Customer Reviews

World Unseen

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the second of 2 collaborations between the same team: writer / director Shamim Sarif, producer (and Sarif's life and business partner) Hanan Kattan, and actors Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth. I rented both I Can't Think Straight (their first collaboration) and The World Unseen on Netflix, but enjoyed this movie so much I ended up buying the I Can't Think Straight + The World Unseen set.

The World Unseen is an excellent film. The story is engrossing, the relationships develop naturally and believably, the context is rich and well-developed, and the performances are refined and compelling. The soundtrack supports and enhances the movie (although I wish there was more African music), and the visuals are unique and intriguing. Really, hat's off to Sarif and team: Well done!

Set in South Africa in 1952, near the beginning Apartheid, the story opens by introducing us to Amina, a young, independent Indian woman, who, with her silent partner Jacob, owns her own business, the Location Cafe. Amina pushes conventions just to the limit: working instead of marrying and procreating; allowing blacks and whites to eat in the same location (although she hides that when the police come around); wearing trousers like a man instead of traditional Indian women's clothing; and living, if not completely openly, at least not completely closeted, as a lesbian. Virtually everything about Amina defies the conventions of her Indian heritage and the laws and culture of her South African home, so just living her life is an act of quiet defiance. I think Sheetal Sheth gives a compelling performance: we feel Amina's commitment to her truth and values, and at least some of her inevitable internal conflict.

Next we're introduced to Miriam, an Indian wife and mother of 2 (soon to be 3). Miriam has completely submerged her own truth, and dutifully lives the life that's expected of her, marrying the man her parents agreed to, raising his children, and submitting to his will. Lisa Ray really gives a wonderful performance. Miriam is all but empty inside, and consequently has relatively little dialogue. So Ray must convey the character with her face and body, and she does an excellent job. We can absolutely feel her emptiness, her questioning and ultimately her awakening.

Amina and Miriam meet when Miriam and her sister-in-law come to the Location Cafe for lunch. There's an immediate connection, but the relationship develops very slowly over the course of the film. For me, the pacing of the relationship was practically perfect.

Although the story is primarily about Miriam and her relationship with Amina, other characters, as well as the overall context of Indian culture and South African Apartheid, are richly developed, and this really is what makes the movie shine. Miriam's husband (Parvin Dabas) is a complex and almost sympathetic anti-hero. Jacob, Amina's business partner, has to hide his role in the business because the South African laws forbid a colored person owning a business. Jacob also has a developing relationship with a white woman, and we get to see that relationship unfold. We get some shocking insight into the realities of Apartheid, and also some clear insight into Indian culture in general, and the Indian subculture in South Africa in particular. Personally, I was not aware there was such a large Indian presence in South Africa. I'm grateful to the movie for showing me that slice of time / culture so vividly.

One wish I have would be for a bit more in the way of love scenes between Miriam and Amina. Ray and Sheth are both heart-stoppingly beautiful women, they both give very compelling performances, and you just really want these women to be together. But what we get to see is really very brief. In our current climate of blatant, in-your-face sexuality everywhere you look, I understand and actually appreciate Sarif's decision to be restrained and respectful. And I'm happy to use my imagination (which I've done a LOT, BTW! :-) ). But...well...gosh. Speaking purely viscerally, I really wanted more.

One other small issue I had: The first time watching it, I had a hard time figuring out the relationships between all the Indian characters, especially at the beginning. It turns out the woman Miriam first goes to the Cafe with is her sister-in-law, Farah, but it was way later that I figured that out. We see Miriam scrubbing a floor when Farah enters the picture for the first time, and later the 2 women are dressed so differently that I thought Miriam was Farah's housekeeper. It also took me a while to figure out that the people we first see at the train station are Amina's father, mother and grandmother. I do sometimes have trouble tracking relationships in movies [I have a neurological disorder that makes it difficult for me to recognize faces], so it might just be me. But I think the relationships could've been made clearer sooner.

Anyway, hat's off to Sarif for a wonderful film, Ray and Sheth and the rest of the cast for wonderful performances, and Leonie Casanova for some beautiful music (and some lovely dancing!). Well done, all.

[One point of curiosity: in the credits, Sarif thanks Donna Deitch, the director of Desert Hearts. I wonder what role Deitch played in the production of this movie???]

Where to start ? This film was beautifully presented. Would never guess that the director was working on just her second film . She really has a talent for movie making. The subject matter was thoughtfully presented & made you wince & cheer at the appropriate moments .

