Moviola > Films > Before the Rains

Before the Rains (12A)   98 mins

"Passion has its price."

Set in 1930s southern India against the backdrop of a growing nationalist movement, Before the Rains is a Merchant-Ivory production and the English language début of acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist). An idealistic young Indian man (Rahul Bose) finds himself torn between his ambitions for the future and his loyalty to the past when people in his village learn of an affair between his British boss (Linus Roache) and a village woman (Nandita Das).

"What makes Before the Rains so touching is that it isn't what it seems to be about. It seems to be about a quietly good Englishman, a planter in south India, who wants to build a road to the top of a mountain.  He must complete this road before the monsoon rains arrive and wash away all his hard work. The road will bring money for him, jobs for the locals, and a better future.
But in Santosh Sivan's melancholy, lyrical, and intelligent film, this quiet Englishman stands for the tragic twilight of empire, and his "goodness" is rife with betrayal and arrogance beneath the surface."    Deepak Chopra
 

"Fatal culture clash, imperialist entitlement, forbidden passion between master and servant: the ingredients of the Indian director Santosh Sivan’s period piece  may be awfully familiar, but the film lends them the force of tragedy."  New York Times

"Roache is excellent as a professional man, no worse than most men, but one embodying the moral carelessness inherent in the blithe assumption of superiority. He is ably supported by Bose, as his loyal assistant, Das as his lover and Jennifer Ehle as his wife - a lackluster smiling role, until the scene when she finally stops smiling."  San Francisco Chronicle

www.beforetherains.net

Last modified: 11-Aug-2009

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