GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

braddugg Totally Unexpected.I did not expect many things in the way they were unfolded and that's the beauty of this movie.The story is about partition but no big politics involved. Lahore no big cities involved. Rather it's a tale of a choice between lust and love. It a view point of a small parsi girl.There are very little commercial elements and the music of A R Rahman just adds to the visuals and the way they unfold I repeat is what is wonderful.It's not spectacular and I didn't get a wow while viewing but its engrossing and so engrossing that I didn't even realize till the tears strolled from eyes and touched my lips.It's a must watch if one can take in the surprise of seeing a movie that actually does not have a typical beginning or end and anything.Aamir Khan Rocks and Nandita Das is wonderful. But the best is from a kid Maia Sethna as Lenny Baby.Rating : 4/5

colour-me-kubrick I saw this film about 10 years back and have seen it thrice since then.Last time I saw it was on the "independence day" but this time after reading the novel "ice candy man".It made me appreciate the movie more and understand how beautifully Deepa Mehta adapted this partition story to a character study.After fire which was a brilliant film,ahead of its times in the Indian context this was her most accomplished work.Deepa Mehta keeps her objectivity without indulging or being judge-mental of the dark side of human nature as it emerges in the face of adversity.For me this movie is not about partition,but about human nature.The veil that separates us from animals becomes an anomaly in certain situation.So it is not so much the partition that drew the worst out of the characters but the demons such as lust,violence,jealousy,anger,resentment that already exist at the very core of human nature.It may or may not manifest itself in its most carnal form.But in this case it does.The innovation of songs as a part of narration was a masterstroke and when you have A R Rehamn at the fore,there will be magic."Raat Ki Dal Dal" is probably one of the most wonderfully pictured songs I have have seen in recent times,as the camera zooms in on Aamir as he is waiting for the train from India,encapsulating his anxiety.The art work is accurate enough,the cinematography is excellent(notice how the camera-work changes from being still and peaceful in first half to more vibrant in the second half).The performances of the entire cast is brilliant,whether it is the parsi family or Dil Nawaz's friend circle or even Gulshan Grover for that matter.Everyone seems to be on the money.Rahul khanna is a natural talent like his brother(which explains why he is not making it big in this superficial industry),he is rightly understated through the film.His is the only character which doesn't have as many demons and is probably at peace with himself after having the women of his dreams.Nandita Das is a brilliant actress whom I have long admired along with Seema Biswas and Konkana Sen.Her courage and talent shines through as she plays a character who is oozing sexuality,is flirtatious and maybe some what naive.In case of great actors,I try not to use the "best" and "greatest" to describe their performances,because it in a way diminishes their remaining equally brilliant body of work.But this was a new high for Aamir khan in my book.Before this movie I thought he was one of the most talented,versatile and courageous actors within the industry.This film is where he transcended to greatness and stayed there.To be very honest,most of the ground work was laid in the novel for this role,but one needs great vision to convey this charming character's journey into madness.The use of body language and "silence" is what separates the great actors from others.Al Pacino,George C Scott,De Niro,Sanjeev Kumar understood the value of it and here Aamir showcases his class especially in the climax.This film is not for the faint hearted.But that is what I have admired Deepa Mehta for.She has always been ruthlessly truthful when it comes to human nature whether it is "earth" or "fire".Unfortunately most of the Indians like the "escapist" mode just to "make them feel good about themselves".If you are one of those this not for you.P.S.Majority of the reviews here are spot on and people not aware of the horrors of partition were also able to connect on a human level which fulfills the purpose of this film.

gradyharp Deepa Mehta has such a commanding presence in her films that she is able to leave her audience both educated and devastated by her stories and by the ingenious ways in which she tells them. EARTH is a magnificent example of her gifts and while it may not be as visually luxurious or as touching as her subsequent WATER, it is a fine film that not only depicts a troubled time in India's history, but also informs us of the intricacies of how people relate to each other - first as humans, second as religious sects.The film has at its heart the year 1947 when India was given its independence from Great Britain and at the same time bifurcated into two countries - India and Pakistan. The story opens with a tranquil park picnic in Lahore where friends - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsee - while away the afternoon in camaraderie. Only slight overtones of edgy topics about religion mar the conversation until the topic focuses on the incipient split of the country into two countries. Each of the friends represents each of the religious sects and it is how these differences, at once unimportant to friendship, end up in separating the friends under the influence of the devastation of bloodshed that follows the division of the country and the displacement of millions of people, all under the guise of independence.There is a strong love story, a committed crippled child who experiences all of the happiness and subsequent tragedy that is to follow and the story ends with some words of wisdom by the grown little girl reflecting on choices made, and other sidebars that maintain interest at every frame.The acting is first rate from a beautiful cast and Mehta's direction makes this tale of change whir by the viewer. For those not educated in the differences of the four religious sects of Hindu, Parsee, Muslim, and Sikh the tale can become confusing: would that Mehta would have included a discussion about the film in an added feature the way she helped us understand the plight of widows in WATER. And the subtitles unfortunately do not translate the English spoken portions of the film, portions that while very important to the story are nearly indecipherable due to the accents of the characters speaking.But these are minor quibbles in a film that pleads for repeated viewings, so beautiful is the movie and so very important is the message. Highly Recommended.

abdullah-belim Personally i think this film is great. Its Indian through and through but its definitely not Bollywood, there is no happy ending and they all don't live happily ever after.It carefully re-constructs an image on Lahore back in the late 1940's when Indian was still one, under the British Raj. It builds up toward the moment of partition and the horror that followed.Following a diverse group of friends from various religions and the effects of partition on them. What I like is that this film does not bias towards any one side and make out the opposite an enemy, it takes a significantly neutral perspective which is honest in nature. Aamir Khan is absolutely amazing in this and perfectly acts the role of a young Indian Muslim back in the 1940's.This is no documentary but follows certain events closely and shows the consequential events to follow.Move aside bollywood, and let people watch this film.