Review of Earth (1999) by Zachary L — 09 Dec 2015

The film Earth is set in Lahore, which today belongs to Pakistan, the movie focuses on a young Parsis girl named Lenny, and the events she witnessed during the Partition of India which would tear apart a close group of friends consisting of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.

At the beginning of the movie it is evident that the group of friends all share a lot in common, one of the things that they share is an attraction for the Hindu woman Shanta, whose job is to take care of lenny. Despite being so close it is evident that the group has many disagreements over religion. This is not surprising, there has always been a lot of tension between religions in India, especially Islam and Hinduism. This is because of the immense amount of differences between these two belief systems. Muslims believe there is only one true god, and he is Allah while the Hindus believe that there are multiple gods. The Hindus also have the caste system unlike the Muslims.

The Partition of India, which would soon take place, resulted in the creation of Pakistan, a Muslim country. A mass migration began when Muslims started making their way from India to Pakistan. The Sikhs and Hindus, left Pakistan for India. As the movie progresses the tension between Muslims and Hindus grows, soon these two ideologies clash violently. Both sides commit atrocities fueled by the hatred for the differences in their beliefs. Throughout history people have done horrible things because of religious beliefs and this was no exception. Protestants have killed Catholics and vice versa even though they both worship the same gods, and believe in a lot of the same things. In a world where Christians would take the lives of other Christians just because they chose not to recognize the pope, it is no surprise that Hindus and Muslims kill would each other despite their peaceful coexistence in the past. Lenny's family who were Parsis remained untouched by the violence thanks to the Parsis people choosing not to take sides and remaining neutral duing conflicts.

Near the end of the movie, the group of friends is ripped apart because they each choose to worship different gods. In the last scene Lenny is all grown up and reflects on the tragic events that took place during the Partition.

I felt the movie was able realistically portray the consequences that the Partition of India caused. It really helps highlight how humans could do horrible things to each other because their beliefs are different. I also felt that the movie missed a great opportunity to cover the lasting negative effects that the Partition have on modern South Asia, such as the fact that the religious contempt Indians and Pakistanis have with each led to many their governments' decision to point hundreds of nuclear warheads at each other, which if something was to go wrong might lead to a grave loss of life. Which is why I give this movie a 8/10.