It's standard soap opera dramaturgy in wrinkled linens, loincloths and saris.
Comment
05/15/08
Before the Rains (2008)
48
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:61
Fresh:29
Rotten:32
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: While lushly photographed and politically suggestive, this soapy melodrama lacks emotional resonance.
Theatrical Release:May 9, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $954,114
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... [More]
Starring: Linus Roache, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle
Director: Santosh Sivan
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Reviews for Before the Rains
The problem isn't just that the material is cliched and vaguely offensive....It's more that the plot is incredibly predictable, the score is manipulative and the denouement completely unsatisfying.
05/15/08
Will the rains come? Aye, they will -- and so too the colonialist’s comeuppance. Although by the time it rolls around many will be past caring.
05/14/08
A lovely, lyrical film with perfect timing that is a welcome relief from BlackBerrys, iPods, gas taxes, punk rock, the failing economy and the boredom of cutthroat election campaigns.
05/14/08
Top CriticSet among the first wave of nationalism that led to India's independence, this highly symbolic story is tautly constructed to create high-wire tension between the oh-so-white British colonialists and the traditional Indian ways.
05/13/08
The first third is frankly plodding, though the story begins to engage us by the midpoint. While there is nothing wrong with Roache's or Das's work, Bose's performance gives it whatever power it has.
05/11/08
[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
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
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
[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
So pretty and so utterly lifeless you can almost smell the embalming fluid coming off the screen.
05/09/08
Top CriticThe film is well-acted, a broad colonial allegory, and again, visually gorgeous.
05/09/08
Top CriticThe 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
Top CriticDirector 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
No amount of lingering shots of nature’s rich pageant can make up for its lack of human involvement.
05/08/08
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
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
Top Critican impressive cross-cultural achievement for director-cinematographer Sivan
05/04/08
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
Mechanical through and through.
04/29/08
Latest News for Before the Rains
May 08, 2008:
Santosh Sivan Goes Home Before the Rains 
For Before the Rains, his English-language directorial debut, cinematographer Santosh Sivan went back to his roots -- specifically Kerala, a state on the coast of southwestern... More...
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