The Braid (2023) User Reviews

Cleverly presented and emotionally compelling

[steiner-sam · 8/10 · 11 February 2024]

It's an intertwined drama of three women set in modern times in India, Italy, and Montreal, Canada. The three women each face lift-changing crises that finally connect by the end of "The Braid." Smita (Mia Maelzer) is an impoverished Dalit Hindu woman who desperately wants a better life for her daughter, Lalita (Sajda Pathan). She is willing to risk all in this pursuit.

Giulia (Fotini Peluso) is a young Italian woman who works in her century-old family business. Suddenly, her father (Mimmo Mancini) is in a serious automobile accident and lies in the hospital in a coma. Giulia, against the wishes of her mother (Manuela Ventura), tries unorthodox ways to save the business with the help of Kamal (Avi Nash).

Sarah (Kim Raver) is a single mother and partner in a Montreal law firm. She has 10-year-old twin sons (Adrian and Dorian Doroslovac) and a struggling 16-year-old daughter, Hannah (Sarah Abbott). Sarah suddenly faces a crisis that sends her already hectic life over the top.

"The Braid" is cleverly presented and emotionally compelling. Maelzer, Peluso, and Raver are all excellent, though Raver's character had believability script problems. Secondary characters are more forgettable or don't have enough time to develop. That's a problem with a two-hour movie telling three stories. Nonetheless, the film moved me, especially the story in India that resonated with the message of "Origin," another film I've recently seen.

Imotionaly rich

[rsquarej-n · 8/10 · 25 May 2024]

First hour of movie was really touching. It felt little slow (though its a slow movie) at times after that. However overall it was really good. I loved it. This gave me almost similar feeling as of 21 grams. I was overwhelmed.

I am from India, and I really wonder how they shoot the Indian part so realistically. Most of the Indian movies cant do that justification. The village, people, things, fields etc. Were very realistic.

However there were few issues/gaps. Indian woman wanted to give better life and education to her child, but by risking everything, what she actually did towards it, how exactly she worked towards her aim, was not very clear. Canadian woman, what was her instance on her career aspirations vs her children, was also not very clear.

Shameless promotion of neo-colonialism and loss of identity

[ingmarbeldman-753-927212 · 4/10 · 30 May 2024]

This initially beautiful mosaic-film tells the story of three courageous women.

A poor Indian woman (untouchable) flees with her daughter by train tot better conditions. A young Italian woman finds herself in trouble when her family-business- a wig-workshop - threatens to collapse. A Canadian woman must choose between her successful but life-sucking career and taking her cancer and herself as a person seriously

With fantastic acting and beautiful cinematography the film expands on the theme of the individual who wants to develop itself against religious norms, cultural values and social pressure.

But then the film goes completely off the rails.

The Indian woman appears to be on her way to a temple where she and her daughter offer their hair, in a misplaced ritual, to the gods as penance (while in fact they have been destroyed by a religious - but in fact financial - system of exploitation). Her misplaced 'sacrifice' is sent in large container ships all over the world.

The young Italian woman receives this hair because she has decided to internationalize her local family business. She will now make wigs with this 'contaminated' product and not local hair. The cheaper wigs are again sent all over the world and end up in Canada, among others. In exclusive wig-shops.

The Canadian woman - who 'fixed' her cancer with chemo and didn't do anything about her 'slave-of-the-system' life - buys a wig (made with the hair of the Indian women, as the metaphor of international trade concludes it's sad arc) in an expensive store in Montreal.

So.... What obviously is meant as the hopeful consequence of internationalism - shown in the journey of hair and three courageous women - turns out to be the horrible exposé of ruthless neo-colonialism, loss of local identity and obedience to a system that destroys our humanity. We all know who work in this gigantic chain of international trade-traffic, don't we?

The last image is terrible: disfigured with a poor Indian woman's wig, the Canadian woman returns to the hustle and bustle of her slave-career.

Shame on the producers and artists of this initially beautiful story.