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(More customer reviews)"Water" is the third film in writer/director Deepa Mehta's elemental trilogy, following "Fire" and "Earth". It explores the plight of widows in traditional Hindu culture, where women are condemned to a grim, rudimentary existence after their husbands die. Driven by characters as much as by its cause, this is not a bleak film. On the contrary, "Water" is breathtakingly beautiful. In India in 1938, young Chuyia (Sarala) is widowed at the age of 8. By religious law, when a man dies, his wife may either be cremated with him, marry his brother, or live the life of an ascetic -chaste, poor, and pious. Chuyia's head is shaved, her jewelry removed, and she is sent to live in an ashram with other widows of all ages. She is befriended by a pretty widow named Kalyani (Lisa Ray), watched over by the devout and generous Shakuntula (Seema Biswas), and often at odds with the ashram's callous matriarch Madhumati (Manorama), who pays the rent by prostituting Kalyani. A handsome law student with progressive politics, Narayan (John Abraham), is smitten by Kalyani. But it is sinful for widows to remarry, and Kalyani is a prostitute besides.
The story of making "Water" is a drama in itself. Filming in India in 2000 was shut down by violent protests by religious fundamentalists, who believed the film was anti-Hindu. Deepa Mehta's view is that a misinterpretation of religious texts has perpetuated the dreadful state of widows in Indian culture, which is actually the result of economics. If a widow is sent away upon the death of her husband, her own family does not have to pay to feed or house her, and her would-be inheritance remains in her husband's family. In any case, there were riots, Deepa Mehta was burned in effigy, and the film's sets were thrown into the river. Four years later, the film was recast and the production moved to Sri Lanka, where filming began again. All of the temples and buildings that you see are sets by production designer Dilip Mehta. Sarala, who plays Chuyia, is Sri Lankan and does not speak a word of Hindi. She learned all of her lines phonetically. Somehow that doesn't even seem odd amid this international cast and creative crew.
Giles Nuttgens' cinematography is a force in this film. Everything appears so alive and luminous that I wanted to step into this world to be bathed in its beautiful light and touch its delicate features. The light has a striking purity. The film's score by Canadian Mychael Danna and songs by Indian composer A.R. Rahman are an ideal auditory accompaniment to "Water"'s visual splendor. Although it focuses our attention on the plight of widows in India, "Water" is not a realistic film on the narrative level. Kalyani and Narayan are idealized characters. She is pure, lovely, and suffering. He educated, and socially progressive. To Narayan, Kalyani is a romantic figure, a fragile, innocent soul in need of rescuing. The idea that a wealthy, educated man would want to marry an illiterate peasant prostitute who will never understand his causes or his world view seems far-fetched. But Kalyani's reticence and Narayan's sensitivity draw us in. Narayan is a change of pace for John Abraham, who is an Indian supermodel and Bollywood star. Lisa Ray is Canadian, also a supermodel in India, but Hindi is not her first language. Director Deepa Mehta has a real talent for casting the perfect actors from seemingly unlikely choices.
For all of Kalyani and Narayan's beauty and sympathy, "Water" is not their film. Shakuntula is the character who has an arc, and Seema Biswas gives the film's great performance. She personifies the conflict between conscience and faith that is at "Water"'s core. (You many remember Seema Biswas from her lead role in "Bandit Queen".) Manorama, who has acted in an extraordinary 1301 movies, is memorably sharp as the matriarch Madhumati. Professor of Hindi literature Dr. Vidula Javalgekar plays the kindly, sweet-toothed, elderly widow Patiraji, a woman who must be very unlike herself. "Water" is simply a gorgeous sensory experience that movie-lovers won't want to miss. In Hindi (and some Sanskrit) with English or Spanish subtitles or English captions.
The DVD (20th Century Fox 2006): "Behind the Scenes" (20 min) includes interviews with writer/director Deepa Mehta and the cast. Mehta talks about the controversy surrounding the film and its themes. The actors discuss Mehta's directing style, mastering the period mannerisms, and their characters. "The Story Behind the Making of Water" (4 min) is about the controversy and the ill-fated first attempt to film "Water". There is a good, continuous audio commentary by Deepa Mehta in which discusses the sets, actors, character development, cinematography and lighting, the film's score, and provides additional information about Indian culture.
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Extremist groups waged a campaign of death threats, arson and riots to stop the production of this controversial film, but director Deepa Mehta would not be silenced. Set against Gandhi's rise to power, Water tells the profoundly moving story of Chuyia, an Indian girl married and widowed at eight years old, who is sent away to a home where Hindu widows must live in penitence. Chuyia's feisty presence deeply affects the other residents, forcing each to confront their faith and society's prejudices.
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