KB

It is so soulfully refreshing watching a film that explores a relationship between a sufi saint and a hindu woman. It is a beautiful call back to what makes our part of the world so beautiful, the melting of religions and cultures together. I was in awe of some of the ways the film depicts this: the hearing of azaan and watching kathak at the same time is something I have never experienced before, and that too so beautifully done. The cinematography is gorgeous but the plot leaves much to be explored. Characters could have more strongly been developed, more time could have been spent on developing the relationship between the leads, more time could have been spent exploring the uneasiness of the girls parents with an inter-religious marriage, more time could have been spent exploring the sufi leaders perceptions to this relationship. I wish the story went into the depth of some these complexities it scratched the surface on. Regardless, a concept beautifully executed, with music and visuals that captivate you.. and to its credit the film engages the viewer for the full length of the film. For the beauty of it all 4 stars - otherwise the plot and story is just 3 stars..

An absolute waste of time. As a first time viewer unfamiliar with the book or the first rendition, I failed to find anything gripping about the storyline, the characters and the unexpected plot twists. There was not enough time spent to establish motivations behind why characters were acting the way they were and what was leading them to feel what they were feeling. Mr. de Winter was probably the weakest link in the whole plot as his connection to his dead wife was just never fully developed or explained. The new Mrs. de Winter just seemed naive over all which is why her sharpness towards the end of the film in saving Mr. de Winter failed to engage me at all... I am such a selective film watcher and having wasted an evening on this is less than preferable..