The Movie: Earth, directed by Deepa Mehta
Recommendation: Me.
Reason: I've been interested in Deepa Mehta's work after seeing a few interviews with her.
I watched Earth over the course of days. It's a heavy movie, though the reason I watched it over a long period had less to do with that and more to do with time constraints. Deepa Mehta's work about the end of British rule in India and the trouble it caused was impactful as well as educational. I don't think we covered much Indian history.
Deepa Mehta wove mutiple levels of metaphor and perspective into this film. Shanta, the woman at the center of a religiously divided group of friends, is both a metaphor for the soon-to-be divided India and the representative of the voices of moderation that surely sounded during the division. Likewise, her friends represent the Sikh, Muslim and Hindu perspectives. Mehta adds another dimension, however, with Lenny-baby to present the perspective of the young, and the older Sethna's to represent the perspectives of the older generation. She gives all of these voices time to speak their piece, in amidst the rapidly devolving situation.
It is an interesting piece of history that Deepa Mehta has presented in her film. I find I appreciate her writing and directing very much-not many can actually pull it off with such candor and honesty (Shyamalan, goddammit, take note!). If you're a completist, by all means watch this film. It's a good, understated historical fiction.
-79/365 down, 286/365 to go
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