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For foreign film fans, "Water" is one that should not be missed.

It is a historical political-tale that takes place in India in the 1930s, detailing how even the youngest widows were forced to live in chaste poverty after their husbands died. It is a practice that is still not totally extinct.

The making of "Water" touchd upon a raw nerve among some fundamentalist Hindu men. In fact, Deepa Mehta, the director, was forced to relocate shooting of the film after protests in the Indian Holy City of Varanasi. It was completed in Sri Lanka.

This is an exquisite, sensitive and challenging film that harbors no romantic illusions about the painful reality of religious extremism.

As one viewer noted online:

"I saw this film on a Saturday afternoon in a theater with about 40 other people, split about 60/40, females to males. All ages although the younger viewers were mainly female. (late teens) Towards the end, as I was choking back tears and grabbing at Kleenex's, I looked around as there was total silence from the audience. It was AWED SILENCE, people! Every woman was bawling her eyes out and the men, without exception, were scrunched down into their collars, staring intently, holding back tears. This is Deepa's finest hour. She can retire now knowing she has made a worthy film. I would have voted 10 but there were a few technical glitches such as one moment were the color/lighting changed for about 3 seconds in an important scene and then snapped back. No blame to Deepa, though. I have sent several to see the film and all have raved about it, Can hardly wait to buy the DVD and see it again. The criticisms were political and should not be considered. Any film that criticizes aspects of a religion gets blasted from fundamentalists. This film is NOT a political statement. It is entertainment based on a political statement. It should not be missed. Brava!!!"

Deepa Mehta, the director, hopes that viewers will not succumb to a narrow outrage at the practices depicted in the film: "“We are very good, as different nations and different cultures, to have a collective amnesia about our own [problems],” says Mehta. “[Water] is about three women trying to break that cycle and trying to find dignity, and trying to get rid of the yoke of oppression, and if it inspires people to do something in their own culture, that’s what’s important.”

Mehta, born in India and having spent her adult life in Canada, has crafted a haunting, lush tale of fate that cannot be undone.

There is a Shakespearean sense of tragedy that permeates "Water." It is both exhilarating and painful to see the plot unfold -- and to see a movie that lurks deep into the issues and emotions at hand with an exotic script and sensual visuals.

After viewing "Water," you realize how superficial so much modern cinema is.

"Water" submerges you in a historical time period by making the reality of the widows of the Ganges so real that you can almost touch it.

Ironically, the two leading characters, a young widow and her would-be suitor who violates religious convention are both stunning to look at. That helps balance the otherwise grim circumstances of the story -- and the all too fleeting hope that it evokes.

Making this film, after the protests, riots and death threats, was an act of courage and determination on the part of Deepa Mehta. Her film deserves a wide audience, although it is doubtful that it will be embraced by the masses.







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