ratnam)

The maid who lives with Sarathsiri and helps uncover Selvi's background. She serves as a quiet confidant and keeps the domestic life running while the secrets swirl around the pawn shop. Her presence underscores the power dynamics and the everyday labor behind the relationships in the story.

🧹 Domestic help 🗣️ Confidant 👁️ Observer

Gamini (Wasantha Moragoda)

A friend of Sarathsiri who drops by unannounced; his visit leads to a night of drinking and a morning revelation that Sarathsiri is an ex-Sri Lankan Army soldier. He is a catalyst who exposes hidden past and deepens Selvi's mistrust, revealing the war's echoes in present-day actions.

🤝 Friend 🕵️‍♂️ Witness 🎯 Catalyst

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:57

Major Themes – With You, Without You (2013)

Explore the central themes of With You, Without You (2013), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💞 Love and Trust

A tentative marriage between Selvi and Sarathsiri exposes how desire can mask fear and power. Trust is fragile as secrets surface, tugging apart affection and safety. The relationship drives most of the plot, revealing how love can both heal and harm in a world shaped by past traumas.

🕊️ Guilt and Redemption

Sarathsiri's confession about his war-time actions reveals a quest for absolution. The past he hides confronts him through his interactions with Selvi, forcing him to choose between quiet control and overt care. Redemption is portrayed as costly and imperfect, as his attempts to right wrongs collide with Selvi's pain. The theme explores whether personal guilt can be erased through deeds or remains a shadow.

💭 Memory and Trauma

Selvi's backstory is defined by violence and displacement, shaping her sense of safety and trust. The memory of her brothers' deaths and her family's flight haunts her, leading to seizures and emotional withdrawal. The film uses Selvi's inner world to examine how trauma persists in intimate relationships. Memory becomes both a barrier and a catalyst for change in the characters' lives.

💸 Socioeconomic Struggle

The pawn shop serves as a microcosm of precarious survival in a post-conflict landscape. Characters barter affection, secrets, and possessions to secure a future, revealing economic pressures that drive decisions. The pursuit of safety often collides with moral ambiguity in a town where wealth is scarce. The theme highlights how monetary needs shape power dynamics and personal choices.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:57

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Explore Movie Threads

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Post-war emotional stories like With You, Without You

Intimate stories of people rebuilding lives in the shadow of conflict.If you were moved by the psychological depth of With You, Without You, explore more movies like it that delve into the aftermath of war. These similar films focus on the heavy emotional weight and complex personal journeys of individuals navigating trauma, guilt, and fragile connections in a post-conflict world.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows characters as they attempt to piece together their lives and relationships in a world scarred by war. Central conflicts are internal—struggling with guilt, PTSD, and the memory of loss—as much as external, often involving fraught connections with former enemies or a community unable to heal. The journey is less about action and more about the slow, painful process of emotional reckoning.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here based on their shared setting in the aftermath of war and their intense focus on the psychological and emotional fallout for survivors. They share a heavy emotional weight, a melancholic tone, and a pacing that allows for deep immersion into the characters' internal struggles.

Movies about fraught relationships like in With You, Without You

Relationships built on shaky ground, threatened by secrets and a painful past.Viewers seeking films with the complex relationship dynamic of With You, Without You will find similar stories here. These movies explore tense, uneasy connections between characters, often forced together by circumstance, who must confront secrets, guilt, and a divided past that threatens to tear them apart.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves two or more characters bound together in a relationship—often a marriage or partnership—that is fundamentally unstable. The central drama unfolds as long-buried secrets, moral failings, or irreconcilable differences from their pasts slowly come to light. The focus is on the psychological tension of maintaining a facade and the emotional strain of confronting painful truths within a confined, intimate setting.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their core exploration of relationships born from pressure, not choice, and the high-tension atmosphere that results. They share a slow-burn pacing that allows secrets to unravel gradually, a melancholic or tense tone, and a focus on the heavy emotional weight of guilt, deception, and the struggle for genuine connection.

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With You, Without You Summary

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