I recently had the pleasure of watching The World Unseen, a new film by Enlightenment Productions. Based on Shamim Sarif's critically-acclaimed novel of the same name, and set against the backdrop of 1950's South Africa - just as apartheid is beginning to take root, enforcing heinous laws such as the Group Areas Act and the Immorality Act - The World Unseen follows the unlikely and unusual love story of two young Indian women; one emancipated and free-willed, the other a traditional wife and mother.
Violating the constraints of her own conventional Indian community, and the new apartheid government, Amina (Sheetal Sheth, Looking for Comedy in the Moslem World) runs a café unlawfully with a coloured business partner. This is a secret she manages to keep well guarded from the police, but provokes prying from her judgmental community.
When Amina meets Miriam (Lisa Ray, Water, Bollywood Hollywood), a married woman and young mother, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that have shaped her life. The World Unseen embraces the universal themes of personal quest in an environment of deep-rooted suppression in a country of oppression, both obstacles transcended by the equality a love affair can bring.
I definitely enjoyed watching the film. The relationship between Miriam and Amina is interesting as it is portrayed largely through powerful body language and facial expressions. There are no loud declarations of love, explicit love scenes or melodramatic confrontations. To the contrary, the love story blossoms so subtly as both characters find it difficult to escape their increasingly strong feelings for one another.
The stunning scenery of Cape Town and its surrounding areas plays a strong role in the film. The sublime vastness of the landscape is evident in the raw beauty of the undeveloped land around Miriam's shop. Miriam's isolation, both physical and emotional, is reflected in her surroundings. The beautiful vistas and sunsets give the film an ethereal and otherworldly quality. Through the powerful eyes of the camera, the viewer is transported to another time and place.
As North Americans, we are used to the fast and reckless pace of Hollywood films. For that reason, I recommend that the viewer have patience with this film, as it will not nab them immediately. It is slow to start and the pace does not quicken much. Instead, Sarif focuses on the characters' gradual evolutions, and the resolution of their individual struggles. Once I got accustomed to the flow of the film, I let myself be carried away by it and quite enjoyed myself in the process. Sheth and Ray are both beautiful and enigmatic on screen. The film also has an intriguing array of supporting characters who provide and engaging and colourful backdrop to the protagonists' story. Other cast includes Parvin Dabbas (Monsoon Wedding), Bernard White (The Matrix) and Nandana Sen (Black).
Check out this blog next week to read my exclusive interview with Shamim Sarif and Lisa Ray!
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