This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Excellent, a Must See

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Torontonian director, Deepa Mehta, planned to make three films, Fire, Earth and Water, all set and filmed in India, her native land. The first film was very controversial in India, reviled by Hindu extremists of the fundamentalist, right-wing Shiv Sena sect, who rioted, tore down posters and even burned one of the movie theatres that was showing it, all because the film showed wives disobeying their husbands and a lesbian relationship. There was great concern when Earth was made but little happened. However, when the third film, Water was being made, renewed rioting caused the Indian government to order the filming stopped and the film was never made.Earth concerns a small group of students in what is now Lahore, Pakistan but was then part of India. They represented several religions: Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsee and Christian. They are willing to accept each other despite their religious differences. When India is partitioned into India and Pakistan, there is a massive movement of people in both directions. Some fanatics started attacking those of different religions and the violence escalated to massacres. The friends, who thought that they would always be friends, found that destiny would not allow it.

This is an important film, in that Western audiences know little, if anything, about modern India--other than, perhaps, what they saw in the film GANDHI. This film chronicles what happens in a town in the region disputed by the newly created nation of Pakistan and India in 1947. Instead of showing what occurs at a global or even regional level, the film stresses the individuals. You grow to like and care about them and slowly through the course of the film, they are murdered, run in terror or become part of the murderous masses. I particularly appreciated how the whole mess was seen through not just the viewpoint of the maid but the little girl--particularly at the end of the film. Unfortunately, due to the subject matter, the film is VERY heart-wrenching--be sure to have a box of Kleenex.The acting is excellent and the parts written for the actors were intelligently written. I really appreciate that. My only quibble, though VERY minor, is that the film was generally captioned but some of the English language dialog was tough to follow and captioning EVERYTHING or at least using closed captioning would have been helpful.Director Deepa Mehta once again uses a deft hand to skillfully guide the viewer--nothing heavy-handed or rushed and I really appreciate that. Try some of her other films, such as Bollywood/Hollywood--you won't be disappointed.

Partition films are inherently political as is shown by the fact that this utterly fair movie was banned in BOTH countries. The fact that it was banned in both countries indicates how unbiased this film is. This film is one about how hatred consumes all. Dilnawaz (Aamir Khan) is a happy-go-lucky guy who gets consumed by a desire for vengeance when he sees his sisters' bodies mutilated. Dilnawaz had told his Hindu and Sikh friends that he would stand up for them if the partition violence came to fighting. Yet, when it came down to it-he reveled in his Hindu and Sikh friends' misery and even advocated their leaving Lahore. The only heroine in this film is the protagonist's (Lenny, Lenny-Baby) mother, who by virtue of being Parsi is protected but does everything to shield the Hindu Aaya (Nanny) of Lenny.

I would not go into the details about the story. The brief description: story is about Dilnawaz, Lenny baby, Ayah and Hassan, four people and their experiences at the time of partition (one the most devastating events ever happened in the world)Six reasons why you should watch this movie:1. Aamir Khan's stunning portrayal of the character Dilnawaz. He brings the character to life. In the films's first half you can find some grey shades in the character. But in the second half the character becomes black. And this transformation is shown by aamir brilliantly. 2. Authenticity of the film. The setting of the film looks so real that you don't have to go into some imagination to feel what Lahore was like then 3. Musical score by A.R.Rahman. Both background score and songs fit into the film well. Especially the rut agayire, raat ki dal dal and yeh jo zindagi song 4. Direction of Deepa Mehta. Deepa Mehta has come long way after fire. Fire was not made for wider audiences. But this film is related to the universal concept which is religious conflicts. I salute her for making the film neither anti-Muslim nor anti-Hindu or anti-Sikh. This film shows that it was everybody's mistake. I also admire her for putting some scenes like Lenny and his friend meet a boy whose mother was raped (superb scene). 5. Wonderful depiction of the character Lenny baby by young actress Maia sethna. Especially at the movie's end. 6. A disturbing train scene and climax of the movie. The two scenes will haunt you for many years. They are so disturbing scenes that you will have sleepless nights. really mind numbingI rate this movie 9/10.