"A widow should be long suffering until death, self-restrained and chaste.
A virtuous wife who remains chaste when her husband has died goes to heaven.
A woman who is unfaithful to her husband is reborn in the womb of a jackal."
The Laws of Manu
Chapter 5, verse 156-161
Dharamshastras
Chapter 5, verse 156-161
Dharamshastras
(Sacred Hindu Texts)
Where to begin? Where, oh where...
I found the setting mouthwatering. In spite of the abjectly horrible situation of the shunned widows, I repeatedly asked myself “could a location be more beautific?” I kept thinking what I would give to close my eyes and find myself (as me, Lee Paris, a free American woman) sitting under that house sized tree, feeling the warm breezes blow through my clothing, the sounds of the rain, all of it.
I found the setting mouthwatering. In spite of the abjectly horrible situation of the shunned widows, I repeatedly asked myself “could a location be more beautific?” I kept thinking what I would give to close my eyes and find myself (as me, Lee Paris, a free American woman) sitting under that house sized tree, feeling the warm breezes blow through my clothing, the sounds of the rain, all of it.
In her interviews the director, Deepa Mehta, tells how she had the setting created with exactly this in mind. She wished to convey “the beauty of the world and the despair within it.”
Naïve as I am, I was surprised (and impressed) to find out that much of what I was seeing was in fact a set created in a river town in Sri Lanka. Imagine, the statue of the lion by the river is made of Styrofoam! Thank goodness the tree is real or I think I would have been shattered.
What else? The dirty blue and green lighting, the unobtrusive photography, the music, all so beautiful in juxtaposition to the theme at hand.
This made me think about how many places exist in our world that are of such magnificence and yet contain within them unspeakable pain and suffering. It brought up questions (that I have asked myself before) such as “Would I rather be in love and homeless in Manhattan or lonely on a serene island in the Bahamas?” “Would I rather be sick in a large expensive ugly house that I owned or sick in a studio room that I rent surrounded by my favorite colors and creations?”
For days after the second viewing of ‘Water’ the weight of oppression has filled my mind. Oppression of so many kinds. The list is endless: Commercially processed animals, the mentally and physically disabled , war veterans seeking help, the entire universe surrounding the Katrina horror, the medically uninsured, abused children, the sex trade, small businesses paying gangs and mafiosos, homeless people, victims of violence, the innocent incarcerated, the politically oppressed, North Koreans, earthquake and tsunami survivors, the endlessly hungry, the starving, the countless widows in current day India who still “live a marginal existence at best.”
How does anyone choose which cause to fight for, which boulder to help push uphill? The one that hits closest to home I suspect...
LLI,BMH,LEM (see KEY)
18 comments:
as usual lee you state my feelings in the most articulate and beautiful manner. the settings and photography held me in thrall.
does anyone but me see how religion has caused so much pain.
bitsie
Yes Bitsi – I see how religion has caused so much pain. Let me tell you about it... This movie combined the three things I love to bust a gut over: religious fundamentalism, sexual oppression, and greed disguised as "holier than thou" talk. I had heard stories about Indian/Hindu oppression of women: Girls beaten by her in-laws because the dowry her family provided was too small. Women raped in the streets because they weren’t wearing the sari. Wives being cremated along with their dead husbands (actually I understood that this practice had been pretty much wiped out by the British Raj). I had figured these were aberrations or history and paid little attention to them. But this movie has taught me that:
1. Young girls (children actually) still marry older men in arranged marriages. They barely know who their husband is.
2. When the husband dies she changes from cute little girl to despised widow. She is sent to an ashram where the “residents” look like concentration camp victims. She must beg or prostitute herself. Her “allowed” diet is so limited in nutrients that her body wastes away.
3. She is told that her husband died because of her sins and that she must spend her life atoning for them. (Really, what level of sin can an eight year old girl commit?)
4. The reason for all this? To have one less heir to contend with.
The religious fundamentalism that allows these practices to happen anger me. We can’t go a day without hearing about “Islami-nazis” (my word) imposing some perverse punishment on a woman that would never be imposed on a man.
