I just realized that Water is the final installment of a series directed by Deepa Mehta (Fire and Earth were made first). This film takes place in the late 1930’s in India. It is the custom to send widowed women to a convent-like community, where they live shunned from the outside world. Chuyia is only 8 when her husband passes away and she is sent to live with other widows. It is a time of change, though, as Ghandi’s word is spreading, people are starting to think differently, and a new law has been enacted, stating that widowed women can remarry. But, people are slow to accept this change, and Chuyia must face the harsh reality that she has been forced into by being such a young widow.
Rating: ****