Movies Reviews

Movie Review: Before the Rains

By Maura Reilly May 10, 2008, 12:59 GMT

Indian director Santosh Sivan is making his English language debut with the film BEFORE THE RAINS, which is opening in limited release on May 9th in New York and Los Angeles and slightly wider on May 16th. The multi-award winning Sivan has chosen to reset the Israeli short film “Red Roofs” in the lush mountains of southern India but illustrates the universality of the story’s themes. BEFORE THE RAINS takes place in an India just prior to Independence. TK (Rahul Bose) is a kind but ambitious man, straddling the two worlds of a traditional Indian upbringing and the promised bright future the British colonists offer. His boss Henry Moores (Linus Roache) is engaged in a romance with his housekeeper, a married woman from the local village (Nandita Das). The affair puts so much at risk: Moore’s marriage, his position among the local British contingency as well as his plans to carve a road out of the surrounding jungle that will lead to a profitable spice plantation for himself.When the illicit relationship is discovered difficult decisions are made, cultural and social differences come into play and TK is put into an impossible position. Forced to defend himself and betray the man he thought was his friend, TK becomes representative of his country as it teeters on the brink of revolution.The film is firmly rooted in Rahul Bose’s TK. Bose has an extensive career in India and handily gives TK the perfect amount of humanity and naiveté. A few people will recognize Linus Roache from his recent work on one of the omnipresent Law and Order series but for us Britophiles Roache is a staple in British cinema. His patronizing Moores is a sometimes pitiable heavy torn between a passionate love on the one hand and the destruction of all he’s worked so tirelessly for. Nandita Das is the tragic Sanjani, a woman too blind to see how she’s being used by the men in her life. An activist for Human Rights, especially for women and children, Das gives Sanjani faltering strength and sympathetic confusion. There’s a lot going on in this film: you have the obvious theme of the detrimental effects of colonialism, and there is the struggle between classes and the sexes. The symbolism is a dense as the forest the workers have to cut through to make Moore’s road. Luckily we have a well-written script by the late Cathy Rabin as well as a cast of excellent actors and a focused director to make things clear. The camera work (also done by the director) is lush and sensual. BEFORE THE RAINS is an engaging, intelligent film. If you’re local independent theater doesn’t have it forthcoming add it to your DVD queue. BEFORE THE RAINS
Running Time: 98 minutes
Opens in limited release: NYC and LA May 9, 2008; wider starting May 16, 2008
MPAA Rated: PG-13 for violent content and a scene of sexuality.

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