Water, directed by Deepa Mehta. I have just added this film to my Movie Favorites list. I was so moved by this film. The mixture of child-like moments and dramatic realism had me laughing and hurting and crying. The stunning visuals of life in India for a widow in the 1930's captivated my interest from the beginning. The culture is so unlike my own, however I can connect with each characters blind faith in religion, culture and tradition.
There is an overwhelming sadness from the beginning of the film that leads up to a bittersweet ending. The film follows a brood of a dozen or so widows as they try to maintain their Hindi lifestyle as it pertains to widows. Widows are considered outcasts and according to Hindu Religious Texts, they must remain so until their death.
The gnawing ache in my stomach, as I watched this film, is that each and every widow could have escaped their fate by just walking away. They were so bound by tradition and culture and religion that they truly believed that God wanted them to suffer so. It is true with women across the globe. We don't have to submit to society's stereotype on what a woman should be. Break free and live YOUR authentic life! (Isn't that the buzz word? Authentic!)
Anyway, movies are a huge market in India. I hear that it dwarfs Hollywood. That means I have a lot of pleasurable movie-going for me in the future. I've watched a few Chinese movies and was equally impressed. The foreign market is definitely where "ITS" at. Foreign films and older films have become my respite. For me, American cinema is just plain WACK! I can't describe it in any other terms. It's sorry! I'm glad Netflix has such a wide variety of foreign films.
So anyway, Ladies... if you're looking for something REALLY good to watch... step away from Lifetime and hunt this film down. It was well worth my time.
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