Payal Kapadia
All We Imagine as Light
7.1 
9.3In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend.
- Director: Payal Kapadia
- Main Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam
- Soundtrack: Dhritiman Das
- Cinematography: Ranabir Das
- Screenplay: Payal Kapadia
Cinema Premiere: November 29, 2024
English Reviews
10 english reviews of All We Imagine as Light (2024)
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10 / 10
The beats of "All We Imagine as Light" are calibrated with hypnotic grace creating a rhythm that induces pure pleasure.
- Sophie Monks Kaufman -
10 / 10
Just two features into her young career, Kapadia has established her rare talent for finding passages of exquisite poetry within the banal blank verse of everyday Indian life.
- Jessica Kiang -
10 / 10
"All We Imagine as Light" is bound to be one of those international films that break out of the art-house festival circuit and into cinemas and hearts everywhere.
- Nicholas Barber -
9.1 / 10
We are watching the blooming of a fantastic new voice in cinema and a seismic breakthrough for the future of filmmaking in India.
- Ankit Jhunjhunwala -
9 / 10
Kapadia and DP Ranabir Das capture these closing sequences with the same elegantly grainy look they apply to the rest of the film, although something spiritual and slightly phantasmagoric creeps into the narrative at the end. It’s as if fleeing the city has allowed the women to reach a higher state of being — the “light” described in the movie’s poetic title transforms from the harsh neons of Mumbai’s streets at night to the calm light of the setting sun, where the friends can finally find some peace.
- Jordan Mintzer -
9 / 10
The focus here is female. At the hospital, women deal with women, while life in Mumbai deals with women in its own particular way. Always present is the understanding of just how difficult it is for these independent women to have a hold on their own lives, to get a rooted place in a modern India which is so concerned with how they conduct themselves.
- Fionnuala Halligan -
8.8 / 10
Kapadia has created an exceptional document of a city and its people. And it’s one that’s generous to its characters without condescending, as well as honest without oversimplifying.
- Ryan Coleman -
8.3 / 10
"All We Imagine as Light" may not transcend form or style the way Kapadia did in her first feature––perhaps the only thing they share is dreamy titles––but that doesn’t make it any less transcendent. If anything, this is a more universal transcendence, one predicated on the strength of being together, the innate spark in people, and the potential we all have to see everyone as someone.
- Luke Hicks -
7 / 10
While retaining some of the documentary touches of her previous work, Kapadia’s screenplay is rich in shrewd symbolism. But the most important allegory running through the film is the emphasis for solidarity across caste, class and gender lines.
- Clarence Tsui
Foreign Reviews
8 foreign reviews of All We Imagine as Light (2024)
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10 / 10
Translated from swedish: Bombay becomes both sanctuary and prison for the female protagonists in "All We Imagine as Light".
- Karoline ErikssonSwedish: svd.se »
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10 / 10
Translated from swedish: It's so good that I've watched it twice now and I'm definitely going to watch it several more times. It's so well-made and poetic that it gets under your skin and I feel like I'm right there - I can feel the rain and the dry spells, I can taste the food and sense the crowds bustling around me.
- Rosemari SödergrenSwedish: kulturbloggen.com »
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8 / 10
Translated from swedish: A tender portrayal of three generations of Indian women fighting for a better life in Mumbai. Quietly told with a documentary-like feel. A truly beautiful film.
- Annika AnderssonSwedish: moviezine.se »
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8 / 10
Translated from swedish: The intimate, everyday Indian Cannes winner "All We Imagine as Light" highlights female friendship against the backdrop of the chaotic metropolis of Mumbai. Beautiful visual flows and bittersweet romantic music create a dreamlike atmosphere.
- Wanda BendjelloulSwedish: dn.se »
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8 / 10
Translated from swedish: Poetry, and the close bonds of friendship that emerge where you least expect them, become beacons of light to hold up as protection against the darkness in this heartwarming Indian urban film. The ending is so wonderful that all the narrow-minded relatives and conservative prejudices simply fade away there by the endless sea.
- Maria Domellöf-WikSwedish: gp.se »
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8 / 10
Translated from swedish: With the highly topical film "All We Imagine as Light", Indian director Payal Kapadia has become a name to reckon with.
- Emma EngströmSwedish: sverigesradio.se »
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8 / 10
Translated from swedish: "All We Imagine as Light" is a gripping tale about loneliness and the need for human connection.
- Joakim WikmanSwedish: filmtopp.se »
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6 / 10
Translated from swedish: "All We Imagine as Light" is intended as the first part of a trilogy about the city of Mumbai. In the upcoming installments, I hope for a stylistic approach that better conceals the seam between dramatic and documentary content.
- Kim EkbergSwedish: unt.se »
Box Office
All We Imagine as Light has earned a total of 3 440 969 dollars from cinemas across the world (the global box office).
1. The Guardian
It is both dreamlike and like waking up from a dream. This is a glorious film.
- Peter Bradshaw
theguardian.com »