January 7, 2025 – This is a movie that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, but was not submitted by India for the Academy Awards international film competition. It should have been. It is an outstanding film, one of the year's best.

The reason it was not submitted to the Academy by India will be discussed later in this review. For now, let's get to the movie itself, which is about two nurses working at a hospital in Mumbai who each are facing emotional crises born of social strictures.

The film's main character is Prabha (played by Kani Kusruti) a woman in a perpetual state of melancholy, whose husband is working in Germany and has not contacted her in years. Her younger, carefree, friend and roommate, Anu (played by Divya Prabha) is in a forbidden love affair with Muslim man, Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon).

Prabha is resigned to her fate and defends Indian traditions, including her arranged marriage at an early age. She feels obligated to reject the advances of a doctor who is in love with her. Anu, on the other hand, wants to rebel against entering into an arranged marriage proposed by her parents. At one point, Prabha lectures Anu about her anti-traditional actions. Both women have been brought up as traditional Malayalis.

These conflicts come to a head when Prabha and Anu accompany an older friend to a seaside village, where Anu has secretly arranged to meet Shiraz. The older woman, Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam of “Laapataa Ladies”) has been forced out of her apartment by developers building a new apartment building on the property.

Prabha spots Anu and Shiraz together and the two are forced to bring their relationship out in the open to Prabha and Parvaty. Prabha uses CPR to save the life of a man who has nearly drowned. When the man wakes up he does not remember anything. Prabha, in an emotional crisis, imagines him as her long lost husband who has returned and wants to be with her again. After this epiphany, Prabha seems to rethink her own situation, and her low opinion of Anu.

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. The landscapes and cityscapes are dreamlike at times, lensed by cinematographer Ranabir Das. It is an enchanting film. This film rates an A.

So why did India submit “Laapataa Ladies” as its official Academy entry and not “All We Imagine as Light?” Two reasons, I think. One is that “All We Imagine as Light” is a film financed in Europe, not India. It is like having outsiders shining a negative light on Indian traditional values. Two, this is not a traditional Indian film with traditional Indian values. There is kissing, some nudity, and a sex scene, too, that makes it somewhat controversial by Indian standards. I have personally heard Indians say that films like this (such as “Monsoon Wedding”) are not “real” Indian films.

Apparently, “Laapataa Ladies” (Lost Ladies) is also a good film, but it is a comedy, and more conventional. It did not make the Academy short list (where dramas are usually favored over comedies). I think that “All We Imagine as Light” would have made the short list. This was not the strategically smart choice, but it was the traditional choice, as far as Indian sensibilities are concerned.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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