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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136 Reviews

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100+ 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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Peter Travers

ABC News

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

Jan 10, 2025

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Stephen Romei

The Australian

This film plumbs the extraordinary emotions that hum and throb through ordinary life.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 3, 2025

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

We’re well into the film when Kapadia delivers her biggest surprise, breaking one of conventional screenwriting’s cardinal rules by switching the setting and essentially dividing the film into two halves. What’s more, it works.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 21, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A bold work of feminist drama.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 22, 2025

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Andrea Zamora

Sensacine

All We Imagine as Light is an intriguing story with solid performances and a conclusion that, although hopeful, doesn't seem quite enough. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 17, 2025

Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

The movie flows along like a dream with some lovely sequences in the city and in the country. There is a magical sequence in a cave, where graffiti is mingled with faces sculpted into the cave walls, lensed by Ranabir Das. It is an enchanting film.

Rated: A

Jan 16, 2025

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Dave D

very slow moving with some great cinematography good acting some farrowing and sweet moments

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/13/25

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jeffrey s

beautiful shot film with some heartwarming performances, just felt the story got a little lost at the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/01/25

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Eva

Lovely tale of the intertwined lives of three women in Mumbai. I would make a point of seeing it if you can.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/12/24

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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

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
Box Office (Gross USA): $747.9K
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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