Water

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The conclusion of Deepa Mehta’s Elements Trilogy follows a group of widows sent to an ashram for the rest of their lives after their husbands’ deaths.

Set in the late 1930s, against the backdrop of Gandhi’s non-violent protests and campaign to better the condition of women, the conclusion of Share Her Journey Ambassador Deepa Mehta’s Elements Trilogy (preceded by Fire and Earth) takes place in an ashram where widows both old and young (including a girl of seven) are sent to live out their lives in austerity after the deaths of their husbands. When a young widow (Lisa Ray) who had been forced into prostitution by the ashram’s imperious overseer begins an affair with a wealthy Gandhi follower, the stage is set for tragedy. At once intimate and epic, Water was a substantial commercial success and was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Official Selection, 2005 Toronto International Film Festival

Content advisory: sexual content