FILM REVIEW: “All We Imagine As Light”

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Released date: 2024

This is a poetic, magical, and deeply human portrait of women seeking connection in an indifferent world.

Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light” is a luminous and deeply intimate Malayalam-language film that quietly redefines modern Indian arthouse cinema. Set in the teeming heart of Mumbai, this India’s first Cannes Grand Prix-winning gem tells the story of three women — Prabha, Anu, and Parvaty — as they navigate love, loss, and longing in a city that rarely offers space for personal dreams.

While its language shifts between Malayalam, Hindi, and Marathi, the film speaks a universal emotional dialect. Kapadia’s direction leans toward poetic realism — blending the starkness of everyday life with moments of magical introspection, where the ordinary flickers with a sense of the extraordinary. The title itself hints at this — light isn’t just a visual element here, but a metaphor for hope, clarity, and self-discovery.

Kapadia’s women are not sketched for drama, but for depth. Prabha’s imagined reconciliation with her estranged husband, Anu’s quiet defiance of social barriers for love, and Parvaty’s return to her village all form a mosaic of self-liberation. The film’s ending avoids tidy conclusions, favoring emotional release and personal agency over resolution.

The cinematography is remarkable in its naturalism. Nighttime cityscapes, dim hospital corridors, and sunlit windows are all rendered in an unvarnished, human light, free from Hollywood gloss. Kapadia’s visual storytelling captures the women’s internal landscapes as much as the external one — none more so than in the dreamlike final sequence, where the women gather in a seaside shack lit with strings of soft bulbs, mirroring the stars above. It’s a gentle, breathtaking symbol of connection and belonging.

“All We Imagine As Light” isn’t spiritual in the religious sense, but its meditative exploration of connection, healing, and hope radiates an inner light all its own. For fans of magical realism and quiet cinematic beauty, this film is a must-see.