All We Imagine as Light

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All We Imagine as Light

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1h 58m

Drama

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111 Reviews

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50+ Ratings

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital--head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)--plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia's film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. All We Imagine as Light is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.

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Critics Consensus

Capturing the here and now of modern India with the spontaneity of a candid photograph, All We Imagine as Light is a lustrous achievement that announces Payal Kapadia as an essential filmmaker.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

What follows is still compelling, but two-sided again: you realise why people leave the city, and why they long to get back there.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 7, 2024

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

It’s a film that feels like a long exhale, the moment of unburdening after a tight embrace. It’s beautiful.

Rated: 5/5

Dec 3, 2024

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

It’s a marvel of a movie, with something of the humanist poetry of Satyajit Ray or Edward Yang. And it’s all the more remarkable given that this is Kapadia’s first fiction feature. What a talent.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 30, 2024

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Explores the lives of three working-class hospital workers from Mumbai.

Rated: B

Dec 6, 2024

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Manuel Betancourt

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's poetry in cinema, and it is enchanting.

Dec 5, 2024

Full Review

Lael Loewenstein

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

A lyrical, meditative, beautiful, sad but also hopeful story of sisterhood.

Dec 5, 2024

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Roy J

Wasn't expecting half the movie to be about Mumbai then suddenly shift to a sea-side village. Excellent performances and direction. India should have submitted this for the Oscars

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

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Laldee

Beautiful atmospheric film about love and female friendship.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/25/24

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devdutt

well acted, good use of colour palette, some funny and poetic moments. seemingly gratuitous exposure of the body that felt awkward and contrived, slow meandering pace that seemed unnecessary. imagination as the light in a dark world is a character in the film. if youre into lingering meaningful glances this film is for you.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

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Mala M

This is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen and it lingered with me. If you are a movie buff, its a not to be missed movie by a young promising director who will doubtless be directing more wonderful movies. Unlike Barbie, this is truly a womens movie which doesn't bash men like Barbie did. 3 wonderful women actors and 1 amazing woman director.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

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Shoumo M

The finest Indian film since Court. Exquisite poetic and humorous rendition of life of ordinary people in Mumbai. A beautiful story beautifully told. Scenes like Dadar market pre opening before sunrise , gathering clothes from a line as a storm picks up, Prabha’s pent up feelings pouring out embracing a cooker are masterpieces. Very much in the Ray-Benegal class . This film will be treated as a classic and a lesson for students of cinema. The economy of the shots , the crispness is very Rayesque. Kapadia leaves you wanting more . The love story moves ominously towards Sairat like tragedy until Kapadia with a master stroke delightfully turns to light. There is satisfying consummation. Stunning cinematography and use of music. Kapadia is a budding Bergman . She deserves support from our 337 billionaires. The film may not find as many fans as Pathan but taste for great art needs developing .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

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Gavin P

Clumsy, slow indie movie which never gives you a reason to invest in its characters. As a result it's a long slow 120 minute sleeping pill. It's very sad the entire time, but a pointless kind of sadness from which one learns nothing. Has all the hallmarks of an ordinary student film or first film -- long, boring, and sad mistaken for profound when these are just lazy pretensions.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/01/24

Full Review

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Payal Kapadia

Director

Kani Kusruti

Actor

Divya Prabha

Actor

Chhaya Kadam

Actor

Hridhu Haroon

Actor

Payal Kapadia

Screenwriter

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All We Imagine as Light: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital--head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)--plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia's film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. All We Imagine as Light is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.

Director: Payal Kapadia
Screenwriter: Payal Kapadia
Distributor: Sideshow / Janus Films
Production Co: Chalk and Cheese, Another Birth, arte France Cinéma, Les Films Fauves, Pulpa Film, BALDR Film, Petit Chaos
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Malayalam
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)