Amu
Amu
| 07 January 2005 (USA)
Amu Trailers

Amu is the story of Kaju, a twenty-one-year-old Indian American woman who returns to India to visit her family and discover the place where she was born. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju stumbles against secrets and lies from her past. A horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the key to her mysterious origins.

Reviews
Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
batraman87 I never knew a movie like Amu was released way back in 2005. This is one of the finest story writing I have seen in Indian cinema complimented with the exceptional direction. This angle of 84 Sikh riots was very different but still is one of the most important one describing the sentiments of the people who have faced it and those who still bear the burden of it in day to day life without being able to do anything.The story in 2014 is still the same. Communities suffer and the creators of this disturbance roam freely and live freely on the taxpayers money.A must watch movie for those who like intense and near to real cinema.Thanks a lot Shonali Bose. Hats off to you.
enchantedguru I just went to screening locally as part of an Asian American Film festival. Amu was the opening movie for the festival. I liked the film a lot. Not your typical Indian movie by any means. After the movie they had Q&A with the director, producer, and lead actress. The discussion gave some neat insight regarding the movie. For example a lot of the filming / subject matter was done in fear of govt censorship. The version shown, as well as the one to be released later this fall in the US, is different than what those in India saw at the theater. For example in the scene with the widows discussing with Amu & Kabir the riots and how the government tolerated the violence, that the widows voices are left silent as Amu & Kabir sit in silence.
Treasure Girl I went to a recent screening of this movie because I had heard interesting things about it. The one word that I can best use to explain the movie: contrived! The story is waferthin yet dealing with quite an important issue that I had no idea about. Yes, a filmmaker with passion and patience deserves applause but ultimately the film needs to back that up. This film dramatizes elements of the 1984 riots in such a way that if you didn't know about them, you are frustrated by the lack of being in the know and if you do know about it, it's far too trivial and over-dramatic. The lead actress played by Konkona Sen is a great heroine. The only problem is that her supporting team is horrible. Maybe something gets lost between the English the characters speak and my understanding but it's so pretentious and completely distances the audience. Her love interest is beyond words - horrendous. The mother is strictly okay. I liked the director's intent and her fierce drive. That is 100% missing on screen. The only thing I left feeling for AMU was sorry that I couldn't better understand her needs and her past. It's a shame because the film highlights a part of history that is not well known in the western world. Perhaps realizing that got lost in translation.
ajaysaxena1960 i have never written a review but felt obligated to after watching this film. i had heard very nice things about this movie but was surprised how disappointed i felt leaving the cinema. one question, why cast Indian girl for nri Indian? she had the accent down, but still - aren't there talented actors from America? also, who is the horrible guy playing kabir. he is awful! he spoils so many scenes of the film.the mother brinda karat is good as is yashpal sharma from lagaan. the film seems to catering to outside Indians and somehow loses the effect of being powerful for the Indian audience and the outside Indian audience.i must admit i thought the flashback scenes were powerful. director bose is promising but she should never write again. the dialogue is pretentious and the impact is minimal. still, she extracts competent performances with those restrictions.the music is okay and the production value is decent. the riots had so much history and i was waiting for a film other than trash like hawayein to offer justice and honesty to what transpired back then. amu offers a glimpse and that's it. i wish the entire film was the flashbacks - it had the chance to make intelligent powerful cinema without the forced formula.in the end, amu may be made with heart but the result is heartless for the audience.