Twentieth Century Fox Home Ent Water

Simply wonderful! This movie is not a Bollywood type movie. It is a serious look at extremism in religion and how the women of India have suffered for centuries from the self advantageous interpretation of religious dogma that turns them into outcasts when their husbands die. The beauty of this movie is the incredible acting. The performances are so touching and so eloquent that you are drawn into the story and the feelings of the women. Yet it is not a sad movie or a militant one. It simply tells a very touching story of the experiences of a group of widows during the period that Gandhi was challenging the ethics and morality of some extreme religious viewpoints in India. I learned so much from this film that I didn't know about. Also, the scenery is so beautiful (filmed in Sri Lanka) and the little girl that plays Chuila is an absolutely amazing actress.

Truly mesmerizing, I was captivated the entire time. A quote from the film sums up the message I received, "What do you do when your faith and your conscience are conflicted?" Always follow your conscience I say. If your faith and your conscience are conflicted, it is time to reassess. Faith should comfort you, not make you turn a blind eye to what you know is wrong. But out of the tragedy that results from their ancient religious laws comes the resiliency of the human spirit, the innocence of youth, and the blindness of love. The music is amazing and the most beautiful scenes for me were the non-verbal ones set to music. This is probably my favorite international film and definitely the most moving film I've seen in a long time.

This movie is exceptionally well done. It depicts the sorrows facing the widowed women (often times these women are children who have been promised in marriage and their intended dies before the wedding has ever taken place) of India. It is very emotional. These women live under terrible conditions - and just because their husband or intended husband has died. I talked to a dear friend of mine who lives in India. He has visited the "House of Widows". He says that the movie, which he felt was exceptional, did not show how awful the real conditions are...the women live in even worse conditions than the movie depicts. This was a very emotional movie for me. It does have subtitles, so one must be willing to follow along with reading. It is not a movie for those who require "high action". I have the musical CD from this movie which I also highly recommend. The music is very moving.

It is a journey into the paganism and abuses that are India. It is a true story. One of the first things that got my attention was that the same harsh traditions exist in India no matter which century, this timeline being 1938. They are still practicing the old cruel, pagan customs regarding their women dating back 2000 years taken from the ancient Manu Hindi Script. It is a tale of sadness, loss and pagan practices that need to be abolished. The fact is that women who are widowed at any age end up in Ashrams (filthy prisons) and is truly horrible. It was Ghandi's intentions to give the Untouchables another chance to live life as most of them were widowed as early as age seven after being betrothed or sold by their parents to older men who died suddenly and it is blamed on his wife causing her to be known as a "husband eater". This is a travesty! These widowed women could have been able to live productive lives but instead are used for sexual vice by male family members and other men in the area. What hypocrisy! They are wasted and tossed out like so much trash proving that India is steeped in gross, moral corruption and pantheism. India is one of the leading countries that refuses to come into the twenty-first century and abolish long-held moral and religious crimes perpetrated against its people especially women and girls. This film deals with the "secret selling" of most of the young girls into prostitution to “keep things going”. It is a gross and wicked sin and the worst form of human abuse practiced against women and young girls. From the money these poor young women bring in from this evil is handed over to those who run the Ashrams (fat house mothers) making them able to live secret, lavish lives eating gluttonously while all the other women literally starve. They are like walking ghosts in coarse, white linen saris with shaved heads with only death as an escape. A courageous film maker, Deepa Mehta, wants to inform the world of this inhumane practice in India using her amazing filming talent. In it she uses color and imagery to tell not only of this profound wrong but she also weaves a tender love story like a golden thread and she does it in such a way that is moving and beautiful at the same time. At no time do we lose touch with the actors or the story while the brilliant use of color and shadowy images become her form d'art. The Ganges is the main element since it is worshipped in India as a [g]od. I think what came to my mind most of all was the harshness of Hinduism. They believe in Karma which doesn’t allow for compassion or mercy. People die by the millions with no one to care or assist them especially children. I feel deep sorrow for all those who do not know that God the Creator made them and for a much higher purpose than sexual slavery. One woman stated, “maybe Kalyani will come back as a man”. This is blatantly reincarnation, one of the main tenants of Hinduism. The Holy Bible states, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27. These are true words regarding death.

