Has the moral overtones of an EM Forster story, but is curiously lacking in emotional force.
Comment
01/08/09
Before the Rains (2008)
48
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:61
Fresh:29
Rotten:32
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: While lushly photographed and politically suggestive, this soapy melodrama lacks emotional resonance.
Synopsis: Forbidden romance, empire, and culture clash all lie at the heart of this drama. In 1930s India, Britain's reign is beginning to lose its hold on the region. In the midst of this turmoil, a British... [More]
Starring: Linus Roache, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle
Director: Santosh Sivan
Reviews for Before the Rains
Top CriticWhile not without its merits (the performances of Jennifer Ehle and Rahul Bose are particular highlights), Before the Rains ultimately suffers from a downpour of melodrama.
01/08/09
Top CriticThe film certainly looks beautiful as it captures the lush beauty of its mountainous, green Indian landscape, but acclaimed cinematographer turned director Santosh Sivan is only partially successful when it comes to the storytelling
12/19/08
Top CriticClick to read the article
04/23/09
Click to read the article
10/18/08
Exquisitely photographed but emotionally overwrought and ultimately tedious.
10/18/08
Here is a movie that the late Ismail Merchant would have been happy to have under the Merchant-Ivory banner. James Ivory is very much alive and working, and one assumes he approves as well.
10/18/08
An unremarkable story beautifully told, and should appeal to the legion of Merchant Ivory fans out there.
10/18/08
It's definitely good, definitely a little bit boring.
10/18/08
One of the most ravishing and breathtakingly beautiful films to come around in a long time.
10/01/08
...fails to deliver on the potentially intriguing premise of an interracial romance set in India in 1937, against the backdrop of the Indian independence movement
09/19/08
The movie has enough fine acting -- especially by Bose and by Jennifer Ehle as the planter’s deceived wife -- and beautiful, razor-sharp cinematography (also by Sivan) to recommend it.
08/07/08
Acting honours go to Bose, his face an eloquently shifting register of shame, calculation and sympathy.
07/25/08
Feels as though it should be a compelling drama, yet it somehow simmers along rather frustratingly with only a couple of moments of genuine tension.
07/25/08
The movie is prettily done in a fairly obvious way, but there's little insight into the emerging nationalist movement, which remains at best a shimmering backdrop in soft focus.
07/25/08
The film is fervently acted and well shot, and Das provides a powerful, emotional force, but there is something a little clanky about the whole project...
07/25/08
Top CriticA brave new chapter in the Merchant Ivory story.
07/25/08
Top CriticIn another age this Merchant Ivory production would have led the week's reviews. Now it'll be lost to all the superheroes.
07/24/08
Given the racy subject matter, this is an oddly chaste and ultimately underwhelming affair, but it's beautifully shot and the performances ensure that it remains watchable.
07/24/08
As a melodramatic period potboiler it works well enough.
07/22/08
Latest News for Before the Rains
May 08, 2008:
Santosh Sivan Goes Home Before the Rains 
For Before the Rains, his English-language directorial debut, cinematographer Santosh Sivan went back to his roots -- specifically Kerala, a state on the coast of southwestern... More...
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