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All We Imagine as Light

Play trailer 1:58 Poster for All We Imagine as Light 2024 1h 58m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 157 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 250+ 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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All We Imagine as Light

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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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Critics Reviews

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Adam Nayman Toronto Star Jun 17
4/4
It takes an awful lot of skill to make cinema feel this effortless. Go to Full Review
Odie Henderson Boston Globe Jan 29
3.5/4
This is a very patient movie, filled with equally patient performances, lyrical camerawork and some stunning images of its characters residing within the frame. Kapadia’s screenplay builds fleshed out characters, even in the supporting roles. Go to Full Review
Peter Travers ABC News Jan 10
In her first fiction feature, documentarian Payal Kapadia brings a poetic profundity to this cinematic spellbinder about female sisterhood in a big city (Mumbai) full of societal, economic and political pressures that can force out intimacy and dreams Go to Full Review
Akhil Arora The Long Take Podcast Sep 29
[T]he film’s bittersweet exploration of urban loneliness and the migrant experience, its depiction of Mumbai, and [Payal] Kapadia’s command over tone. Go to Full Review
Pablo O. Scholz Clarín Sep 20
4/4
All We Imagine as Light...radiates poetry wherever you look. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Alejandro Lingenti La Nación (Argentina) Sep 18
5/5
Payal Kapadia's portrayal of Mumbai is remarkable [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Dave D Jan 13 very slow moving with some great cinematography good acting some farrowing and sweet moments See more jeffrey s Jan 1 beautiful shot film with some heartwarming performances, just felt the story got a little lost at the end. See more Eva 12/12/2024 Lovely tale of the intertwined lives of three women in Mumbai. I would make a point of seeing it if you can. See more Roy J 12/04/2024 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 See more Laldee 11/25/2024 Beautiful atmospheric film about love and female friendship. See more devdutt 11/24/2024 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. See more Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 4, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.1M
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.66:1)
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