[A] fierce, uncompromising critique of... nonchalant imperialism, and maybe even of just men on the whole... Which makes this one of the most sneakily feminist movies I've seen in a while.
05/09/08 02:59 PM
Before the Rains (2008)
53 %
Reviews Counted: 15 Fresh: 8 Rotten:7 Average Rating: 5.4/10
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Theatrical Release: May 9, 2008 Limited
Synopsis:
Forbidden romance, empire, and culture clash all lie at the heart of this drama. In 1930s India, Britain's reign is beginning to lose its hold on the region. In the midst of this turmoil, a British man (Linus Roache) embarks on an affair with an Indian woman (Nandita Das), while one of the men in... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Linus Roache, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle, John Standing
Director: Santosh Sivan
Screenwriter: Cathy Rabin
Producer: Doug Mankoff, Andrew Spaulding, Paul Hardart, Tom Hardart, Mark Burton
Composer: Mark Kilian
Screenwriter: Cathy Rabin
Producer: Doug Mankoff, Andrew Spaulding, Paul Hardart, Tom Hardart, Mark Burton
Composer: Mark Kilian
Reviews
1 - 15 (sorted by date)
A resolutely old fashioned story of personal tribulations played out against a backdrop of political turmoil, Sivan's film is well acted, beautifully photographed and oddly reassuring.
05/09/08 01:11 PM
Merchant-Ivory productions are usually visual delights, and Before the Rains is no exception. Pity that the direction and narrative lack passion. If there's anything a story of interracial adultery needs, it's passion.
05/09/08 01:10 PM
Top Critic [This] movie symbolizes the continued erosion of the Merchant Ivory brand into an entity producing films that belong on cable television, not in movie theaters.
05/09/08 01:08 PM
So pretty and so utterly lifeless you can almost smell the embalming fluid coming off the screen.
05/09/08 10:14 AM
Top Critic The film is well-acted, a broad colonial allegory, and again, visually gorgeous.
05/09/08 03:15 AM
Top Critic The ingredients of the Indian director Santosh Sivan’s period piece Before the Rains may be awfully familiar, but the film lends them the force of tragedy.
05/08/08 03:59 PM
Top Critic Director Santosh Sivan imparts a vastness and a sense of wonder to the film, qualities reminiscent of a Thomas Cole painting: They remind you why the Brits thought conquering India was a good idea in the first place.
05/08/08 12:11 PM
Top Critic No amount of lingering shots of nature’s rich pageant can make up for its lack of human involvement.
05/08/08 03:15 AM
A poignant drama about an Englishman's power games in colonial India that bring havoc to the lives of those around him.
05/07/08 06:24 PM
Rahul Bose has a winning presence -- eager with a touch of wariness or wary with a touch of eagerness, and never entirely at home. He keeps the movie from seeming too comfy -- a good thing.
05/05/08 10:09 AM
an impressive cross-cultural achievement for director-cinematographer Sivan
05/04/08 05:36 PM
Lacking the emotional power necessary to fuel its contrived plot elements, the film is a minor entry in the Merchant Ivory canon.
05/01/08 03:15 AM
Top Critic
The emotionally charged mysteries of his breakthrough feature, The Terrorist, have given way to laborious narrative convention in Indian helmer Santosh Sivan's latest, English-lingo period meller Before the Rains.
09/28/07 03:15 AM
Top Critic1 - 15 (sorted by date)
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