10/13
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 be intimate with her boyfriend. Director Payal Kapadia and the cast of All We Imagine As Light reunite to share the most heartwarming reactions from Cannes and more!. The first Indian film to receive the prestigious Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.. This film dramatises many of the challenges faced by single women living in Mumbai and highlights their resilience. All the women here are nurses in the same hospital, but that’s where the similarity ends as each has their own set of problems and, one might say, solutions. Desire, fear, regret and stoic patience are the emotions that continually alternate as the story unfolds quietly. Perhaps the biggest asset is the screenplay, which offers unusually rich and thoughtful dialogues between the characters. The amount of action in the plot seems just enough to provide a scaffolding for conversations where people have the space to be exceptionally honest and unapologetic with each other, even when they’re lying or acting out. The acting is uniformly excellent and rises to the level of the writing—there are no false notes, though there are a few tantalizing unfinished endings. The cinematography and editing are also good enough to create a thoughtful, somewhat detached atmosphere, complementing the quiet intensity of the characters’ interactions. The detachment is amplified at several points where the film seems to be incorporating documentary elements or is certainly creating that kind of feeling. I haven’t always been crazy about the music and how it’s invoked, but it’s a minor quibble that many may not share. I take issue with another reviewer’s assertion that this film was designed as “awards bait.” In my opinion, this film is too sincere and honest to be called cynical or manipulative – certainly no more than any other film that seeks to tell an important story in a compelling and beautiful way. And this film takes a lot of risks that I can’t imagine being well received in an increasingly sectarian and puritanical India. I highly recommend “All We Imagine as Light.”