So lets wake up to “Hindu-nazis:” They still impose 2000 year old laws that make no sense and are destructive of human life. Hindu-nazis fought against the making of this film, destroyed the set, made death threats, and forced the director to put off the move for years and shoot in Sri Lanka. And don’t get me started on the whole India-Pakistan story.
The “wise” Chinese are no better. Peasant couples, limited to one child, “get rid of” new born daughters so they can have a son to work the fields. (Have you ever seen an adopted Chinese boy??) This is leading to an excess of bachelors in China. Maybe baby girls will be treated better in China after this.
It happens in the West as well. “Christian-nazis” want us to teach religion instead of science in science class. Back when Sarajevo was in Yugoslavia (before it broke up) the various religions mixed. I remember a news reporter saying that, until the fundamentalists started to raise hell, the biggest differences between the people of Sarajevo was which church they didn’t go to. Well, at least we don’t hang witches any more, and women are pursuing equality with men. (Though I don’t see why women should lower themselves like that.)
So what has this rant have to do with Water? Not much. But did you realize the girl who played Chuyia is not a professional actress? That she didn’t speak the language so she had to learn her lines phonetically? Holy Cow! (pun!) This girl could go places, unless the sleazy manipulative men who run the movie/entertainment industry all over the world get their hands on her and ruin her. Look at what they did to Brittney, Lindsey and the Olsen twins.
What a film. LLI. BMH,LEM,TTI one minute, NWIE, BTIE, great love story, Acting amazing, How about that old woman who loves her sweets? I agree about the set. I'd like to learn more about how they built it, what was real and what was there etc. Anyone seen her other film's Earth and Fire?
Oooops, forgot to add the newest:
WWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My hats off to the slideshow "Winter Wonderland"!
More more more!!!!!
We LOVED Water. Deepa Mehta is a wise director and we have tremendous respect for the subject matter she confronts in all her films. The trilogy, "Earth, Water, & Fire' all give powerful and insightful views from a woman who has first hand knowledge of the culture, its' clashes, beauty and continual but slow and painful change.
Thanks for the interesting review 'breather'. I can't quite peg exactly where you are coming from, based on your writing about 'Kontroll' and 'Water' but I find your take on things intriguing and enjoy your posts.
Did anyone notice the newest post added to the older link to 'Feed" by Greybob? What's up with that? Are you out there 'greybob?'
And for a sneak preview, I just saw the next film, JSA and wow!!!! I suggest everyone get a hold of this gem.
As to 'Water' I agree with Lee Paris, the set was truly amazing. I even enjoyed the 'Bollywood' stars, (the two who played the lovers!!!).The fate of these widows is indeed heartbreaking. And Lee, what boulders do we choose to push uphill? My guess is whatever load we are capable of carrying.
I saw another film on this subject called 'White Rainbow'. While it was no where near as beautifully filmed and acted as 'Water' it did provide a lot of detailed information regarding the City of Widows, VRINDAVIN, which is just south of New Delhi. There are updated facts and insights as to what is happening currently, what efforts are being done to help the situation and websites to go to for info and to get involved.I rented this from Netflix.
I'm wondering where Oldman, Cherry and Marc are? In the short time this website has existed I've become very fond of reading their interesting comments. It's funny how fast we can come to depend on something new in our lives. I look forward to 'reading' you all again soon!
Timhoyt, I checked into the old link for FEED and read Graybob's comment. Graybob, you certainly have something to say but to tell you the truth I'm not sure what it is.
filmluver, I know what you mean. It's quite a wonderful blog, isn't it? I look forward to new posts every day. I happened to get to meet bitsie and marc the other day, and it was like meeting people I'd seen on TV. Very nice to meet you, marc, and thanks so much for having us over, bitsie!
Certainly very nice to read you, filmluver, and thank you for all your posts! It'd certainly be interesting to hear how you and other people found this blog and what people's personal relationships are to films.
