Water: Religion, Culture and Tears

While flying from Atlanta to San Francisco today I watched a film that has been on my "must watch" list for some time now. Water is set in India during the time Gandhi was instilling ideas of independence from the British. It focuses on the lives of women and girls who are widowed, and therefore set apart from the rest of Indian society. Never to marry again, they are considered somehow unclean or defective for having outlived their husbands.

Water is one of the most visually beautiful films I have seen in a very long time. It also is one of the most moving. While the crew of the plane cajoled most of the passengers to stretch their arms and shoulders in unison, I wiped tears from my eyes. Water has a powerful story. And even though this movie portrayed events taking place in 1938, millions of widows there experience the same sad fate, some 70 years later.

Water is a sad film, but it is well-worth your time.