Description: 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.
Don't miss Very sensitively done as only a woman director can do. I can't help contrast this with "Bandit Queen" directed by Shekhar Kapur, which somehow managed to denigrate the courageous Phoolan Devi, at least in my opinion.
Well, I not very familiar with Indian movies, but this one sounded interesting and enlightening regarding Indian history. I usually go for the Asian horror genre, but I'm glad I got this movie. Well done, well acted, and very, very, sad. Much better than the silly Indian singing/dancing movies you can catch on Saturday morning TV. I loved the ending when the widow gave the little girl to Ghandi as the train moved away from the station. Enjoy!
Womans Role In Hinduism I have been a big admirer of Deepa Mehta's work for some time. Because she is really the only voice that shows the ouside world what is really going on in India. The government of India and also hindu's have been hiding these things and so many others from the outside world. She is the only director willing to show the bad point of hindu society especially with woman. I have a very close connection to this theme because i am also related to India by marriage, and have lived there for years off and on. Also Mehta is the only director to start showing things of hindu society. But for years Bollywood has been showing bad points of muslims in india and 99% aren't true. It is ok for them to do that but if they try to make anything about Hinduism then they try to shut it down. Water is a wonderfull showing of the hindu's attitude towards woman. Woman are nothing but property that is bought and sold at marriage, and if they do not give enough money to husband at marry so many times family will burn them. When husbands die especially if they are young so many times are forced out from their husbands homes because they are considered bad luck. of course not that many hindu's follow this idea of putting woman in ashrams. but it still happens today, and they do end up into a life of prostitution as it shows in this movie. Actually this movie shows you a more tammer side of what happens to widows in india. They used to actually throw woman into their husbands funeral piers by force. This movie has a wonderfull story line and also lesson about what is actually going on and outsiders have no idea. The acting was good but it would have been alot better if the original cast of Shabana Azmi playing the lead. But unfortunatly the indian government forced them to shut down filming in India and also forced Shabana Azmi out of the film. So if she would have been in it then it would have been the best acting. Next I think Deepa Mehta needs to show about abortion in india, and how many hindu babies are being aborted by their parents just because they are girls. Woman being forced to have abortion even if they don't want. Also how much india's population is going uneven with more boys then girls. In some places as much as 30% girls to 70% boys. But I advise anyone who wants to see some reality that is going on under wraps, then you need to see every one of Deepa Mehta's movies. I find they will be a big awaking to those who are not familier with indian society.
Mourning I didn't really know what to expect about "Water" except that it was an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film (generally a good category for "sleepers"). It didn't take long before I got drawn into the story and, especially, the characters. The picture takes place in 1938 India and Ghandi was a sort of supporting role in formulating the plot. We start the movie by witnessing a young girl (we're talking somewhere around 7-9 years old) finding out she's a widow. We then find out that widows in the Indian culture are doomed to live their live in a sort of impoverished pennance while being banned from remarriage. Our young girl is condemned to a sort of halfway house for widows. Some of the widows have been that way since the age of our heroine only now they are middle-aged. They have to fend for themselves which involves begging and more intimate pursuits. Our girl refuses to accept things the way they are and it is her agitation that creates a new attitude in the ranks of her elders. There are many facets of this theme played out in "Water" utilizing the many unique characters in the story. In the end, we are left with a modern-day perspective of a problem I (and, I suspect, most viewers) were innocently ignorant of.
This is a quality film which impressed me on virtually all levels. The cinematography was outstanding, the sound was terrific with the Indian music weaving in and out of the background, the acting was supurb, and the directing was excellent. "Water" was one of those movies that left me with a sort of numbness over what I had just seen.
Excellent The girl's 8, she doesn't remember her wedding, her husband is dead, and now she's a widow forever.
And almost immediately after, the filmmaker has us laughing.
This is a brilliant film that looks at the sweeping changes in a society by using the little microcosm of a home for widows. It's got all the color and music of India, and Deepa Mehta is just so gifted that I oughta hunt down every film she's ever made. She just keeps impressing me.
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