Twentieth Century Fox Home Ent Water

It is a journey into the paganism and abuses that are India. It is a true story.One of the first things that got my attention was that the same harsh traditions exist in India no matter which century, this timeline being 1938. They are still practicing the old cruel, pagan customs regarding their women dating back 2000 years taken from the ancient Manu Hindi Script. It is a tale of sadness, loss and pagan practices that need to be abolished. The fact is that women who are widowed at any age end up in Ashrams (filthy prisons) and is truly horrible. It was Ghandi's intentions to give the Untouchables another chance to live life as most of them were widowed as early as age seven after being betrothed or sold by their parents to older men who died suddenly and it is blamed on his wife causing her to be known as a "husband eater". This is a travesty!These widowed women could have been able to live productive lives but instead are used for sexual vice by male family members and other men in the area. What hypocrisy! They are wasted and tossed out like so much trash proving that India is steeped in gross, moral corruption and pantheism. India is one of the leading countries that refuses to come into the twenty-first century and abolish long-held moral and religious crimes perpetrated against its people especially women and girls.This film deals with the "secret selling" of most of the young girls into prostitution to “keep things going”. It is a gross and wicked sin and the worst form of human abuse practiced against women and young girls. From the money these poor young women bring in from this evil is handed over to those who run the Ashrams (fat house mothers) making them able to live secret, lavish lives eating gluttonously while all the other women literally starve. They are like walking ghosts in coarse, white linen saris with shaved heads with only death as an escape.A courageous film maker, Deepa Mehta, wants to inform the world of this inhumane practice in India using her amazing filming talent. In it she uses color and imagery to tell not only of this profound wrong but she also weaves a tender love story like a golden thread and she does it in such a way that is moving and beautiful at the same time. At no time do we lose touch with the actors or the story while the brilliant use of color and shadowy images become her form d'art.The Ganges is the main element since it is worshipped in India as a [g]od. I think what came to my mind most of all was the harshness of Hinduism. They believe in Karma which doesn’t allow for compassion or mercy. People die by the millions with no one to care or assist them especially children. I feel deep sorrow for all those who do not know that God the Creator made them and for a much higher purpose than sexual slavery. One woman stated, “maybe Kalyani will come back as a man”. This is blatantly reincarnation, one of the main tenants of Hinduism. The Holy Bible states, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27. These are true words regarding death.

`Water' (2006) is the third and final film in Deepa Metha's' trilogy joining `Fire' (1997) and `Earth' (1999). While a slower moving film than the first two it is also the most poetic in atmosphere and much more traditionally Hindu in presentation. Like the two films preceding it `Water' deals with one of those ignored and generally unspoken problems underlying Indian culture. In this case it's the unethical, inhuman treatment of widows.Synopsis: The film begins with the death of the husband of eight year old child bride Chuyia (Sarala), leaving the little girl a widow at an age when she should still be playing with dolls. She is taken to a rundown ashram housing an impoverished group of widows doomed to live out the rest of her life as outcasts. Chuyia forms an immediate bond with Kalyani (Lisa Ray) whose physical beauty has become the sole means of support for the community through the vehicle of prostitution.Through a chance encounter Kalyani captures the attention of Narayan (John Abraham), a wealthy, idealistic follower of Gandhi. Soon a proposal of marriage follows and now for the first time Kalyani envisions the possibility of a new, happy life. However traditional beliefs and social pressures work against the young couple at every turn. As Kalyani battles with the superstitions and taboos that seek to deny her one last chance for love those same social evils begin to close in on young Chuyia threatening to enslave her into the same lifestyle Kalyani has endured. will Narayan have the strength of conviction to save them both or are they destined to remain amongst the forgotten and ignored? What would Gandhi do?Critique: `Water' is a beautifully filmed and heartbreakingly elegant conclusion to Deepa Metha's trilogy. Everything was done to perfection in this film; cinematography, soundtrack, storytelling and wonderful acting with a number of truly memorable performances. Deepa Metha has once again shown how to meld filmmaking with important, contemporary issues without devaluing the cinematic art or the social message. Bravo!

