Water

Deepa Mehta's brave exploration of India's storied past continues in her perfectly pitched, finely judged tale of a young Hindu girl whose life is suddenly changed by the traditions of her religion. Delving into Indian society of the thirties, Mehta has made a remarkably inspirational film about a girl who refuses to accept her fate and struggles against powerful religious customs that turn her into a prisoner without a future. Water is told with a stoic sense of outrage that turns into a growing spirit of possibility and potential. The third film in her Elemental Trilogy - Fire and Earth precede it - Water is set against the epic backdrop of the River Ganges during Gandhi's rise to prominence. Chuyia (Sarala) is an eight-year-old child bride whose husband suddenly passes away. According to custom, her head is shaved and she is taken to an ashram for Hindu widows where she is expected to atone for the sins of her past that resulted in the death of her husband. It is a virtual exile, with no hope of escape. The ashram is full of other widows, old and young, all with their own stories, hopes and fears. Some of them have accepted their fate, others are bitter about their lot in life. The indefatigable Chuyia is left to navigate this world and learn its lessons. Water is Mehta's richest and most complex film to date. It is the work of a humanist, made with incredible tenderness and true concern for the plight of all her characters. Her finely characterized portraits of the coterie of women who people the film are textured and moving, from the elderly Madhumati (Manorma), who runs the ashram, to the deeply conflicted Kalyani (Lisa Ray), who seeks solace across the river under cover of darkness. But the film is centred by the extraordinary performance of Sarala as the young Chuyia, a girl whose spirit remains unbroken. Her refusal to bend to her plight carries considerable emotive power and elevates Water from a harsh tale of deprivation into one of hope and the possibility of overcoming. Mehta has made a film for the ages.