Review of Water (2012) by Ellen G — 27 Dec 2007

Set in India in the 1930's, the movie tels the story of an 8 year old girl sent by her family to live in a widow's ashram after her husband's death. A child bride, Chuyia doesn't even remember getting married.

In the ashram she befriends the beautiful Kalyani, who works as a prostitute to support the ashram. Kalyani falls in love with a young man who has been deeply influenced by Ghandi's teachings and who represents a chance at freedom from a life of oppression.

The movie is heartbreaking in its portrayal of the ways in which women are subjugated in the name of poverty, faith, religion, and simply because it's acceptable. As a non-Hiindu westerner I did not, as some more conservative elements Hindu elements have suggested, see this as a condemnation of the Hindu faith, but rather as one of many examples of the ways that some people and societies twist religion in order to benefit themselves and subjugate others.

Beyond that however, it is also a beautiful, entertaining, sometimes heart-warming and ultimately heart-wrenching story. I understand that Lisa Ray and Sarala (who play Kalyani and Chuyia, respectively) do not speak Hindi and either memorized their lines phoenetically or had them over-dubbed (depending on the version you see), but for someone reading the sub-titles the movie was well acted and the cinematography beautiful.

I have the sense that this is a movie that will stay with me for a while.