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    Water

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    "Water" is a very well acted film that's emotionally effective and as a bonus, gives us a viewpoint that is hardly ever approached. I really enjoyed seeing this film because of its exposure of some of the hideously misogynist customs regarding widows in India. I can’t say if there have been any changes done since the film was made in 2005 and the setting of the story in the 1940s, but I don’t feel like I’m being out of line when I say that the country currently doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to its treatment of women. The film begins when Chuyia (Sarala Kariyawasam) loses her husband. That’s something to be worried about because she doesn’t have any money or a job... and she’s also a child bride. Just 7 years old and forced, according to the traditions associated with widows, to shave her head, ostracize her from the rest of the population and go live in an ashram to mourn her loss until her death. The film follows Chuyia as she attempts to make friends among the other widows and survive in this new world.

    What I like about this movie is that the characters feel very genuine. Men or women that at first seem to be purely "good" or "bad" gradually reveal themselves as simply human, with flaws and hopes of their own as well as the capacity for change. It becomes hard not to care for them as they suffer through truly unfair and even cruel circumstances imposed on them by the society they live in and also by themselves. There’s a lot of hypocrisy and abuse among these women, who should band together because they’re all seen as the lowest of the low but even in these circumstances, someone always wants to put someone else down.

    The film works as a history lesson (being set in 1938 India) and is highly critical of many ancient traditions, which is of course easy to get behind considering we have not only this barbaric separation of women who have lost everything from the rest of the world, but the heinous practice of child marriage and more, which is best discovered by yourself. That doesn't mean that the ideas in the film are dated however; many its criticisms are still applicable today and it will definitely spark discussions between the audience members. I feel like the overall attitudes of the characters, how they are reluctant to help each other because they are so programmed into believing that a widow is someone who is essentially a limb without the body it belonged to is something that will spark a lot of discussion. You'll feel genuine outrage and joy watching "Water" because every frame and event is convincing.

    In the end you feel empowered, armed with new knowledge and satisfied after seeing the drama unfold even though your heart has been broken more than once by the story. I learned while looking into the film that the film’s subject matter was so controversial in director Deepa Mehta’s home country that violent protests ignited in an attempt to stop production of the film. That tells me this picture, which I challenge anyone to convincingly tell me is not legitimately right in its criticism, demands to be seen. “Water” is a brave film that takes a stand and makes you want to take on too. (On DVD, January 27, 2013)

    10
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    adamwatchesmovies@  25.7.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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