It provided a glimpse into the racial divides that were prevelant at the time; & was beyond thought provoking. The chemistry & tension between Lisa Ray & Sheetal Sheth was palpable, & as another reviewer mentioned, their physical connection could have been more deeply explored, however, this film endeavours to cause the viewer to ponder days past, & provides a historical picture of the era. As such, the combination of drama & tension, works ...

Thankfully, I purchased the combo pack which includes "I Can't Think Straight", Shamim Sarifs 1st film. Which took the sensual, physical connection further than this film .

I loved the extras on both films . The interviews & behind the scenes look really assisted in having a sense of where the author & director was coming from. I certainly hope her films receive strong support & she will be able to continue to bring us films of quality & substance.

These 2 films were a real delight. I will watch them repeatedly. Such a treat to have films made by women, for women . Provocative, engaging, & much more . A must own film for any serious collector of this genre.

In 1950's South Africa, a land torn apart by apartheid, Amina epitomizes individuality and freedom. She runs the Location Café, a haven of fun, food and festivities open to all. She defines her own laws and lives on her own terms undeterred by the reproving police or disparaging Indian community.

Miriam demurely follows conventions. She is a doting mother to her three children and a subservient wife to her chauvinistic husband. Amina and Miriam are the antithesis of each other yet their inherent kindness and their recognition of human dignity connects them. Their emotions get entwined and their lives change forever.

Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth captivate hearts with compelling performances. Shamim Sarif proves to be a superlative director. In the resplendent South African landscape with retro music strewn in the background The World Unseen is a visual poetry about blossoming human connections in the midst of hatred and oppression.

4.5

The start of the movie seemed a little choppy to me but that might be an editing issue. Overall, it was a beautifully filmed movie, especially with probably limited funding since it's a small independent film. It's really a shame that movies like this don't get more time, or any time, in the theaters. The studios control everything and mostly produce garbage. (Sorry for the rant.)

The World Unseen draws the viewer into 1952 apartheid South Africa where Indians, Blacks, and Whites were all members of separate categories, with Indians above the Blacks. For those of us who didn't know this fact (about the positioning of Indians), the beginning is a little confusing but it soon clears up. The thing I like about this movie is that it's well-rounded and takes on all sorts of issues with its numerous characters: racial prejudice that exists within all the groups; traditional female/male gender roles; adultery; miscegenation; homosexuality; and learning to speak up for yourself and develop as a human being. Really, the issue of Amina's being a lesbian does not take center stage.

This film definitely had a lot of emotion. Anyone who didn't feel for the situations of Jacob and Miriam especially should have their hearts checked to see if they're still beating. I really felt sorry for that old man.

I kind of liked the ending and at the same time was frustrated by its incompleteness. I guess it's kind of up to the viewer to interpret.

Now I have to find the novel!

This film puts a voice to a culture & a time when civility and honor were set aside for bigotry & shame. The characters are genuine, the subject matters brought to light are thought provoking and the forbidden loves are emotionally stirring. I am grateful to have had a glimpse of "the world unseen". Five Stars!

Very few people aren't going to love this movie! Wonderful cast and the women are just breathtaking! And hopefully, times have changed. Don't miss it!

The storyline is incredibly poignant, tender in the development of the two love relationships and extremely well acted. Shamim Sarif, writer and director, has significant talent to bring a story to life on the screen... one that moves along keeping your interest from one scene to the next. I watch this movie repeatedly and am always charmed by everything about it!

"World Unseen" documents a little known segment of apartheid, the uneasy relationship between African blacks, white rule and people of Indian heritage during the 1950's. Like the German film "Aimee and Jaguar", which was based on a true story about a Nazi housewife and her Jewish lover, it provides a portrait of what it takes to live in a climate where your every move is watched and disaster looms at every misstep.

Don't assume that this movie is only of interest to those seeking gay content. Amina's rebel spirit and fierce defiance create much of the tension in the film, but its heart comes from the moving portrait of a bi-racial romance. The careful love between Madeleine, the white postmistress and Jacob, an African man who is of necessity Amina's "silent partner" in her restaurant business, is perhaps the strongest statement in the film about the inhumanity of telling someone who they can and can not love.

Lisa Ray & Sheetal Sheth do incredible work of bringing these 2 characters from different worlds together. Sheetal's Amina bucks the traditions of the times and shows Ray's Miriam that it's ok to be happy and have what you want in life. This film is a must see just for the cinematography...who knew that Africa could be so breathtaking!

This movie was enlightening for me as I hadn't realize what actually happened in South Africa during this time period.

I knew they oppressed the blacks, but I didn't know that they went after all the other groups of people.

The main characters were done very well and I enjoyed the acting.

Overall, I liked the story a lot, and would recommend it to other people;if for no other reason than the historical value.