A few days ago I borrowed a DVD that my mom had rented (was quite surprised that she'd rent something in Hindi with English subtitles, even if it was by a Canadian director) - Water (2005), by Deepa Mehta. I remember hearing a few years back about how when she originally tried to film this in India, she ran into a lot of religious protests - she ended up delaying the project for a few years then filming in Sri Lanka instead (which then makes it a bit amusing how many articles online refer to her as an "Indian" filmmaker - yes, she was born there but immigrated to Canada many years ago, and I'm not sure how welcome she is in India by certain groups).
The film is set in the late 1930's, at which time child marriage was still quite common, and widows were basically cast out by their families under the guise of religion and usually ended up living in poverty. One of the main characters, Chuyia, was married so young that when she was widowed by age 8 she didn't even realize she had been married or who her husband was - others of the widows had never met their husbands. So there were some interesting social aspects (especially since Mehta points out at the end that there are still millions of widows living under similar conditions today in India despite some loosening of cultural restrictions), a love story, and hopefulness at the end that things might change (e.g., the influence of Gandhi). I really enjoyed the film, and thought that Mehta did a good job of weaving the water theme throughout - from the opening scene of a pond with water lilies, to the holy water used in many rituals, to the many times it was raining, to the focus on the river Ganges. (and I thought it was pretty amazing that the actor playing Chuyia, a Sri Lankan girl, didn't speak either English or Hindi so learned her lines phonetically via an interpreter - in one of the special features on the DVD).
(and tonight I'l see something entirely different with my husband, The Sentinel, with Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland. Oh, and I guess with one of those Desperate Housewives actors too, not that I have or ever will watch that show. Tomorrow night I'm going with friends to see Eeny Meeny (2000), a Czech comedy that's part of a Central European Film "Festival" they're having at our Metro Cinema).
Various observations about life, including cycling, Guiding, current events, and other interests. (If you found something to be helpful or interesting, please remember to leave a comment so I know you were here! Or e-mail me if you're too shy to comment in public - guidemd at hotmail dot com)
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