‘All We Imagine As Light’ (MAMI Review) | A Breathtaking Meditation on Identity and Desire

Mumbai is usually thought of the “metropolis of desires” as a result of it guarantees alternative and success. Whenever one thing occurs, the media all the time talks concerning the “Spirit of Mumbai” and the way town continues to perform regardless of going through loads of challenges. In Payal Kapadia’s “ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT,” viewers are taken on a rare journey about three migrant girls navigating lives via a metropolis steeped in thriller. What viewers witness subsequent is a wide ranging story of the skinny line between desires and actuality, weaving a narrative that’s as haunting as it’s stunning.

The film begins with an introduction to our fundamental characters: Prabha ( performed by Kani Kusruti), and Anu (performed by Divya Prabha). Prabha works as a nurse in a suburban Mumbai hospital and is estranged from her husband who lives in Germany. She lives with Anu, a youthful co-worker, who’s relationship a Muslim boy named Shiraz (performed by Hridhu Haroon). After spending most of their day within the hospital, the duo take a while off from their busy schedules to journey town and spend some high quality time with one another. Additionally, we get launched to a lady named Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), who works as a canteen employee on the similar hospital.  At its coronary heart, “ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT” is a meditation on the internal struggles of its protagonists, revealing their vulnerabilities, wishes, and fears.

One of the best and boldest features of the film is the way it dives into the complexities of the human psyche, presenting a storyline that’s each profound and self-examining. Although the non-linear narrative follows its protagonists navigating their private lives and collective traumas, Kapadia doesn’t shrink back from making a world the place actuality blurs into fantasy. There are occasions once we have a tendency to consider issues that we are able to’t have and make situations in our head about how would we react if these wishes had been out of the blue fulfilled. This is what the movie is generally about and deeply resonates with the individuals. Meanwhile, the depth of the storyline is enhanced by its common themes of affection, loss, id, and self-discovery. The director does an impressive job of crafting a compelling storyline for every of the movie’s fundamental characters. It not solely permits viewers to get deeper into the lives of those characters, but it surely additionally supplies them the chance to attach with them on a extra private stage. Moreover, the choice to make the movie shift between previous and current offers it a dream-like high quality that stays with audiences lengthy after it ends.

The screenplay is one other side that takes the film to a complete new stage. There are solely a handful of Indian films that characteristic a story that’s each poetic and lifelike. Payal Kapadia’s “ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT” is certainly one of them and seamlessly blends components of magical realism with human experiences which can be grounded. Even although the dialogue is minimal, the impression they’ve on the viewers is immense and sufficient to make them perceive its significance. The movie’s writing is an ideal instance of “actions converse louder than phrases” and Kapadia needs to be lauded for this sort of method. Her screenplay is loaded with metaphors and layers that reveal themselves ultimately, making it a gratifying expertise for viewers who like watching a movie that’s each mental and emotional.

Apart from writing and route, the movie excels in the way it exhibits Mumbai and its landscapes. The cinematography is breathtaking and every body appears like a portray. It helps in enhancing the film’s viewing expertise and likewise deepens its emotional resonance.

Kani Kusruti in a nonetheless from ‘ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT’ (Photo Credit: Spirit Media)

In addition to those components, the performances by the forged of “ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT” are why this movie appears like such a deeply emotional expertise. Kani Kusruti as Prabha is mesmerizing on this film and delivers one of many most interesting performances of the yr. She doesn’t depart any stone unturned to point out viewers what Prabha appears like in a state of affairs and despite the fact that when a scene calls for her to be stone-faced, viewers understand how she is feeling. Kusruti is a pressure to be reckoned with and deserves all of the reward she is receiving for her impeccable expertise. Meanwhile, Divya Prabha provides one other layer to the movie together with her stupendous efficiency. Her efficiency is nuanced and spontaneous. Her spontaneity is really magnificent and makes her character look extra relatable. The chemistry between Kasunti and Prabha is a spotlight of the movie and amplifies the movie’s general impression. On the opposite hand, Chhaya Kadam continues her golden run with this movie. She took India by storm with an impeccable efficiency in “Laapata Ladies,” and delivered one other great efficiency on this movie.

All in all, “ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT” is a uncommon Indian movie that may be in contrast with titles that turn into massive within the realm of world cinema. Payal Kapadia masterfully captures common feelings whereas sustaining a imaginative and prescient each distinctive and private. The movie is a testomony to the ability of cinema to discover the human situation in all its intricacies. The movie is a hauntingly stunning exploration of recollections and feelings. The narrative unfolds like a set of fragmented recollections, evoking a robust sense of longing. It’s a testomony to Kapadia’s imaginative and prescient and her means to craft cinematic experiences that resonate on an emotional and philosophical stage.

All We Imagine as Light premiered because the opening movie of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, which started on October 18, 2024.