[Moved from the LAST FILM SEEN thread / OP 06/06/2006]

WATER (Canada / 2005)

*A 2006 U.S. Release*

The original production of Deepa Mehta's poignant yet simplistic new film Water, the third installment of her elemental trilogy following Fire (1996) and Earth (1998), had to be shut down in India back in 2000 due to the violent protests of Hindu fundamentalist groups. Fearing further actions, Mehta went to neighboring Srilanka with the film which focuses on the harsh treatment of widows because of ancient religious customs. Set in 1930s colonial India during Gandhis rise to power, Water mostly takes inside an ashram, a place of confinement for Hindu widows who have to spend the rest of their lives in exile. Chuyia (Sarala), a precocious eight-year-old child widow, ends up in Varanasis ashram situated alongside the Ganges. While she isnt welcomed by most, she becomes close to a couple of the inmates: Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), a stoic, well-respected resident, and Kalyani (Lisa Ray), a young and beautiful one who's been forced into prostitution in order to keep the institution running. To Mehtas credit, she has approached the films inherently grim subject matter in a relaxed and, at times, blitheful manner, which wasnt always the case in her previous elemental efforts. But for a stretch, the film unfortunately deviates into a Bollywood-esque romance which develops between Kalyani and an upper-class attorney who happens to be a Gandhian. That said, there isn't any doubt regarding Mehtas concern for the plight of her characters and the issues that surround them, whom she touches upon in various minor yet affecting sequences. Ultimately, however, the strong work of its cast along with the highly evocative cinematography of Giles Nuttgens enables Water to overcome the late dramatics to leave a rich and strong impression. 

Grade: B-
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*Available on U.S. DVD (Fox). Canada (Mongrel Media).