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Silent Waters

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Silent Waters (2004)

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Reviews Counted:20

Fresh:14

Rotten:6

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Set in the late 1970s, Silent Waters is a well-meaning but plodding look at the rise of extremism in Pakistan.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Oct 8, 2004 Limited

Synopsis: This gorgeously shot feature chronicles the lives of a mother and her teenage son in a rural Pakistani village in 1979. Saleem (Aamir Malik) is an aimless youth in love with local beauty Zubeida... This gorgeously shot feature chronicles the lives of a mother and her teenage son in a rural Pakistani village in 1979. Saleem (Aamir Malik) is an aimless youth in love with local beauty Zubeida (Shilpa Shukla), and adored by his widowed mother, Ayesha (Kiron Kher). Life seems to flow in measured, bucolic beauty, but old and new trauma looms because of a pair of fundamentalist Muslim insurgents staying in the village. Their zealotry ignites a macho spark in Saleem and soon he is rejecting his mom for her Sufi philosophy, and Zubeida for seeing him outside of wedlock. Things get even worse with the arrival of some Sikh pilgrims, one of whom wants to find his lost sister. Anchored by Kiron Kher's moving performance, SILENT WATERS gradually evolves from a dreamy portrait of rural life (replete with Bollywood-esque wedding merriment) to a brutal history lesson. Viewers who are unfamiliar with the political time and place of this film are likely to be horrified to learn of the unconscionable cruelties visited on Muslim and Sikh women during the 1947 partitioning of Pakistan and after. Activist director Sabiha Sumar lets the story speak for itself, making this film both a moving, sociologically fascinating drama and a harrowing indictment of gender-based oppression. [More]

Starring: Kiron Kher, Aamir Malik, Shilpa Shukla, Arshud Mahmud

Starring: Kiron Kher, Aamir Malik, Shilpa Shukla, Arshud Mahmud, Salman Shahid

Director: Sabiha Sumar

Director: Sabiha Sumar
Screenwriter: Sabiha Sumar
Producer: Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Philippe Avril, Helge Albers, Claudia Tronnier
Studio: First Run Features

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 20, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Silent Waters

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/20/08
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Puts you in the middle of the action and allows you to understand, if not empathize with, all the main characters.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Leaden and dull.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
06/03/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

An interesting, if incomplete, picture of a community torn apart by religious zealotry.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
06/03/05
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Swirls amid memory and dreams while reflecting how much is masked by two-faced rhetoric, and how overlooked the victims of patriarchal nationalism and Islamism are.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
04/07/05
Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

By the time you understand the meaning of its title, Sabiha Sumar's film has delivered an emotional punch.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
03/11/05
Marta Barber
Marta Barber
Miami Herald

Even behind the veil, the movie tells us, there is dissent -- cinematic dissent.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
02/11/05
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

As a moviegoing experience, it's a sadly slim proposition.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
02/10/05
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

...sporadically intriguing film that's ultimately sunk by director Sabiha Sumar's occasionally simplistic and melodramatic treatment of the material.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/21/04
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Silent Waters means well, but falls way short of its mark of enlightening the world to the plight of South Asian women in this period of history. It just isn't believable enough.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/12/04
Susan Walker
Susan Walker
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An indictment of intolerance, Silent Waters is a truly powerful picture, and of the sort that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you've left the theatre.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/12/04
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | comment Comment
10/24/04
Jonathan W. Hickman
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders

The filmmakers provide a well-meaning, well-timed Pakistani portrait.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
10/08/04
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gripping and ultimately tragic.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/08/04
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Although taking place 25 years in the past, director-writer Sabiha Sumar's debut feature has relevance in the world as we now know it.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/08/04
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A more nuanced approach would have better articulated their allure to impressionable youth.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
10/08/04
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

Stirring on religious and humanitarian levels, and very timely notwithstanding its 1979 setting.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
10/07/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Sabiha Sumar's debut feature could scarcely be more relevant to Pakistan's present, or, given this country's history of backing such repressive regimes, to ours.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/06/04
Joshua Land
Joshua Land
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...it presents an engaging and informative depiction of Pakistan's tumultuous history from an intimate perspective.

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/11/04
Josh Ralske
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide
 
 
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