Water is set in 1938 colonial India and centers on the story of a young child, Chuyia, who is left a widow after her arranged marriage husband dies. In these times Hindi widows have the option of killing themselves on their husband's funeral pyre; marrying her husband's younger brother; or taking a vow of celibacy and solitude. Little Chuyia's parents decide to leave her at a "widow's house". There she meets the home's matron, Madhumati and two older widows - Shakuntala and Kalyani - who help her through a transition she doesn't fully understand. Woven among this story is the story of Gandhi (a little forced I thought) and the murky truth of widow houses in India at this time (a truth I won't reveal so as not to spoil the movie). Water, directed by Deepa Mehta, is a difficult film to watch (it is long on character development; short on plot and action), and, while absolutely gorgeous to watch, frustrated me to the point where I wanted to yell 'get to the point already!'.
My rating: 6 out of 10.
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