Water (2005)
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 90
Fresh: 82 | Rotten: 8
This compassionate work of social criticism is also luminous, due to both its lyrical imagery and cast.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 2
This compassionate work of social criticism is also luminous, due to both its lyrical imagery and cast.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 43,905
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Movie Info
Following the sudden and unexpected death of her husband, a widowed child bride lashes out against her fate in the Hindu ashram where she is expected to atone for her sins in this humanistic drama, the third installment of filmmaker Deepa Mehta's Elemental Trilogy. Chuyia's (Sarala) husband has died, and religious doctrine dictates that she now retire to an ashram to atone for the sins that caused her husband's untimely death. As Chuyia bides her time among widows both young an old -- some
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Cast
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Seema Biswas
Shakuntala -
Lisa Ray
Kalyani -
John Abraham
Narayan -
Sarala
Chuyia -
Manorama
Madhumati -
Vidula Javalgekar
Patiraji "Auntie" -
Raghubir Yadav
Gulabi -
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Sadananda -
Vinay Pathak
Rabindra -
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Zul Vilani
Voice
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Water Trailer & Photos
All Critics (101) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (8) | DVD (10)
Quite possibly the best picture of the year thus far, with no fewer than three of the most luminous female performances I have ever seen onscreen.
Top CriticMehta prevailed, and this scandalous, beautiful and very moving tale of repression, hope and a tragedy is her triumph, and Hindu India's shame.
Unfolds with the clean, simple lines of a fairy tale, and if the characters initially seem to be too black-or-white to be believable, the moral complexity of the story reveals itself in a gradual, subtle manner.
Ebbs and flows with devastating truths and profound insights into the hypocrisy of extremism in any religion.
Mehta's film is courageous and reticent, a shout masquerading as a whisper.
Reminds us that Mehta is a filmmaker of courage -- she refused to abandon this film even after fundamentalist protestors shut down the production in India -- and singular style, telling stories that have never been told on screen.
Mehta explores the politics of religion to highlight how religious hypocrisy is used to ensure women are undermined and made subservient for economic purposes.
Powerful tale that unfortunately fails to provide any kind of real historical context for the oppression of Indian widows.
Perhaps the adversity of making the movie allowed the filmmakers and actors to empathize more fully with the subject and characters of Water.
... the incidence of violence against women at home or in institutions give Mehta's 1938 tale a currency that confirms the old notion "actions change, but attitudes do not."
One of the best films of the year.
Surprisingly, not much has changed in the last 70 years. The tradition of sequestering widows continues in India. Mehta deserves praise for spotlighting this situation. WATER is one of the year's best films.
Though it's a story told with feminist sensitivity, it's also the most relevant perspective for such injustice to women.
Full of lush, fluid cinematography and evocative music, Water is an important look at a social injustice, and Mehta's most accomplished film yet.
... gorgeous and heartbreaking... full of glorious, unforgettably pretty images... But they do not overpower Mehta's involving drama or the exceptionally fine performances of her stars...
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Foreign Titles
- Water (CA)
- Water (ES)
