Movie Review: Water, An Essential Film

By Pegah Aarabi

Amidst political and social controversy, Deepa Mehta's final installment of the "elements" trilogy, Water, is a gripping look into the plight and strength of women. The themes in the story are not unlike many films, there's love, loss, politics and turmoil, but this film is distinctive because it takes you into a world that few know about but by the end you feel as if you've been a part of it all.

Water is set in the late 1930's during a time of immense transition in India, when Mahatma Gandhi led the independence struggle against British colonial rule. This political theme is the backdrop for the struggle of the widows in an ashram, a home for widows in a Hindu temple, who are sent there to live a life of grief and solitude in accordance with ancient Hindu religious doctrines.

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