35/22
In Mumbai, nurse Prabha’s routine is disrupted when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate Anu tries in vain to find a place in the city to be close to her lover. Director Payal Kapadia and the entire cast of We Think of as Light come together to share their most heartwarming reactions from Cannes and beyond. ! The first Indian film to win the prestigious Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the film dramatizes the many challenges faced by single women living in Bombay and highlights their resilience. The women here are all nurses in the same hospital, but the similarities end there as each has their own problems and can offer solutions. Desire, fear, regret and long-suffering patience are the ever-changing emotions that play out as the story quietly unfolds. Perhaps the biggest asset is the script, which offers unusually rich and thought-provoking dialogue between the characters. The amount of plot action seems to be enough to provide a scaffolding for conversations that allow people to be unusually honest and vulnerable to each other, even when they’re lying or pretending. The acting is consistently excellent, and the writing is up to par — there are some interesting loose ends, but no false notes. The photography and editing are also very good, creating a reflective and slightly detached atmosphere that complements the text. The quiet intensity of the characters’ interactions. The detachment is intensified in several places where the film seems to have documentary elements or certainly feels like one. I wasn’t always crazy about the music and how it was pulled off, but this is a minor issue that many people don’t understand. share. I would dispute another reviewer’s claim that this film was designed as «awards bait.» I think this film has enough heart and honesty to be categorized as cynical or manipulative – certainly no more than any other film that tries to tell an important story in a compelling and beautiful way. And this film takes a lot of risks that I would not have imagined in an increasingly sectarian and sanitized India. I highly recommend "All We Think Is Light"