Water

Water (2005)--A highly acclaimed movie from Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta of Bollywood/Hollywood fame. Through a cultural lens, it depicts the high cost of individuals' struggles against traditions and religious mores. Examples of this genre are plentiful: The Joy Luck Club, Bend It Like Beckham, Fiddler On the Roof, or even Romeo and Juliet, for that matter. If not delivered from a fresh angle then, such a genre can easily become a cliche in itself. The crucial test for the director and / or scriptwriter therefore is to make it different from the others, and not give the viewers the impression that they are watching a National Geographic feature. The key of course is the story, the faces behind it, and the pathos underlying it. In various points of the movie, I feel like I'm watching an instructive film on Indian cultural mores and rituals. What baffles me is, since the movie is in the Hindi language, do the makers of the film need to explain to their own people what their norms and traditions are? Instead of going into cultural rituals, the film should explore much deeper into its love story between an upper caste man, intellectual and idealistic, and his lover, an outcaste, a widow who is restricted for life to ever remarry. The story is the appeal of the film, and the director should carry it much further to see that it is well developed and fully explored. The faces of lovers Lisa Ray and John Abraham are the valuable yet underused asset of the film. They are probably one of the most beautiful pairs of lovers on screen. Let us have more of them together please, I yearned. Indeed, all the actors in the film are memorable, especially Sarala, who plays the 7-year-old widow Chuyia. To contrast with the epic Indian scenery, Mehta should zoom in more on the passion and struggles in the lovers' own world. The heart-wrenching twist towards the end is proof that the story is a poignant one, but with deeper, focused development, it can be much more powerful.

~~½ Ripples