The Waiting City SPOILER ALERT!

At the request of Denson Baker, Director of Photography of The Waiting City, who was concerned that my original review may have been a spoiler for film goers, I edited my blog post. However, since the film has been in general release for the past few days I've now re-posted my review. Don't read this if you are worried about having the narrative revealed! If you are going to read, you may also like to read my blog entry 'Without a man at your side or a child at your feet', which also relates in some ways to the film.
This morning (thanks to ACCA who gave me a free ticket), I saw the Australian film The Waiting City (Claire McCarthy, 2009). A number of people I'd spoken to who'd seen the film last week, didn't have much praise for it, but I have to say I really enjoyed it.
The storyline was believable, the acting superb and the interesting relationship between the Australian couple - Fiona Simmons (Radha Mitchell) and Ben Simmons (Joel Edgerton) who travel to India to pick up their adoptive daughter Lakshmi, and the Indian man - Krishna (Samrat Chakrabarti) who takes them back to the city in which their adopted daughter was born, is exemplary in its honesty and integrity. Indeed Krishna is pivotal in calling into question Fiona's barren status and encourages her to walk into the water before dusk to appeal to the goddess of fertility. What follows is a powerful scene in which Fiona, unsure whether she will become ill from coming in contact with water (Ben was quite ill after eating local food and water) not only walks into the river, but emerges her whole body. In this underwater slow motion sequence we have a moment to see Fiona's face and consider what she might be thinking whilst in this womb-like state.
Goddesses of one kind or another feature heavily in the film, none more so than the four armed Hindu goddess Kali, who as both creator and destroyer, represents time and change. In the film she comes to represent Fiona's state of mind, which is constantly changing. Fiona, who doesn't believe in the Christian God begins to believe in the numerous gods that abound in Hindu culture. Fiona is first exposed to the compelling Kali image on a postcard that a blind street vendor gives her. He says 'This is for you and your mother - is she standing next to you'? Of course, Fiona was alone, but it is through this potent and somewhat frightening goddess image, which she encounters again in a chapel and finally on the street ~ she falls down on her knees in awe of what she imagines is Kali reincarnated ~ a dark skinned woman with four arms waving, but what is, in reality, a woman carrying her son on her back; that the significance of the mother as a major symbol in India and as a priority in her own life, takes on greater significance.
After finally meeting their adoptive daughter Lakshmi, who is a sickly child suffering from a respiratory disease, Fiona reveals to Ben that she had earlier in their relationship aborted a pregnancy. They both desperately want this child to survive to save their disintegrating marriage and Fiona, forgoing all previous denials, prays to god for his goodness.
Although the child is extremely ill and really should not travel, all Fiona wants is to take the child back to Australia. A nun from the orphanage, who had nursed Lakshmi since she was a baby, rightly points out that Fiona must act out of love, not out of need. The child dies a few days later and is covered with a white cloth and bright flowers and sent ceremoniously down the river on a bamboo stretcher.
There were times in this film that I wondered about Ben, his desire to make music, to hold onto his marriage and his dependence upon Fiona, who, as a lawyer, is throughout most of the film working a case from her laptop and video-conferencing. I am at a loss to know what he did for employment.
Many questions are raised in this film about couples who adopt children from other cultures and the pressures on woman to have children, but ultimately I believe that the strength of this film lies in the fact that it reveals the abject poverty experienced by many Indians, the rubbish and other refuse that litters the city streets, people barely making a living, those who sleep on the streets, the utter overcrowding wherever you look. But it also shows the level of ritual, ceremony and music that appears to pervade everyday life and reveals to us the importance of family and community. The film was a little slow at times but overall I enjoyed the experience.