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Movies / On DVD / Fire
Fire

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Fire (1996)

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Reviews Counted:21

Fresh:18

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Sita and Radha are young Indian women whose husbands choose celibacy or mistresses over their wives. The two women become friends and grow closer together, forming a forbidden but liberating... Sita and Radha are young Indian women whose husbands choose celibacy or mistresses over their wives. The two women become friends and grow closer together, forming a forbidden but liberating relationship. A lush, passionate story of emancipation and love, in a closed society. Major controversy led this movie to be widely attacked and banned in India. [More]

Starring: Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Jaaved Jaaferi

Starring: Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Jaaved Jaaferi, Ranjist Chowdry, Kushal Rekhi

Director: Deepa Mehta

Director: Deepa Mehta
Producer: Bobby Bedi, Deepa Mehta

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Fire

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Audacious, yet sensitive, Fire may shock traditionalists but might well win Indian cinema a whole new audience.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the most powerful achievements of Fire is to represent a form of desire which is not an escape, but a political challenge.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
03/05/02
Rachel Malik
Rachel Malik
Sight and Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sensuous visual experience, thanks to the collaboration between cinematographer Giles Nuttgens and Mehta.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
06/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A compelling drama set in India about the boundlessness of desire.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/02/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
10/28/03
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Fire lights its spark beautifully

Full Review Source: Perihelion Journal | comment Comment
08/21/06
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Perihelion Journal

Mehta's direction of her unusually intimate film is delicate. The acting is notably good, especially from Azmi.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle

Works because it doesn't come off as a lofty diatribe but actually mixes humor with its pathos.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

should spark interest in India's modern culture even if it doesn't satisfy those who think a lesbian love affair should burn more explicitly

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
05/06/06
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Fire may be a film, but its story of frustrated desires, love-starved women and the stifling bonds of tradition makes it resemble one of those fat best-selling novels that can fill a summer day at the beach with hours of undemanding pleasure.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fire's flat-out depiction of average middle-class existence in New Delhi is eye-opening.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

The pieces don't all work perfectly, but the whole is gently affecting.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mary Brennan
Mary Brennan
Film.com

Speaks tellingly about individual freedom for women versus social expectations and arranged marriages.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Stack
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle

The film has a seductive resonance.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In its quiet way, Fire packs an emotional wallop.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Boxoffice Magazine

Mehta's larger goal -- demystifying India -- is powerfully, unsettlingly realized.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Film.com

More soap opera than anything else, full of wringing of hands and lots and lots of talking.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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