Earth (1998)

Nice effects though.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The first must-see film of the year.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

The story is set in Lahore (now the capital of Pakistani Punjab) in the time period directly before and during the partition of India in 1947 at the time of Indian independence.A young girl with polio, Lenny (Maia Sethna), narrates the story through the voice of her adult self (Shabana Azmi). She is from a wealthy Parsi family who hope to remain neutral to the rising tensions between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims in the area. She is adored and protected by her parents, Bunty (Kitu Gidwani) and Rustom (Arif Zakaria), and cared for by her Ayah, a beautiful Hindu woman named Shanta (Nandita Das). Both Dil Navaz, the Ice-Candy Man (Aamir Khan), and Hassan, the Masseur (Rahul Khanna) are Muslim and in love with Shanta. Shanta, Dil, and Hassan are part of a small group of friends from different faiths (some of who work for Lenny's family) who spend their days together in the park. With partition, however, this once unified group of friends becomes divided and tragedy ensues.

Having seen a few of Deepa Mehta's movies recently this movie was certainly a powerful story and was well filmed. But there seems to be a quality about Mehta's movies which seem to be so cerebral that they detract from the emotive intensity of what is India.The stories she finds are so compelling and yet I believe that the movie-making and acting are not stitched together as well. Take away the historical setting and it seems to collapse not because you removed one critical element, but because it is the only substantive element.I can see why people enjoyed this movie, but I wish there was more. I wish she had dealt more deeply with the group of friends and the tension between their own religious differences. It was more about the partition happening around and I believe Ms. Mehta might have let slip an opportunity to have made the whole tale far more poignant. The setting of the Parsee family's nanny seemed to have very little relevance in the story - the professed Parsee inclination to side with whoever is in power does not contribute to the story.Instead it is a potent spectacle as one watches from the outside, but there is no overt invitation or quiet pull-in to the movie.

This is an important film, in that Western audiences know little, if anything, about modern India--other than, perhaps, what they saw in the film GANDHI. This film chronicles what happens in a town in the region disputed by the newly created nation of Pakistan and India in 1947. Instead of showing what occurs at a global or even regional level, the film stresses the individuals. You grow to like and care about them and slowly through the course of the film, they are murdered, run in terror or become part of the murderous masses. I particularly appreciated how the whole mess was seen through not just the viewpoint of the maid but the little girl--particularly at the end of the film. Unfortunately, due to the subject matter, the film is VERY heart-wrenching--be sure to have a box of Kleenex.The acting is excellent and the parts written for the actors were intelligently written. I really appreciate that. My only quibble, though VERY minor, is that the film was generally captioned but some of the English language dialog was tough to follow and captioning EVERYTHING or at least using closed captioning would have been helpful.Director Deepa Mehta once again uses a deft hand to skillfully guide the viewer--nothing heavy-handed or rushed and I really appreciate that. Try some of her other films, such as Bollywood/Hollywood--you won't be disappointed.

Earth is one of those movies that, despite not being a masterpiece, still manages to 'affect' you in a deep, almost undefinable way. There is something harrowingly beautiful about this intense story of love and betrayal set in the backdrop of the partition of India.Based on Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, 'Cracking India', Earth tells the story of the partitioning of India seen through the eyes of a eight year old girl. Yet Earth is best viewed not as a historical drama, nor a political fable. Certainly the historical elements are there-the communal violence, the British snobbery, the flight across the border for the millions who were rendered homeless by the events of 1947. But above and beyond that Earth is a story about love and the destruction of innocence. Too many movies that depict historical events either err on the side of showing too much historical detail or relegate the history to a mere footnote. Earth steers clear of being a movie about the events of partition; rather, by concentrating on its effects upon a small group of friends and how it affects their friendships and relationships, it shows the soul of partition.Earth is shattering, stunning...and eerily beautiful. There are jarring moments, like ones that stretch symbolisms too far, yet they pale in comparison to the beauty that Deepa Mehta portrays.Earth takes you on a ride of tenderness, poignancy, shock and ultimately leaves you with a feeling of numbness. The climax, especially, contains an emotional punch as powerful as any I have witnessed. All the actors give excellent performances, especially Aamir Khan, the 'ice-candy man', who is astonishing in the last scene. And the music by A.R. Rehman is wonderful, even by his lofty standards.