Fire

Rating:
Summary: Quiet courage...
Review: ...radiates from this excellent film. Made with obvious love by an Indian woman who currently hails from Canada, "Fire" tackles both arranged marriage--a topic that makes the West uneasy--and lesbianism--a subject that makes East and West alike squirm. The film is beautifully framed and shot. The plot is straightforward (I knew what was coming most of the time), but the nuances seem sharper, since we're plunked into a different culture. Or is it so different? And the ending was a complete surprise, and powerful.

Even on the honeymoon, a new husband has no interest in his young bride.("The fool!" you'll say, because the actress is truly gorgeous!) And as if to rub it in, the dolt spurns her at the Taj Mahal, the world's greatest monument to love. We know it's not going to work, but he takes her home to his extended family anyway, ensconces her in his proper middle-class household, and goes out every night with his Chinese mistress, who makes him paint her toenails. (Okay, I didn't see that one coming--but I should have. Why did I expect a proper Indian family to be more proper than families anywhere else?) The bride has to stay home and tend to family business. That means she cooks, cleans, prays and fasts for her husband's health, cares for her husband's aged mom, and waits to see if her husband ever wants to have sex with her. (He does. Sort of. Once.)

The bride has a mind, however, and is bored--to the point of secretly cross-dressing while dancing to light rock. (Well, I guess I didn't see that coming either, but once it got going, I knew she'd get caught.) You soon understand that she desperately needs to learn how to avoid offending the Master of the Household--her husband's elder brother.

Happily, along comes her older--and stunning--sister-in-law (played by lovely Shabana Azmi, one of the most popular actresses in India). This poor soul hasn't been touched by her husband in thirteen years. (He's on a soul-strengthening celibacy kick prescribed by his guru.) She undertakes to teach the young bride how to be a proper wife. The sister-in-law, however, is clueless as to the feelings she inspires in her young protege. But delightfully, we're not. In fact, the household sizzles with so much repressed desire that you'll be rooting out loud for the protagonists when they finally get together and let off some steam. And the erotic scenes are beautifully done, understated and tasteful.

I won't tell you any more, except to say the pair gets into trouble, trouble that will make your heart ache in recognition and race with hope. The ending will grip you. I've watched this film many times and am always touched by its beauty.

PS: As a bonus, you'll get to see a short enactment of the Indian epic "The Ramayana," with the part of the goddess Sita played in the traditional Indian way--by a man dressed as a woman and singing in falsetto.

Rating:
Summary: so over looked again.... like most films
Review: The marker of this film is female.
I caught a bit if it and fell head over heals in love with it.
It is a difficult movie to get into and enjoy, but once your there it leaves you all stired up.
If this was a known director it would be hailed.

Rating:
Summary: Useless Lesbian Movie
Review: This movie is a useless movie if you are going to watch it as a lesbian movie. The action is poor to non existant. The plot is sketchy and the idea of woman to woman love is just stuffed into the movie in a tasteless and non practical way. You will regret you ever bought it. It's a perfect example of a sin without any taste in it.

Rating:
Summary: Good premise missed
Review: Although the storyline had much potential, the movie itself was so slow with such bad cinematography that I found it hard to even finish it. The characters had depth and the story could have been moving, but bad directing, bad cinematography, and bad producing ruined it. I'm usually very patient with movies, but this one was a waste of my time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent acting
Review: The acting is excellent and the costumes and scenics of India lush and beautiful. The story line will cause you to be angry, sad, joyful and frustrated at various times. It's not a light movie. It provokes you to think and evaluate this situation these two lonely women find themselves in. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Fire
Review: I truly enjoyed "Fire" it is entertaining and the traditions of India are well documented. I truly felt the emotions of all the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous
Review: Seems like all you have to do nowadays is make a movie about homosexuals and you will win unprecedented praise. Take "Better than Chocolate" for example, which was worse than this film yet was hailed by the media.

I read about the controversy surrounding the movie in international newspapers and how the conservative Hindu government and censor boards banned the movie. As a strong believer in freedom of speech, I checked this movie out...what a mistake. I would have been better off renting a lesbian porn flick than the nonsense I witnessed during that painful 100 minutes; it probably would have a better story than the fluff in this film. The men in the film are nothing but caricatures with little, or no character development. As Mr. Maltin has pointed out, all the male characters are portrayed in a negative light; as chauvinistic and self centered, while the women are shown has Angel's of God. And the argument that the reason they are portrayed in that manner is because they truly do act that way is as stereotypical as saying that women are nothing but gold digging opportunists. The character development for women was also absurd. Radha being married to her celibent husband for more than a decade suddenly has feelings for sister-in-law. Come on! I can't believe that utter nonsense like this stupid premise are so easily accepted by the general public.

If you're thinking of buying or renting this movie, don't. Not unless you greatly enjoy being in utter agony for nearly 2 hours. After watching the film it finally occured to me why the Indian government banned the movie. The 'controversial' spin was just a red herring...it was because the movie just straight ....

Rating:
Summary: Sensitive, thoughtful...wonderful!
Review: If all Leonard Maltin came away with is "...every male character in the story is a simplistic chauvinist pig.", he has completely missed the boat, which makes me wonder about all of his reviews. This movie is amazing -- providing a glimpse into the lives of East Indians (men and women) who are trapped in the traditions of their culture. A sensitive protrayal of a family's struggle to find love. "Fire" was banned in India, not for it's lesbian content, but rather for Deepa Mehta's audacity to openly examine the confines of a nation's conventions. The actors are wonderful giving full scope to Ms. Mehta's sensitive and thoughtful story.

Rating:
Summary: Controversy. . .
Review:

FIRE
Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Javeen Jaaferi, Ranjit Chowdhry, 1996

Synopsis
Radha is married for 13 years to a man who has sworn a vow of celibacy. Sita is married to a unfaithful chauvinist who ignores her. Ultimately the two sister in laws find the intimacy and pleasure, they have been lacking, with each other.

My Review
Banned in India! This film was written and directed by Deepa Mehta, who faced serious problems as a result of the lesbian nature of the film. The plot is empty, but it is a courageous attempt at portraying a taboo subject. Worth seeing, just to say you saw it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This movie has and is a daring story. The story in the movie and the story of the woman, who dared to make this movie, and who after the fact, was the target of death threats etc. In this movie the taboo of love between two women is very powerfully depicted. Yet I would say more importantly it is the social system and the family system within India that is being opened up to the moviegoers. India is the "case study" here yet the realities of these relations are present at other places all over the Middle East. So this movie makes a very powerful statement and remains a beautiful, in many senses a classical yet so out of the ordinary love-story.