| EARTH Director: Deepa Mehta "The film had become an obsession for us, regardless of our own religious leanings. Not only did it seem imperative to show what the Partiotion did to innocent people, but somehow, in doing so, we hoped to understand why war is waged and why friends turn enemies, and why battles are invariably fought on women's bodies." Deepa Mehta This remarkable film directed by Deepa Mehta -- about the independence and ultimate barbarous partition of India in 1947 is both a powerfully political and deeply personal work. The story is told from the viewpoint of a Lenny, a little girl (Maia Setha) who witnesses the terrible events, specifically the way that the rise of both nationalism and religious hatreds tear apart families and friends in India. Filmed with high production value, shot in wonderful hues of earthy and garish colors, set to a sumptuous score and boasting a talented cast, the film has the feeling of an epic on par with anything Hollywood has to offer. It takes place in Lahore (although not actually shot there since Pakistan would not allow film crews there) where Hindu, Moslem and Sikh faiths have coincided together in relative peace for centuries. Earth is the second in a trilogy of films by director Mehta. Fire, the first one, was about the independence of women and the way they define the nature of love in their lives which are traditionally controlled by men. This one deals with oppression of women but with a stronger focus on the independence of a country and the way nationalism and religious differences fractured the independence into two countries; India and Pakistan. Lenny is an 8-year-old crippled girl who comes from a well-to-do family that maintains friendly relations with the British. She hangs around with the family housekeeper Ayah (Nandita Das) who has a good number of local friends, all from different religious backgrounds -- as well as a couple of Muslim men suitors who pursue her. One is Ice Candy Man (Aamir Khan) a charming, attractive guy and the other is Hasan (Rahul Khanna), a more reserved guy who's equally appealing to Ayah. As the film progresses each of the characters split apart due to their religious stance or nationalistic leanings and those who don't are pushed into taking a side whether they want to or not. Some even use their personal jealousies to justify violence toward one another. In strictly dramatic terms this is the stuff of Greek tragedy with a hint of melodrama but the specifics are Indian. And certainly the film will be felt deeply by anyone who has ties to India or Pakistan or a country that has been torn apart by similar nationalistic tensions. Clearly Ms.Mehta views side with no single religion but rather with the nostalgia for the past and for this reason there is a sense of despair and longing for a country that is no longer as pleasant and productive as it once was. Ms. Mehta gets great performances from the entire cast and successfully weaves the various narrative strands of the story based on the novel "Cracking India˜ so that each of the characters connects with one another and can be said to represent a part of the country or a specific sentiment from 1947 India. She admitted that she could make a mini-series from the book but chose to hone it down to a feature-length film while keeping the production values and the scope of the film as close to work on a grand scale as she could. There is a feeling of latent despair in Earth, but the film isn't too dark or depressing until near the end. For its first three-quarters it is a rhapsodic celebration that includes romantic courtship of the men toward Ayah and evokes the beauty of India and the nature of a country that enjoys its ancient traditions as well as those incorporated into the country via the long British colonial rule. And this is why the violence is so much more powerful and disturbing in the end. - Matt Langdon |