I watched this years ago, when I found it on Amazon, I had to get it and see it again. All subtitled. Works for the U.S. region.It hits right in the feels. Beautiful, sad, and thought-provoking.

A depressingly informative film based on the plight of widows in India in the 1930's, during the time of Ghandi, which, we are told, has not improved that much today. Widows could include an 8-year-old girl such as the central figure in this story, who had never left her family, but whose marriage was secured too early for her to remember. Upon the death of her husband, she was obliged to enter a life of poverty in a home for widows for the rest of her life. The jewels in the story are the photography and acting, and the complex relationships between the women. The other women emerge to share the storyline. There is tragedy, romance, and flickers of hope. The story ends with a very uncertain flicker of hope for the child widow, but hardly the happy ending most westerners expect from their movies.

Simply wonderful! This movie is not a Bollywood type movie. It is a serious look at extremism in religion and how the women of India have suffered for centuries from the self advantageous interpretation of religious dogma that turns them into outcasts when their husbands die. The beauty of this movie is the incredible acting. The performances are so touching and so eloquent that you are drawn into the story and the feelings of the women. Yet it is not a sad movie or a militant one. It simply tells a very touching story of the experiences of a group of widows during the period that Gandhi was challenging the ethics and morality of some extreme religious viewpoints in India. I learned so much from this film that I didn't know about. Also, the scenery is so beautiful (filmed in Sri Lanka) and the little girl that plays Chuila is an absolutely amazing actress.

Set in India at a time when calls for independence were growing just before Partition, this film focuses on the fate of a very young girl (eight years old or so) married off to a much older man in rural India, only to be widowed almost straight away. According to tradition, she is forced to live in a community of girls and women of all ages in the same position, shunned and poor, supported by charity, it being considered bad luck for any man to marry a woman whose husband has died. It is poignant to see her abandoned by uncaring parents, apparently too poor themselves to keep her, transformed so quickly from a carefree child in a colourful dress to a shaven-headed waif, although she remains assertive and strong-willed. Although close-knit in some ways, there is a good deal of abuse and hypocrisy in the group: a young widow may not be able to marry but can be prostituted for monetary gain.With an Indian director, the film has a strong authentic flavour and some powerful visual images of India, but aggravated by muffled sound quality at times, the acting often seems in turn wooden or exaggerated and the most dramatic scenes somewhat contrived.

This is an incredibly sensitive and perceptive film about widows in India. The movie highlights the centuries-old plight of widows in India. While the practice of burning them with their husband's body has disappeared, widows continue to endure emargination and discrimination. Acting is great and the realism of the film adds to the urgency of the problem it highlights. While things are by all accounts improving as India becomes more educated and secular, the issue remains a tragic reminder of the abuses of tradition.This is one of three films by Mehta on politics in India. As she puts it: Water is about the politics of religion,  Fire (Queer Film Classics)  is about the politics of sex and Earth is about the politics of nationalism. Fire (Queer Film Classics)

For me this is a masterpiece of a movie. The concerning story left me totally moved and in tears. Despite the sad story the movie is visually captured in a fairytale. A strong contrast between beauty of India and society and harsh reality of customs and rites.The movie tells the heartbreaking reality of the widows in India and their outcast status in society. It especially highlights the situation of a child widow who's life is finished by these harsh rites before it even began. And the struggle between indoctrinated believes and justice and democracy.The movie has subtitles.A must-see movie and highly recommendable.

An Amazing film with great acting.Beautiful scenery. Keeps you watching in awe.One point Would make is that there are two discs. the first disc is in hindu with subtitles in english which yes I did watch first in so much rush to see the film. Enjoyed it though.But DISC TWO has the English Version on which I am now sitting watching. Much easier for English to watch but I must admit the subtitled one does make you take in the surroundings in a different way.Highly say a Must watch of maybe both discs

Watched this when it was shown on TV recently and enjoyed it so much that I bought the DVD. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but if you take the time to watch the whole film then I'd be very surprised if you weren't moved. The extras are worth watching too - not because they are anything special but simply because they give a bit more background to the film.