I like movies, but I don't think I'd be able hold a candle to you film lovers on this blog in the movie love department. What I do happen to be is a huge Lee Paris fan. Did you see the new fish videoclip of her tank friend Pinkie? She even has the coolest fish. That eye, those lips, that VACUUM ACTION!!! {*screaming like a Beatles fan!!!*} Okay, got to calm down, got to calm down....
I realize I'm supposed to be commenting on Water and not Meet our new 'tank friend' Pinkie! (though for the record, about Pinkie!: DNA, LLI, LEM, and totally EOS). Will weigh in on Ms. Deepa Mehta and her beautiful work in another post later on. Just wanted to say thank you, filmluver, and hello to everyone for now! Hope you're all having a good day.
kate&jim said...
The trilogy, "Earth, Water, & Fire' all give powerful and insightful views from a woman who has first hand knowledge of the culture, its' clashes, beauty and continual but slow and painful change.
filmluver said...
I saw another film on this subject called 'White Rainbow'. While it was no where near as beautifully filmed and acted as 'Water' it did provide a lot of detailed information regarding the City of Widows, VRINDAVIN, which is just south of New Delhi. There are updated facts and insights as to what is happening currently, what efforts are being done to help the situation and websites to go to for info and to get involved.
Thanks very much for the film recommendations!
finetune said...
My hats off to the slideshow "Winter Wonderland"!
Hear, hear to that! Still trying to figure out why the shots of the two benches get me in particular. I really, really like them.
bitsie said...
does anyone but me see how religion has caused so much pain.
breather said...
The religious fundamentalism that allows these practices to happen anger me.
Yeah, I don't get nightmares very often, but I had some nightmares after watching Water. BMH (broke my heart) is spot on.... A friend of mine once outlined to me about what is horrific in the world. Something about things where there's kind of pretty much no solace to be gained anywhere. I'd say that the bind that these widows were/are in would count as horrific pretty easily. It'd be one thing if they were nuns living lives of deprivation of their own accord. Completely another to have no say in the matter....
TimHoyt said...
And Lee, what boulders do we choose to push uphill? My guess is whatever load we are capable of carrying.
%^D Hear, hear to that, too.
craft said...
How about that old woman who loves her sweets?
Made me want to run out to the nearest Indian grocery store and get some gulab jamun. She was wonderful. I was also really touched by the performance of the ...widow who was semi in charge, the one who carried the little girl in the very last scene to the train station to go see Gandhi. Oh, and I almost forgot. I agree with Lee -> How about that tree? That was some major beautiful tree action going down in those tree scenes there. We're talking major tree envy.
Yeah, wow, what a crazy, beautiful film. I wouldn't even know where to start in on the subject matter....
It's somewhat relevant to my personal life. I'm Japanese American, and it's been recently pointed out to me that my mother never really had any say in the unfolding of her life. She was raised by a protective father, married my father through an arranged marriage and then immediately moved to America where she didn't speak the language. I've never really thought two ways about it since this is, you know, my mom and dad, but somehow, the way my attention was directed to it recently, it really was like, yeah, wow, that's kind of a pretty major absence of choice, isn't it.... Goes back to what Lee was saying about Feed:
How does one come upon this fate or that, is it as arbitrary as it looks?
I guess one solace, if that, is that at least the widows are given the comfort of religion, even as they are at the same time put in their current predicaments by laws of that same religion. I found a lot of what they said, in coping with their situation, to, um, remind me of stuff I've read by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who I understand was a slave back in the day. Gave me to wonder if you systematically take away freedoms from sections of a society, if it will eventually squeeze out philosophies like some of the Hinduism that gave the widows the sustenance to endure from day to day, and like what came out of Epictetus, and if they will somehow all be similar to each other, across eras and across cultures.
I really wished I was watching the film with an Indian friend in the room during the semi-musical scenes where the male lead was playing the flute and the female lead was looking kind of wistfully into the night. I have some dim recollections that the Hindu god Krishna plays the flute, and there is a great love story between him and another goddess named Radha. Was able to find this blurb on http://www.dollsofindia.com/mirabai.htm:
In spite of Radha being someone else's wife, she steals out in the night to be with Krishna. The interpretation of this is thus: The union of our soul with that of God is possible only if our craving for this union is frenzied and urgent like that of a passionate but illicit affair, instead of the calmness and quiet that exists in a married conjugal state. It is only when our craving is so ardent and so passionate that we are ready to abandon all and risk everything for achieving what we desire, instead of taking our object of craving for granted.
