Water

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Movie
German title Water - the flow of life
Original title Water
Country of production Canada
original language Hindi
Publishing year 2005
length 114 minutes
Rod
Director Deepa Mehta
script Deepa Mehta
production David Hamilton
music AR Rahman ,
Mychael Danna
camera Giles Nuttgens
cut Colin Monie
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
Earth

Water is a 2005 Canadian drama film directed by Deepa Mehta . The film is set in 1938 and describes the life of widows in an ashram in Varanasi , British India .

action

Water is set in 1938, when India was under British rule . The Orthodox Hindu tradition of that time included that in many places young girls were married to older men. When her husband dies, the widows, some of them very young, are forced to live in an ashram for the rest of their lives, abandoned . On the one hand, they should atone for the sins of their previous life that are made responsible for the death of their husband. On the other hand, her departure means financial relief for her husband's family.

The widow Chuyia, who is only seven years old, is placed in an ashram that already has 14 other women. The stern Madhumati, an old, well-fed woman, rules the run-down house, which is built around an inner courtyard. The pimp Gulabi is her only confidante and this hijra provides her with cannabis too . Gulabi helps Madhumati force Kalyani, now the second youngest of the widows, into prostitution and takes her across the river to her client . Kalyani is pretty and the only widow with her hair not shorn. Since arriving at the ashram as a child, she has been forced to use this method to earn money for the community.

One of the other widows, the withdrawn Shakuntala, is torn between her (supposed) duty as a widow and her dissatisfaction with her situation. She is left alone by Madhumata because of her anger and takes advice from Sadananda, a gentle Hindu priest who supports her self-confidence and helps her grasp her miserable situation.

Chuyia expects her mother to come to bring her home. This thought gives her sufficient self-confidence to find her way around the Ashram without being overwhelmed. The other widows are starting to like her. One day, through Chuyia, the beautiful Kalyani gets to know a follower of Mahatma Gandhi from the upper class, Narayan. The two fall in love, but tradition forbids rapprochement and Kalyani sends him away. However, she cannot forget him and begins to refuse Madhumati and her suitor. Narayan tries to see her again, which he manages with Chuyia's help. He secretly promises Kalyani to marry her and to go to Calcutta with her.

At the Ashram, Kalyani shares the secret of her upcoming wedding with Chuyia. But because of the sheer anticipation of the wedding party, she doesn't manage to keep it to herself and blurts it out to Madhumata. Now Kalyani's refusal makes sense to Madhumati, driven by anger and fear of what would happen to her karma if Kalyani were to marry again, she rushes into Kalyani's hut and violently shears her hair. Then she locks Kalyani in so that she can come back to her senses.

Shakuntala seeks advice from her spiritual master, who tells her that a law has been passed that allows widows to remarry. Shakuntala, appalled that such a change could be ignored and kept secret, demands the key to Kalyani's room and releases it.

The now free Kalyani leaves the Ashram without Madhumati being able to stop her. She meets Narayan, who wants to take her across the river to his parents' house. Within sight, however, Kalyani recognizes the house and begs Narayan to bring her back immediately. Reluctantly, she indicates it, but Narayan is even more likely to guess that the woman he is about to marry has been of service to his father. Narayan returns to his parents' house alone. His father, whom he had previously modeled on as a liberal, generous man, plays the matter down and advises his son to keep the sinful woman as his lover, because you cannot marry a whore. Narayan breaks with his father and, deeply disappointed in him, decides to follow Gandhi from now on. But when he arrives at the ashram to take Kalyani with him, he has to find out that she drowned herself the night before.

Madhumati decides it is time to let Chuyia make some money and sends her across the river to her first suitor with Gulabi. Shakuntala finds out about this and tries to prevent it, but only arrives at the river when Chuyia returns. She comforts the traumatized child during the night and wanders through the city with her the next day. The train with Gandhi on board is ready to depart at the station. Shakuntala desperately tries to hand Chuyia to someone on the departing train so that Gandhi can take care of her. She discovers Narayan and gives him the child. The train with Narayan and Chuyia continues, Shakuntala remains behind, knowing that Chuyia has escaped her fate.

Film music

  1. House Of Widows - 5:19
  2. Chuyia Explores - 1:42
  3. Where is she? - 0:58
  4. Chan Chan ** - 5:16
  5. Kaalu - 2:28
  6. Can't Go Home - 1:11
  7. Piya Ho ** - 6:02
  8. Ladoo Dreams - 1:11
  9. Funeral - 0:59
  10. Carriage - 2:06
  11. Fatty - 0:52
  12. Naina Neer Bahai ** - 4:58
  13. Kalyani Leaves - 2:21
  14. Shyam Rang Bhar Do ** - 5:10
  15. Turn The Boat Around - 1:33
  16. Walk Into River - 2:55
  17. Chuyia Is Gone - 2:35
  18. Vaishnava Janaiho ** - 3:03
  19. Train - 3:28
  20. Across The River - 5:35

The lyrics to the music of AR Rahman wrote Sukhwinder Singh .

background

The film is the third part of a trilogy by Deepa Mehta, which also includes Fire - When Love Catches Fire (1996) and Earth (1998).

Water premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival , where it was honored with the Opening Night Gala . In November of the same year it was performed across Canada. The first showing in India was on March 9, 2007. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Foreign Language Film , making it the first Canadian candidate in this category whose original language is not French.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ ARD - Das Erste: Water - The river of life . From: programm.daserste.de , accessed on June 24, 2014.
  2. ↑ Oscar-nominated film "Water" released in India 7 years after protests shut down filming. ( Memento of March 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Herald Tribune International. dated March 9, 2007.
  3. ↑ Patrick Frater: Water 'sweeps over Bangkok fest . 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2006.