39/12
In Mumbai, nurse Prabha’s routine is disrupted when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her young roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a place in the city to get closer to her boyfriend.. Director Payal Kapadia and the cast of All We Imagine As Light come together to share the most touching reactions from Cannes and more!. The first Indian film to win the prestigious Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. This film dramatizes many of the problems faced by single women living in Bombay and highlights their resilience. All the women here work as nurses in the same hospital, but that’s where the similarities end, because each has her own set of problems and, so to speak, solutions. Desire, fear, regret and steadfast patience are emotions that constantly replace each other as the story quietly unfolds. Perhaps the biggest advantage is the script, which offers unusually rich and thoughtful dialogues between the characters. The amount of action in the plot seems to be enough to provide a platform for conversations where people have the space to be unusually honest and open with each other, even when they’re lying or posing. The acting is equally excellent and lives up to the script – there are no false notes, although there are some tantalizing unfinished endings. The cinematography and editing are also quite good at creating an atmosphere that is reflective and somewhat detached, complementing the quiet intensity of the characters’ interactions. The detachment is heightened at several points where the film seems to incorporate elements of a documentary, or certainly feels like one. I wasn’t always thrilled with the music and how it was used, but that’s a small gripe that many may not share. I dispute the second reviewer’s claim that this film was intended as «awards bait». In my opinion, this film has too much heart and honesty to be categorized as cynical or manipulative—certainly no more than any other film that strives to tell an important story in a compelling and beautiful way. And this film takes a lot of risks, which I can’t imagine will be well received in increasingly sectarian and puritanical India. I highly recommend All We Imagine as Light.
