A film by an Indian born female director about the communal riots that followed partition is one you desperately want to be great. "Earth" though is merely very good, wonderfully made and accessible to any audience, it tells a very human story of love, jealousy and revenge. It's faults come mainly from trying to integrate the personal with the political, in this it comes perilously close to suggesting that the outrages came down to individual personal grievances (a very unhistorical approach). At times too it is over schematic - the cross religion group of friends for example appears almost as a mechanical device to get the story moving. The strengths though are many - it looks stunning and the acting is very good. Outstanding is Aamir Khan as the tormented Dil Navaz. At times I was reminded of "The Go-Between", both films use similar framing devices and end with a devastating act of innocent betrayal. Overall this a very good film and I look forward to seeing Mehta'a other films.
