We offer you a nice break from the frenzy of this time of year when the Shuswap Film Society, for our last film of 2019, presents Photograph, a gentle, leisurely-paced love story out of India.
The film concerns two lonely souls from opposing social realms and how they are brought together by a photograph.
Rafi makes his humble living taking pictures of tourists at the Gateway of India in Mumbai. His meddlesome grandmother lives back in his village and is constantly pressuring the 40-something photographer to get married. To get her off his back, he sends her a picture of a beautiful stranger he has recently photographed and tells Granny that she is his fiance Noorie. His excited grandmother plans a trip to town to meet Rafi’s betrothed, and suddenly he has to scramble to find the subject of his photo and persuade her to participate in his ruse.
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The young woman, Miloni, career-oriented and from a privileged family, surprisingly agrees to go along with his plan. Through this unforeseen intersection of their paths, the two discover that, although they differ in age, religion, and social status, they have a lot in common. They find their lie turning into something unexpected – a genuine affection for each other. A slow romance blossoms between Rafi and Miloni as they convey unspoken emotions beautifully in their mannerisms and their silences. The question is: can love prevail in a world divided by class barriers?
Like Ritesh Batra’s previous beloved movie, The Lunchbox, Photograph also revolves around urban loneliness, simplicity and everyday life. This is a lovely, authentic story with believable performances that makes us smile and think. As reviewer Kamna Jadhav succinctly says: “you can’t say you watched a love story…you might say you experienced love.”
Photograph shows at 5 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the Salmar Classic. This is our last movie until 2020, when we start up with the Canadian film And The Birds Rained Down on January 4.
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