Fire in the Mountains movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Fire in the Mountains

This dramatic film has its US theatrical premiere on May 20, 2022

RATING: R

LENGTH: 82 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Film Forum is pleased to present the US theatrical premiere of Ajitpal Singh’s FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS. In northern India, a breathtakingly beautiful Himalayan community attracts tourists by comingling South Asian and Swiss Alps aesthetics. Debut filmmaker Singh tells an unconventional story of feminist strength while “accentuating the region’s spectacular exteriors and wide-canvas nature shots” (Tomris Laffly, Variety).

One local woman competes with her neighbors for business while battling the strict traditions of patriarchy, a local infrastructure that is mired in government apathy, and religious superstitions. She saves money, uses feminine wiles to subvert the corrupt powers-that-be, and piggy-backs her son up and down the mountainside to medical appointments with condescending doctors. In the end, our heroine’s tightly wound grit must find release… in triumph, madness, or both.

FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the World Dramatic Competition. It won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2021 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

THINGS I LIKED:

You get to visit a beautiful place on earth in the Himalayas in India.
It’s fascinating to hear accounts on the radio about how India is close to becoming one of the leading countries in the world while we watch scenes of how this community is most definitely living in a third-world country.
I love seeing the country, how the people live, what they eat, what they wear, where they sleep and cook, and every aspect of their lives.
It’s interesting to see that no matter how poor people are, they still have cell phones. How on earth did they get such good cellphone coverage way up in those mountains?
I was surprised to see how often people walked around on the roof of their houses.
We get to see an interesting way a young girl stays awake so she can study. She ties her ponytail up to the wall so that it will pull her head up if she starts to nod off!
Leopard on the loose!
It’s sweet how everyone refers to each other as a sister, brother, auntie, etc. even if they’re not related. The school children recite lines together at school, saying that everyone in India is their brother or sister.
The title of the movie is clever because it refers to a pivotal bonfire ceremony that takes place high in the mountains, but it also refers to the fire inside the main wife’s spirit.
The actors in the film feel like real people, rather than actors. It almost feels like a documentary because of the realism.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It’s sad and depressing to watch the somber details of this family’s life. Things go from bad to worse and we rarely see anyone smile during the entire film.
There are a few moments when the director tries to get creative, but otherwise, the cinematography is pretty straightforward.
Some viewers will complain that nothing really “happens” for a long time.