Water, a meditative drama that evokes the movies of the great Satyajit Ray, brings Deepa Mehta's "Elemental Trilogy" to a close. (The previous two films were Fire and Earth.) A film that takes a long, hard look at the second-class status of widows in fundamentalist Hindu society, Water has been battered, protested, and banned by elements of Indian society for what it depicts. Like Kandahar and Moolaadé, Water explores the exploitation of women in some societies, and how difficult life can become for those who oppose custom.

Chuyia (Sarala) is an eight-year-old widow sent to live in an ashram in the city of Varanasi when her husband dies. Chuyia is unhappy about being separated from her home and mother, but her high energy level provides a jolt to the staid, quiet surroundings of the womens' home. Within the walls of the ashram, Chuyia finds two allies: Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), who becomes a mother-figure, and the beautiful Kalyani (Lisa Ray), who is like a big sister. Kalyani, the youngest (other than Chuyia) and most attractive of the widows, is being pimped to the men of a high caste across the Ganges by Madhumati (Manorama), the "ruler" of the ashram. When Kalyani falls in love with an idealistic Brahmin named Narayana (John Abraham), and he with her, their relationship becomes a battle in the war between traditionalism and Gandhi's modernism.

Taken as a whole, Water presents a damning view of this aspect of fundamental Hinduism. Since women often play subservient roles in fundamentalist religions, the treatment of the widows in Water should not come as a surprise. Although the film is told through Chuyia's eyes, this is Kalyani's story. Chuyia is rebellious, but she does not blaze a trail the way Kalyani does. It is the older girl, who has not yet shed her romantic dreams, who defies Madhumati - something no one else in the ashram has the courage to do.

The film is suffused with a sense of creeping modernism, as if the curtain of ignorance is slowly lifted. One character remarks that widows are kept in the ashrams more for economic reasons than for spiritual ones. Another states that laws are being enacted which are designed to improve the lot of the widows. Most of the women in the ashram have learned to accept their situation with stoicism. But Kalyani and Chuyia are rebels, and their unwillingness to obey the rules causes others to question the status quo.

Considering all she endured to get this film made, Mehta must consider it a labor of love - or at least a story she believes has to be told. Despite the historical setting, one could see this as a statement about those women who, even in today's world, remain oppressed as a result of antiquated cultural norms. Honest movies about this subject are often powerful because they depict a great injustice. Water is no exception. The film ends on a note of hope, but there are deep waters to wade through before getting to that point.

Source:James Berardenilies Reelviews