All We Imagine As Light

The story of three working-class women in Mumbai as they live their life; form connections and affections; and struggle with their place in the city, the country, and the world. It’s a lovely slice-of-life story about yearning and love and relationships and the stresses of city life and country life and everything else that makes life… life. The dialogue is in Malayalam, Hindi, and Marathi, with English subtitles. It was nominated for the Palm d’Or at Cannes, won the Grand Prix there, and currently has an enviable 100% Tomatometer (critic score) on Rotten Tomatoes. This is one that Blake really wanted to show, and a beautiful example of what was, for decades, a “Midweek Movie” at The Clyde (and may be again).

“It’s the kind of modestly scaled and lightly plotted international movie — with characters who look and sound like real people, and whose waking hours are set to the pulse of life — that can get lost amid the year-end glut of Oscar-grubbing titles. So, it’s worth mentioning upfront that it is also flat-out wonderful, one of finest of the year.” -Mahnola Dargis, The New York Times
“In her first fiction feature, documentarian Payal Kapadia brings a poetic profundity to this cinematic spellbinder about female sisterhood in a big city (Mumbai) full of societal, economic and political pressures that can force out intimacy and dreams” -Peter Travers, ABC News
“This film plumbs the extraordinary emotions that hum and throb through ordinary life.” -Stephen Romei, The Australian
“This is a film of moments that stay with you.” -Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
“Small in its movements and thoughtful in its observations, All We Imagine As Light is quietly resonant.” -Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
“Payal Kapadia delivers a memorable and compassionate slice-of-life drama, making a clear statement about the constraints faced by working-class women in India.  ” -Gavia Baker-Law, Empire Magazine
“It’s a film that feels like a long exhale, the moment of unburdening after a tight embrace. It’s beautiful.” -Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent (UK)
“All We Imagine as Light is a beautiful film told with a poet’s eye” -Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
“There are a million stories in the naked city, and Kapadia is about to show you three of them in the most delicate, moving way possible. She’s also about to mount a quiet, sneak attack on your soul.” -David Fear, Rolling Stone
“The film is a reminder of the transcendent power of cinema, even, and perhaps especially, when not all that much is happening.” -Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
“The courageousness of All We Imagine As Light doesn’t feel like a second film. It already stands as an early majestic masterwork, told with incredible control and uncommon force of will.” -Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
“A film that’s ultimately more of a romantic dramedy than a pure drama. There’s plenty of sadness here, but also lots of humor and female camaraderie.” -Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
“It is both dreamlike and like waking up from a dream. This is a glorious film.” -Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

All We Imagine As Light will open at The Clyde on Tuesday, February 18, and plays Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday at 7:30.