Film Reviews

Water

• Rating:
• Director: Deepa Mehta.
• Starring: Sarala, Lisa Ray, John Abraham, Rishma Malik.
• Details: India/Canada / 114mins (PG).

Set in India in 1938, Water tells the story of spunky eight-year-old Chuyia (Sarala), a young widow who is sent by her parents to live in 'the widow's house' in Banaras. There Chuyia soon settles into her monastic life with the help of the kind and impossibly pretty Kalyana (Ray), who helps keep the widows in clothing and rations by selling her body to rich businessmen. When Narayan, a liberal man who follows the teaching of Ghandi, catches sight of Kalyana it sparks of an illicit love affair. But can he marry a prostitute? Water is a beautiful looking film, but director Mehta and writer Anurag Kashyap couldn't decide whose story it is: Chuyia's or Kalyana's. Once Chuyia gets used to her surroundings and the love story between Narayan and Kalyana takes over, she becomes a secondary character and is almost forgotten about. She does pop in and out from time to time, but the story passes her by. The deliberate pacing of the film echoes the slow nature of the lives of these unfortunate characters and allows the viewer to take in the luscious surroundings. The downside to this, however, means not a lot happens in the film - and boredom soon comes a calling.

Review by Gavin Burke