Water - there is so much we take for granted.

Alicia: I just finished watching the movie, Water. It is a foreign film, filmed in India. It is about an 8-year-old girl, Chuyia, promised in marriage (and actually married) at seven, who is suddenly widowed (her husband was much older than she). She is then is forced to live out the rest of her days (well almost, watch and find out) in a temple for Hindu widows, communing with 14 other women and a cruel headmistress who agrees to take her in and who abuses her station within the household. But it's through the trials of another widow, a beautiful prostitute named Kalyani (forced into prostitution by the headmistress in order to garner income for the house but largely for her own sake)who is courted by a man from a higher caste. I won't tell you the rest because you should see it. It is also the story of the effect the teachings of Ghandi had on law and social inequalities in India down the most rural and poverty-stricken areas of India. You also learn about the importance and symbolism of water in the socio-cultural traditions of India.

The movie was released in 2000 and directed by Deepa Mehta. It received a nomination for the 2007 Academy Award®: Best Foreign Language Film.

You must see this. It's amazing and takes such a captivating look at the hardships women, married and unmarried, faced in India. Some reviews claim there are some historical inaccuracies regarding the reaction by the people of India to Ghandi's message at the time that he was alive, regarding the new law passed allowing re-marrriage by widows, and as regards the degree to which the practices of the people in the small town depicted where as widespread as the director would have us believe, but I do not know enough of the history of that country to tell. The subtleties of character and the lyrical yet realistic attempt at portrayal is captivating.