THIS MAY CONTAIN WHAT SOME WOULD THINK IS A "SPOILER". PLEASE BE ADVISED.
I will start by saying that I know little about India and it was this movie that caused me to want to change that. I watched the movie "Fire" without any expectations because I had never heard of it when I watched it for the first time (Summer 1999). I thoroughly enjoyed it. My views on life in India were very tainted by the past and watching this made me realize that things have changed. Even if this is not an extremely accurate account of everyday life in India it has made me want to study why I viewed India as I did and possibly change my views.
The comments surrounding this movie deal mainly with agreeing and disagreeing with the controversial issues that were posed. I did not enjoy this movie because of what I agreed or disagreed with. I enjoyed this movie because it brought out a realization in me that acceptance of one's self is the key to happiness. Jatin found that, Sita found that, Radha found that, Julie already knew. Who was unhappy at the end of this movie? The three individuals (Mundu, Biji, Ashok) who lived in the past and did not accept change as what it is. A constant. This is a great message that seems to have been lost in all of the controversy of what is right and wrong. Each character in this movie did what was best for themselves. What human being does not?
There have been comments that this movie makes the men look bad. Well it can also be said that the women are made to look bad as well. They are cheating on their husbands and using them as an explanation for there deception. And while I understand that we are to believe that they have no choice in the situation this does not ring true at the end. Sita and Radha do leave which only shows me that they were not strong enough as individuals to leave when they wanted to leave. Only when there was someone else to bear part of the burden did they take that step. This does not speak well of the females.
The depth of this movie goes far beyond what is being discussed on all the message boards and in chat rooms. As with any movie we need to look beyond the story to find the meaning. What is the meaning that I have found? We live life every day with choices and we all make our decisions based on differing circumstances. Each decision made is the base for the next choice. Whether we are happy or unhappy with our choice of decision is irrelevant. It is how we accept the outcome of the decision that was made that makes life what it is.
Watching this movie has made me think and given me many reasons to want to watch other movies by Deepa Mehta. I think this movie provokes thought in some individuals, fear in others, and makes us all question ourselves. My description of this movie would have to be this: A wonderful depiction of the shallow depth of life and how love causes the reflection of it to waiver.
I will start by saying that I know little about India and it was this movie that caused me to want to change that. I watched the movie "Fire" without any expectations because I had never heard of it when I watched it for the first time (Summer 1999). I thoroughly enjoyed it. My views on life in India were very tainted by the past and watching this made me realize that things have changed. Even if this is not an extremely accurate account of everyday life in India it has made me want to study why I viewed India as I did and possibly change my views.
The comments surrounding this movie deal mainly with agreeing and disagreeing with the controversial issues that were posed. I did not enjoy this movie because of what I agreed or disagreed with. I enjoyed this movie because it brought out a realization in me that acceptance of one's self is the key to happiness. Jatin found that, Sita found that, Radha found that, Julie already knew. Who was unhappy at the end of this movie? The three individuals (Mundu, Biji, Ashok) who lived in the past and did not accept change as what it is. A constant. This is a great message that seems to have been lost in all of the controversy of what is right and wrong. Each character in this movie did what was best for themselves. What human being does not?
There have been comments that this movie makes the men look bad. Well it can also be said that the women are made to look bad as well. They are cheating on their husbands and using them as an explanation for there deception. And while I understand that we are to believe that they have no choice in the situation this does not ring true at the end. Sita and Radha do leave which only shows me that they were not strong enough as individuals to leave when they wanted to leave. Only when there was someone else to bear part of the burden did they take that step. This does not speak well of the females.
The depth of this movie goes far beyond what is being discussed on all the message boards and in chat rooms. As with any movie we need to look beyond the story to find the meaning. What is the meaning that I have found? We live life every day with choices and we all make our decisions based on differing circumstances. Each decision made is the base for the next choice. Whether we are happy or unhappy with our choice of decision is irrelevant. It is how we accept the outcome of the decision that was made that makes life what it is.
Watching this movie has made me think and given me many reasons to want to watch other movies by Deepa Mehta. I think this movie provokes thought in some individuals, fear in others, and makes us all question ourselves. My description of this movie would have to be this: A wonderful depiction of the shallow depth of life and how love causes the reflection of it to waiver.