Music plays a monumental role in the expression of the love between Radha and Krishna. As Krishna played his divine flute, Radha could not resist the pull it induced in her, and in spite of being married to another man, she used to run to a passionate rendezvous with her lover, Krishna. The secret, adulterous and scorned love shared between the two found its outlet in Krishna's beautiful music.
This gave me to understand a little better the dynamic and what was at risk between the two lovers in Water.
The other neat coindence about Lee reviewing the movie around this time.... I happened to go to lunch with an Indian friend of mine last week, and he randomly mentioned there's a holiday that's celebrated around now called Holi, which I'm assuming is the festival of colors portrayed near the end of Water, where they dressed up the little girl in a colorful costume and the widows all threw colored powder all over each other. Wikipedia says that it's celebrated in late February or early March. Thought this was interesting from the Wikipedia introduction to Holi:
The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. Thus, the playful throwing of the coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors.
Did the film teach me anything?
Yes, I feel like I got a whole lesson on some particulars of Indian culture in the 1930s and on women's issues in general within a very short amount of time.
Did the film change my perception of anything?
Sure made me appreciate my life as a woman in America in 2008 tons more.
What was my mood during the opening credits?
Kinda normal, looking forward to the movie.
What was my mood as the closing credits rolled?
I felt like I needed to go somewhere and cry for a while.
Do I consider the film to be:
Mainstream,
Off the Beaten Path, or
Much Further Out There.....
My first reaction is Mainstream, but I guess common sense would say that at least here in the U.S., it'd never run in mainstream theaters, sadly enough. I think my first reaction has to do with the polish and the narrative and stuff like that...doesn't have an independent feel to me (whatever that would be) somehow. But I guess since a) it's in a foreign language, b) it deals with difficult subject matter, and c) it's exquisite, I guess it would have to be Off the Beaten Path.
.....and of course the bottom line: DID I LIKE IT???????
LEM!!! Thanks so much again, Lee!!!
THanks for the two new posts Cherry! I always find your words to be both wise and entertaining. I also appreciate the time and thought which obviously go into each of your letters.
As to my love of films, I wish I had more time to watch. I truly envy Lee for having made a life in which a film replaces the kickstart of a morning cup of coffee. I'm thinking of getting a treadmill and doing my daily walk while watching a half of a film. (usually 45 minutes to an hour.)
Also, thank you for sharing the story about your parents. And the information regarding the Krishna myth and the festival of color.
I have a few free minutes and I am going to check out this 'pinkie' fellow......
anonymous said...
I truly envy Lee for having made a life in which a film replaces the kickstart of a morning cup of coffee. I'm thinking of getting a treadmill and doing my daily walk while watching a half of a film. (usually 45 minutes to an hour.)
I can testify that a life informed by the insights and practices of Lee is a life well-lived. FAH too. :) More power to you on your possible new routine!
anonymous said...
I have a few free minutes and I am going to check out this 'pinkie' fellow......
:-D Glad to hear it!!! It's been a few days now. I try to stay calm each time I watch the clip, but the part where he goes vertical and does the algae-eating thing that Lee calls "hoovering" still makes me lose it every time.
CHERY . HOW NICE OF YOU TO MENTIONMEETING ME AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE JAKE INFO . IT WAS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU AND DAVID TOO
BREATHER, YOU SOUND A BIT STRESSED THERE HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK "GOD IS NOT GREAT"? DONT MEAN TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT, BUT IF YOU THINK YOU ARE UPSET NOW!!!!
ANY WAY ,ENJOY READING YOU ALL SEE YOU AT THE NEXT MOVIE.
Once again you have all stunned me with your provacative and insightful comments. And once again I thank you all for participating and making my private film watching a truly wonderful shared communal experience. What a treat! See you all at the next premiere.....
