Purdah

This film is so visually beautiful and touching I can't stop thinking about it. It has such a cinematic feel. The shots are so artistically composed and it feels like I am watching a narrative film or real life experience rather than a documentary. Perhaps that is because the interviews are so artfully done. No talking heads here, just real honesty coming from the subjects. The story is uplifting and speaks to women striving for self empowerment in patriarchal societies around the world. Purdah is filled with hope at a time when we need it most. The music is also so fitting. So well done!!!

Kaikasha Mirza takes on the patriarchal judgment of her Mumbai community as she hopes to be selected as a rare Muslim in a prestigious women's cricket team. Jeremy Guy's beautifully conceived and directed and evocatively shot story about family, tradition, sports and religion, Purdah is a totally compelling documentary. In a time filled with intolerance for Muslims and burka bans, Purdah offers up a powerful, life-affirming story for and about strong women. But everyone should watch this essential, moving documentary!

This documentary is such a great introduction to a world little known by Westerners. I have a soft spot for India anyway, and this story of a Muslim girl playing Cricket in Mumbai just combines so many interesting elements. At once you're watching a sports tale and a female empowerment story with cultural conflict and religious expectations all thrown in. Beautiful and meaningful. Kudos to the filmmakers!

Although the cricket-loving daughter is the film's central focus,. this is a salute to the strength of many women in an India-based Muslim family. As I'm a cricket lover (and ex-amateur player) myself, the film resonated in so many ways, and I felt like I was accompanying these brave, pragmatic women through their many ups and downs.

A superb score is married to unforced, solid visuals, and director Jeremy Guy gets great "performances" out of the subjects of the story. The social and religious obligations (and traditions) that often chain these women are contrasted with individual ambitions and attachment to family.

Ultimately, this is a raw, emotional portrait of resilience, and there's not a frame of fakery in it. Certainly recommended.

In cricket parlance, this scores a "Six!"

This was a beautiful slice of life documentary about a Muslim girl in Mumbai and her family. It's advertised as mainly being about her drive to play cricket, and how that flies in the face of the cultural conditions, but it's really so much more than that. I loved how it took the time to get to know all of the members of the family, and gives the viewer the chance to be in the home of a culture and place many of us will never get to personally experience. I also loved being in India for a while- I've visited with my wife, and it was fun to get to go back for a while, so to speak. I'm so glad I saw Purdah, and I'm sure you will be, too.