`Water' (2006) is the third and final film in Deepa Metha's' trilogy joining `Fire' (1997) and `Earth' (1999). While a slower moving film than the first two it is also the most poetic in atmosphere and much more traditionally Hindu in presentation. Like the two films preceding it `Water' deals with one of those ignored and generally unspoken problems underlying Indian culture. In this case it's the unethical, inhuman treatment of widows. Synopsis: The film begins with the death of the husband of eight year old child bride Chuyia (Sarala), leaving the little girl a widow at an age when she should still be playing with dolls. She is taken to a rundown ashram housing an impoverished group of widows doomed to live out the rest of her life as outcasts. Chuyia forms an immediate bond with Kalyani (Lisa Ray) whose physical beauty has become the sole means of support for the community through the vehicle of prostitution. Through a chance encounter Kalyani captures the attention of Narayan (John Abraham), a wealthy, idealistic follower of Gandhi. Soon a proposal of marriage follows and now for the first time Kalyani envisions the possibility of a new, happy life. However traditional beliefs and social pressures work against the young couple at every turn. As Kalyani battles with the superstitions and taboos that seek to deny her one last chance for love those same social evils begin to close in on young Chuyia threatening to enslave her into the same lifestyle Kalyani has endured. will Narayan have the strength of conviction to save them both or are they destined to remain amongst the forgotten and ignored? What would Gandhi do? Critique: `Water' is a beautifully filmed and heartbreakingly elegant conclusion to Deepa Metha's trilogy. Everything was done to perfection in this film; cinematography, soundtrack, storytelling and wonderful acting with a number of truly memorable performances. Deepa Metha has once again shown how to meld filmmaking with important, contemporary issues without devaluing the cinematic art or the social message. Bravo!

Water is simply a spectacular film in every way! It tells the tale of an ancient custom in India to condemn widows, however young, to a common forced celibate life style. The tale is told against the background of the efforts of Gandhi to free India from British colonialism and reform practices like those affecting widows. The real star of the show is an amazing child actor who plays one of the "widows" condemned to the cruel common life by India's ancient custom. Not a dry eye in the house by the time the film ends! Unforgettable and grand in my view; a fabulous achievement for all involved!

Very touching portrayal of life in India

This is a heartwarming movie, and it will definitely pull at your heartstrings. It also gives you some history on how their culture was in that era.

Water est un des film le plus tendre que je connaisse et qui décrit une condition fait à certaines femmes en Inde. La tradition que la pauvreté apporte parfois, les a entraineées dans un despoir profond et qu'il ne peuvent changer. En espérent que les injustice de ce monde disparaisse une après l'autre pour laisser les êtres vivre.

ce film est superbe, tant par les images, les ambiances, le jeu des acteurs, que par l'histoire, qui a certainement été celle de nombreuses veuves indiennes. En Inde, les veuves, si elles ne sont plus confinées dans ces maisons pour veuves, sont toujours mal considérées par la population. Elles se remarient rarement car, elles portent malchance. Si elles n'ont pas eu la chance d'avoir un fils qui prendra soin d'elles, elles sont souvent dans la rue où elles vivent du bon vouloir des passants.

Alles gut

For me this is a masterpiece of a movie. The concerning story left me totally moved and in tears. Despite the sad story the movie is visually captured in a fairytale. A strong contrast between beauty of India and society and harsh reality of customs and rites. The movie tells the heartbreaking reality of the widows in India and their outcast status in society. It especially highlights the situation of a child widow who's life is finished by these harsh rites before it even began. And the struggle between indoctrinated believes and justice and democracy. The movie has subtitles. A must-see movie and highly recommendable.

E' un gran bel film: condotto dalla regista con sensibilità e delicatezza. Mette a fuoco la posizione delle donne in India, in epoca neanche troppo lontana, attraverso il dramma di alcune di queste, emarginate e destinate a vivere da reiette, nell'ignoranza e nella povertà; tanto vittime del pregiudizio da infliggersi da se stesse la condanna al "peccato" di sopravvivere al marito. Belle immagini e bella musica: suggestive scenografie. Ottimo rapporto qualità/prezzo, spedizione, come sempre, puntualissima.