Yet another movie about an Indian woman being abused after coming to the West (Canada in this case). I'd give it a 2.5/5, only because of Zinta's acting.This isn't a regular Deepa Mehta movies. I have loved most of her other movies, including Fire, Earth, Bollywood/Hollywood, and Water. Mehta is a great director, and all the above-mentioned movies were intense and rich with passion. Unfortunately, same cannot be said for Heaven on Earth.
HoE is a story about an Indian woman (Chand) who gets married to an Indian-Canadian man (Rocky) and comes to Canada to live with his family. The family consists of Rocky's parents, his sister, brother-in-law and their 2 children, and himself. They all live under one roof, in a house with 3 rooms. In addition to looking after this huge family, Rocky is also given the responsibility of bringing his 2 brothers to Canada. This has made Rocky very aggressive, and the only person he can take his anger out on his is new bride, Chand. After being beaten black and blue, Chand develops a coping mechanism to help her get through the abuse. And that mechanism, as shown by Mehta, is the biggest glitch in the movie.
The movie was building up to a climax that was rather stupid and annoying. I was expecting something much more sensible and typical of Mehta.....alas!! It was like finishing off a gourmet dinner with a cube of sugar for dessert...bland and unsatisfying. Zinta's impeccable acting carries the whole movie. If you want to watch a movie with similar content and with some meat, go for Provoked.
1 comments:
I think this whole thing about an demure indian woman coming to West (US, UK, Canada) and learning to cope with life in the West has been overdone by Mira Nair and her posse of like minded directors. Didn't Ash act in a similar movie by Jag Mundhra called Provoked. I haven't watched the movie yet but I might probably watch it once it is out on DVD. I think Zinta is a good actress.
Thanks for your review.
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