This one ripped my heart out. Payal Kapadia’s dreamy and surreal All We Imagine As Light may appear slight on the surface, but I found this to be powerful and extremely arresting. Kapadia’s film recounts the lives of two nurses in Mumbai who are each challenged by their romances and conflicting social expectations.

Kapadia shoots Mumbai in an almost documentary fashion, showing us crowded subways, bustling streets, but also of small intimacies and moments of stillness. This reminded me greatly of how Claire Denis films Paris in 35 Shots of Rum, and how Wong Kar-wai shoots Hong Kong.

There’s much more to glean from this film, so I cannot wait to rewatch. Excellent original score. Hypnotic.