In Mumbai, nurse Prabhaβs daily 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 boyfriend. Director Payal Kapadia and the cast of All We Imagine As Light reunite to share the filmβs most heartwarming reactions to Cannes and more!. 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 Mumbai and highlights their resilience. All the women here are nurses at the same hospital, but thatβs where the similarities end, as each has their own set of specific problems and solutions. The constantly evolving emotions as the story unfolds are desire, fear, regret, and intense patience. Perhaps the filmβs greatest asset is the screenplay, which offers unusually rich and thoughtful dialogues between the characters. The amount of action in the script seems to be enough to provide a platform for conversations that allow for an unusual honesty and vulnerability with one another, even when lying or pretending. The acting is uniformly excellent and matches the writing: there are no false notes, but there are some fascinating details. The cinematography and editing are also very adept at creating a thoughtful and somewhat detached atmosphere, complementing the quiet intensity of the charactersβ interactions. The separation is amplified in several places where the film incorporates documentary elements, or at least creates the impression of such elements. I wasnβt always crazy about the music and how it drew me in, but thatβs a minor quibble that many people may not share. I take issue with another reviewerβs assertion that this film was designed as βawards bait.β In my opinion, this film has too much heart and honesty to be called cynical or manipulative β certainly no more than any other film that attempts to tell an important story in an engaging and beautiful way. And this film takes risks that I canβt imagine will succeed in an increasingly sectarian and puritanical India. I highly recommend βAll That We Imagine as Light.β
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