Water
A film about freedom and the lives of Hindu widows
Deepa Mehta’s magnificent film about liberation.
The story takes place in India under British colonial rule in 1938, around the time Mahatma Gandhi is beginning to make his mark. Chuyia is widowed at just eight years old. Tradition and religious law dictate that, as a widow, she must live a life of renunciation and atone for the sins that caused her husband’s death. She is taken to a community of widows (ashram), where she meets Kalyani. Together, they meet Narayan, a young, idealistic lawyer who is also a supporter of Gandhi. Kalyani and Narayan fall in love, which proves problematic because Kalyani is a widow. Still, they defy the rules and meet in secret.
The production of Water was beset by problems and controversy, but the film received rave reviews and was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
“This work of gorgeous fury, about the virtual imprisonment of millions of Hindu widows in the years before independence, transforms Mehta’s feminist rage into an eloquent testament to the hunger for freedom.”
Village Voice
“As beautiful as it is harrowing.”
Los Angeles Times
“A profoundly moving drama.”
Variety
