“You have to believe the illusion, or else you’ll go mad.”
This quote is featured in a montage of Mumbai’s streets in Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light,” which I recently saw at the Bud Frank Cinema.
The winner of the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, “All We Imagine as Light” focuses on the lives of Prabha and Anu, two nurses who live and work together in Mumbai. Prabha has been apart from her estranged husband for many years, although she was recently sent a rice cooker by him, who works at a factory in Germany (with the Made in Germany label on the cooker reflecting this).
At the same time, her roommate Anu is attempting to find the time to spend being close to her boyfriend, Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon), a Muslim who lives in a different neighborhood in Mumbai.
Kani Kusruti delivers a stellar performance as Prabha who has a constant lingering sadness in her eyes—a result of the many years of separation and pain her husband has caused her. Divya Prabha’s portrayal of Anu is also excellent, delivering a truly charismatic performance which is especially seen in the scenes with her and Haroon.
In her debut feature-length narrative (as she had only previously made a documentary feature), Payal Kapadia blends realism with documentary elements (as displayed by the voiceovers of the working-class residents of Mumbai, serving as a transition between each act of the film), along with writing a stellar screenplay and crafting a dialogue that is pure poetry. With themes of moving on and intimacy, the result is a unique and singular vision.
One of the best aspects of the film is the beautiful cinematography captured by Ranabir Das. His camerawork includes a plethora of stunning shots of the streets of Mumbai at night, as well as other captivating scenes such as a wide shot of a beachside bar in the third act.
Another stellar facet of the film is the immersive sound design, submerging the viewer into the city of Mumbai and Prabha and Anu’s lives. This is amplified when seeing the film in a theater with a truly stellar sound system. Moments that reflect this include a scene where Anu is listening to multiple objects with a stethoscope including her own heartbeat.
The sound design also connects to Topshe’s soundtrack, the centerpiece of which is Imagined Light, a beautiful piece prominently featured in the third act.
Other tracks are featured in the film as well such as the instrumental The Homeless Wanderer, a piano piece by Emahoy Tsegué–Maryam Guébrou, an Ethiopian pianist and nun. This piano motif is featured prominently throughout the film such as in a scene with Anu in the first half of the film where she is texting Shiaz, with the messages being displayed on the screen.
With “All We Imagine as Light,” Payal Kapadia examines the beauty and pain of the human experience through the lives of two people in Mumbai – with truly stellar performances, an otherworldly sound design, and beautifully shot cinematography.
Sometimes, one imagines light to escape the darkness.
“All We Imagine as Light” is available to rent on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
