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DVD - Earth
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Sexual Astrology - DVD : Earth
Rating:  -
EARTH, like FIRE and WATER, is a powerful and rewarding film that explores the social and political history of India. Together, these films are a body of work that deserves a wider audience than the foreign films section of the local DVD library.
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This is the first of a trilogy of films written and directed by Deepa Mehta.EARTH is the film that sets up the following films by telling us the history of the breakup of India from British rule.For 250 years Hindus,Muslims,Sikhs and Parcees had all coexisted under British Colonial rule.Now,in 1947 Britain,as it is pulling out,divides the land into India and Pakistan.The best of friends and families are forced to choose where they will go and where their loyalties will be.Nine year old Lenny-baby.a lame girl from the neutral Parcees,witnesses this calamity as the story is told from her innocent viewpoint.EARTH sets up the conditions that existed in India at the time to prepare you for the following FIRE and WATER.EARTH is an excellent companion movie to GANDHIand A PASSAGE TO INDIA as it sets all of the historical facts into place,yet telling the story with great pathos.EARTH is the most action oriented of the Deepa Mehta trilogy.FIRE and WATER are much more introspective and reflective.THIS IS A TREMENDOUS THREESOME OF FILMS THAT ARE ALL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Deepa Mehta has such a commanding presence in her films that she is able to leave her audience both educated and devastated by her stories and by the ingenious ways in which she tells them. EARTH is a magnificent example of her gifts and while it may not be as visually luxurious or as touching as her subsequent WATER, it is a fine film that not only depicts a troubled time in India's history, but also informs us of the intricacies of how people relate to each other - first as humans, second as religious sects.
The film has at its heart the year 1947 when India was given its independence from Great Britain and at the same time bifurcated into two countries - India and Pakistan. The story opens with a tranquil park picnic in Lahore where friends - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsee - while away the afternoon in camaraderie. Only slight overtones of edgy topics about religion mar the conversation until the topic focuses on the incipient split of the country into two countries. Each of the friends represents each of the religious sects and it is how these differences, at once unimportant to friendship, end up in separating the friends under the influence of the devastation of bloodshed that follows the division of the country and the displacement of millions of people, all under the guise of independence.
There is a strong love story, a committed crippled child who experiences all of the happiness and subsequent tragedy that is to follow and the story ends with some words of wisdom by the grown little girl reflecting on choices made, and other sidebars that maintain interest at every frame.
The acting is first rate from a beautiful cast and Mehta's direction makes this tale of change whir by the viewer. For those not educated in the differences of the four religious sects of Hindu, Parsee, Muslim, and Sikh the tale can become confusing: would that Mehta would have included a discussion about the film in an added feature the way she helped us understand the plight of widows in WATER. And the subtitles unfortunately do not translate the English spoken portions of the film, portions that while very important to the story are nearly indecipherable due to the accents of the characters speaking.
But these are minor quibbles in a film that pleads for repeated viewings, so beautiful is the movie and so very important is the message. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, September 06
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This story of lovers and friends caught in the murderous tides of political discord and sectarian violence is almost Shakespearean in scope, especially with its richly lush photography and swelling surges of music. The actors in the roles of the central characters deliver compelling performances, while their Bollywood good looks make the interplay of emotions among them (and the occasional singing and dancing) fascinating to watch.
Young Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, their long-time loyalties torn apart by the creation of Pakistan in 1947, are seen from the perspective of a well-to-do family from the much smaller (and little known) ethnic group of Parsees, who are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians. Their presence in the film provides an international audience with a point of reference that is sympathetic to neither India nor Pakistan, while setting up its Swiss-like detachment as a form a betrayal, which the narrator of the film fifty years later remembers with some remorse. The lesson, perhaps, is that sectarian violence leaves no one untouched, and even "innocent" bystanders must in some way share responsibility for it. While it simplifies the political realities of the time, it is very much worth seeing, especially for the generation that has inherited the troubled aftermath of Partition.
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"Earth" explores the event that triggered the largest mass migration in human history through a small group of friends torn apart almost against their will. Lahore is reputedly the most beautiful city in what is now Pakistan; in 1947 it was a melting pot for Muslims, Hindus, Parsees, Christians and others. The story is told through the eyes of Lenny, an upper class Parsee girl whose family desperately tries to stay neutral as the world falls apart around them. Lahore fell on the Muslim side of the line, and amidst growing violence the friends have to make choices. Hasan the Muslim decides to marry his love Shanta, a Hindu, convert, and move to India. Dil Navaz, who also loves Shanta, turns bitter and vengeful when he learns his three Muslim sisters are killed on their way back to Lahore. Others convert to save themselves; for some it is too late. But, as always, violence and extremism become a cover to take revenge for very personal reasons. "Earth" ends with a stunning betrayal that will leave you shaking. Beautifully and realistically filmed, "Earth" portrays a lost world, as the new nation of India is born. It's a painful film to watch but well worth your time.
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