Greetings Bitsie!! -
Yes, I have read God is not Great. Reading that book gave me the words & concrete ideas to voice the opinions that came up for me in the movie.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. Will talk to you at the next movie! (JSA - loved it! Cant wait!)
Once again very late getting in on this conversation. Our oldest daughter has been in hospital the last week and a half, just released yesterday. Afraid I've been either there with her, or watching our grandson pretty much throughout. At any rate, I have enjoyed everyone's comments beginning with Lee's, of course, and enjoyed the movie as well -- if "enjoy" is the correct term to use when describing a story so tragic. Although I was familiar with the subject matter from past studies, film is capable of impacting us on a level textbooks seldom reach, and this one certainly hit the mark. In spite of the cheesy love story/subplot starring the impossibly good looking ex-fashion model bollywood couple who typically neither look nor act "Indian" at all -- not surprising given both actors have non-Indian mothers -- and who may not have much in the way of acting chops (especially John Abraham) but are lighter skinned than most of my Italian friends, the rest of the film more than made up for this nod to the box office. Actually, truth be told, I'm usually a bit of a sucker for cheesy love stories and Lisa Ray, after all, is a doll, not to mention half-Polish like my wife. My problem with this one is that the rest of the movie is concerned with telling the truth about an aspect of Hindi religious/cultural history many Indians would apparently prefer to be left untold. The rest of the characters: Chuyia, Madhumati, Shakuntala, etc. were not only remarkably well acted, but true, as was the rest of the story --excepting the melodramatic ending, of course -- and that is a bit easier to accept in some ways. I mean especially after Kalyani's death, just how depressed do you want to leave your audience? Anyway, quibbles aside, this is a powerful movie and one I would definitely recommend. Too bad they will never see it in India as maybe the ugliest part of the whole story is the plight of the estimated 35 million widows living there today. Obviously all do not end up in ashrams or burned alive on their husband's funeral pyres, but the number that do is astounding as well as sickening. It's strange; you would expect this film to provoke outrage, but you would naturally think that outrage would be directed at the practices and attitudes, the hypocrisy, greed and superstition depicted onscreen, and yet in India the outrage was aimed at the film itself, not the obscenities it decried. You have to ask yourself why someone today would be outraged by the very notion of a film dealing with this subject matter, so much so that filming of this project was apparently delayed several years due to death threats, the original set in India being burned to the ground by rioting "religious" protesters etc. In fact, I recently made the mistake of mentioning "Water" to a local Hindi couple we've known for quite a while. "He" is a county judge, "She" and my wife worked together as occupational therapists at the local hospital for ten years, and we've attended many Indus Association social functions with them over the years. These are both highly educated people and I assumed they would be repulsed by their culture's historical treatment of widows just as I would be by the notion of my own forebears owning slaves or slaughtering Native Americans -- both practices that ultimately had more to do with greed than anything else, just as Narayan explains was the case with the treatment of widows in India. Let's just say I was gravely mistaken, and I will certainly not be bringing this movie up at the next Indus Fox Valley dinner we attend! I'm afraid we saw a side of this couple I would never have believed existed, and that's something I'm not sure I will ever "get." Well, once again, glad I had the chance to see this, and look forward to the discussion of JSA which -- as several have already mentioned -- is terrific. Also excited to see "Kitchen Stories" added to the list; another wonderful movie. Finally, Lee, I have a new song to send you. Well, actually a bunch since the last disk, but one I may just email if I can get some kind of recording done today. It's one more or less "inspired" by the "After the Wedding" discussion on this blog so thought you might enjoy.
Oldman -
Thanks for adding your wisdom to our discussion again. Sorry about your daughter, hope all has healed well.
Your story about yur Indian friends was fascinating. David had a job this weekend at the home of an Indian couple and brought the film up with the grandmother (who was visiting for a few months). She told him "this was a problem 30 or 40 years ago, but not so much now." I guess we'd have to go to India ourselves to see what the real situation is today.
Looking forwad to geting more songs fom you in any event.
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