Earth, The second film in Deepa Mehta's controversial trilogy is an emotionally devastating love story set within the sweeping social upheaval and violence of 1947 India. As her country teeters on the brink of self rule and instability, 8-year old Lenny, an innocent girl from an affluent family, is in danger of having her world turned upside down. As the simmering violence around them reaches a boiling point, Lenny's beautiful nanny Shanta (Nandita Das) falls in love with one of Lenny's heroes,… the charismatic and peace-advocating Hassan. Love, however, can be dangerous when religious differences are tearing the country apart, and friendships and loyalty are put to the test. Building to a shattering climax, Earth is a devastating human drama in which desire unfolds into a stirring tale of love and the ultimate betrayal.

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The story is told through the eyes of an eight-year-old upper class Parsee girl. She has large dark eyes filled with wonder, a crippled leg, and the wisdom of innocence as she observes a world going mad around her.

The city of Lahore, now in Pakistan, was in India then, and all the sects lived together in peace. Now, it becomes the site of turmoil and disaster as friends turn against each other and the blood bath begins.

The casting is perfect, the characters attractive and excellent actors, the music an important component of the internal and external dramas going on. The script is tight, the characterization deep, the story interesting on many levels.

The new country of Pakistan becomes Muslim and although the Parsees can remain there in peace, Hindus and Sikhs must leave. The situation is reversed in what becomes India, which forces the Muslims to leave. There are riots. Explosions. Atrocities by both sides so terrible that I shudder with revulsion.

The eight year old girl with the crippled leg is a witness to her times.

Don't miss the opportunity to view this video, feel the pain and passion of the individual characters, and experience a history that most Americans have little knowledge of. It's time to learn. And its time to understand.

30 of 31 found the following review helpful:

A Beautiful and Courageous FilmJan 01, 2001
By A Disappointed Reader
Deepa Mehta's film "Earth" is at once tragic and courageous. It follows the lives of several people during the harsh times of Indian independence, in 1947. So many times, the portrayl of this era in cinema - which itself is very rare - idolizes only the events leading up to independence, usually following Gandhi. What is ignored by most of the media, though finally brought to light in "Earth," is the near anarchy that followed as religions that had survived peacefully for centuries aside one another erupted in a clash of ethnic warfare. Muslims and Hindus, brothers in the subcontinent for hundreds of years, clashed against one another over land and religion. Sikhs, too, who had been in India for hundreds of years as well, fell into this pot of warfare.

"Earth" discusses these events plainly but beautifully. The film itself is wonderful cinema: the plot continues to develop, the characters are real, and the tragedies are terribly saddening. There are moments of humor, of course, but most of the movie involves seeing those images of oppression and violence that have been shielded from view for so long. At one point, an entire traincar arrives, only to be filled with the bodies of dead Muslims - slaughtered, presumably, by Hindus, Sikhs, or others - from a nearby city. Later on, when a Hindu tenement in the city of Lahore (where the movie takes place) catches on fire, the Muslim firefighters douse the building not in water, but in petrol, escalating the flames. And after this has happened - after the audience and the characters have bore witness to horrible, unforgivable atrocities - the movie makes a very important point, that, though disturbing, is truly exemplified in the Indian subcontinet of 1947: everyone - be they Sikhs, Hindus, or Muslims - can be bad, and they can all do horrible acts to each other. The movie makes a point not to side with any individual religion. We see elements of Islam, elements of Sikhism and Hinduism, elements of the Parsees, and the movie remains non-judgemental. Everyone (well, not the Parsees too much) perform terrible acts to everyone else. By not being judgemental, "Earth" shows how these religions, these people that fought against each other with vehement, all have a very potent similarity. They are all capable of viciousness and inhumanity. "Earth" is a fabulous film, and is a must-see. Even if one is isn't interested in the workings of the wars that seperated India and Pakistan in 1947, one should see "Earth," as it finally shows those hidden deaths, those hidden tragedies, to the public eye. Bravo, Deepa Mehta.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

HISTORICAL, SAD, DRAMA, ROMANCE, PERFECT FILMJan 11, 2002
By Justiniano Rodrigues
When I finished watching it my heart has filled with sadness. The acting is superb. Who'd think that there would be soo much betrayal and a MAJOR shift from hapiness to extreme sufering and sadness. The music although slow is also GREAT. This movie helped me on my project about India and taught me about life in India before the partition riots of 1947 and about what happened in 1947, the riots, and the meaning of India's independence to those who lived in what is now Pakistan.
The acting is exellent, there was nothing that I saw wrong with this movie at all. So much sad scenes of vicious violence, and silly scenes of childhood as well as great romance and heart influencing emotion. This movie has affected me sooo much.

15 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Very IMPORTANT information about this amazing movie!Jun 03, 2001
By Mary A. Langrall
EARTH is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and it my uderstanding from reading the other reviews that others feel this way, too. If you are a fan of the movie, I have some VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION to share with you:

First, I want you all to know that the movie is based DIRECTLY on the book CRACKING INDIA by Bapsi Sidhwa (and if you haven't read the book--you must! Add it to your cart right now--Sidhwa is a wonderful writer and you cannot fully appreciate the movie until you have read the book). So to begin, I wanted to make sure that Sidhwa was recognized. I think it is only fair to give the "mother" of the idea full respect. Ok, for all of you desperate to find the SOUNDTRACK, I know where you can find it! To find it, you must know that when the movie first came out (in India I believe)it was entitled "1947" so the soundtrack is of the movie "1947" (Earth is exactly the same as 1947). Now, as if your life couldn't get any better...I know where you can order the CD soundtrack. Go to [...] and type in "1947". It should take you directly to a page where you can buy the CD. So, I hope that this gem of information will prompt you to read the book CRACKING INDIA, as the movie cannot be fully appreciated without having read it. Any more questions, you can e-mail me at ShumNum@aol.com. Happy viewing, listening, and READING!

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