The Journey
Reel Affirmations 2005
Sancharram
Review by Kristina Campbell
Rating: 
(4 out of 5)
Monday, 10/17/2005, 7:15 PM
Feature presentation, $6 at Cecile Goldman Theater at the DCJCC
Malayalam with English subtitles
THE JOURNEY IS a lovely picture from India about two girls who grow up together in a culture that doesn’t really have a place for them. Kiran (Suhasini V. Nair) and Delilah (Shruiti Menon), who meet as little girls, are inseparable from their first meeting and, as adolescence sets in and the threat of an arranged marriage looms, their true feelings for each other emerge. When a boy who’s pining for Delilah spots the girls in an intimate moment, word spreads through the community, and they’re forced to face their future.
While Delilah’s family proceeds with plans for an arranged marriage, Kiran makes clear to her parents that she won’t go that route: ”I don’t want a hollow marriage. Why ruin someone else’s life, too?” Meanwhile, Delilah finds support from her widowed grandmother, who tries to dissuade Delilah’s mother from forcing the girl into an arranged marriage. ”I don’t mind being a lonely old woman,” she says. ”I just don’t want her to be a lonely young girl.” The film is full of emotion — angst and joy, heartache and heartbreak — and lets the viewer follow the girls on a beautiful path to self-discovery.
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