Wednesday, December 31, 2008

"Earth" meant for a wider audience

Deepa Mehta's film “Earth,” about the partition of India 1947 certainly had different impacts on the two reviewers we read during this assignment.

Zarminae Ansari, writing for MIT's newspaper in October 1999, characterized the movie as “a story of a child's confusion about the partition, which embodies the confusion of the millions who are eventually affected by it.”

C.J.S. Wallia's reaction is that the idea of shooting the movie through the eyes of the young Lenny-baby is “simplistic” and says “Mehta manages to distort the complex history of the partition an din the process depicts the role of the Hindus and Sikhs falsely and negatively.” But the criticism goes deeper – to Bapsi Sidwa's novel on which the film was based. Of “Cracking India,” Wallia says the book “does not come to grips with the events of the partition of the Punjab and the historical roles of the British, the Muslims, the Hindus and the Sikhs.” Wallia goes on to say that a “more skillful writer” might have been able to expand on the ideas.

From my perspective, getting the entire history of conflict in the region captured in one book or one two-hour movie would have been nearly impossible. For historians and scholars, I'm sure the depiction of the events does seem thin – but for the average viewer – especially a Western watcher, boiling the complicated events of that time down to the eyes of a child may actually be a better portal into the idea.

Certainly the movie isn't intended for children, and the issues are challenging to handle – even for adults. Grasping the concept of 13 million people migrating and 1 million people dying is hard to understand – and seeing the conflict build through the eyes of one child and one small community is more accessible than trying to use a wider lens.

Wallia wanted a more comprehensive look at what happened – which I understand – but as a wide-release movie, I have to agree more with Ansari's look at “Earth.”

Popcorn Tidbits

The stuffing that comes out of Lenny-baby's doll when she tears it apart is black. Not significant, just an odd observation.

The quote, “Some Independence they gave us. Soaked in our brother's blood,” could have come from our previous film, “Before the Rain.” It could also have come from any number of films about the American Revolution, and other movies still to come.

The kite flying scene is such a beautiful bit of the film. Such a stark comparison to the train car full of mutilated bodies that comes rolling into Lahore later in the film.

The gun that Lenny's father brings to his wife is in a satin-lined, green velvet box – more of a museum piece than a savage weapon. It's almost like a gesture – but still a safe neutral one.

2 comments:

  1. Now, that's a marriage. She rubs his tootsies, he gives her a gun.

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  2. Hey, we all have to have give and take, right? :)

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