Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain (FILM REVIEW)
Bhopal: A
Prayer for Rain
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Historical Drama Revisits Industrial Disaster That Devastated Indian City
On the night of December 2, 1984, a pesticide plant located in Bhopal, India
spewed tons of toxic gas into the air as the result of a reaction of water with
a chemical called Methyl Isocyanate (MIC). By morning, over 10,000 dead bodies
lay in the streets of the city, while the manufacturer company responsible for
the disaster, Union Carbide (subsequently acquired by Dow Chemical), proceeded
to lawyer up.
In the end, the corporation settled the mammoth wrongful death
lawsuit for just $300 per corpse without taking responsibility or publicly
apologizing for the industrial accident. Instead, the firm claimed it was a
victim of sabotage on the part of a disgruntled employee, an allegation which
was ultimately never substantiated. Yet, despite the existence of evidence that
Union Carbide had ignored warning signs of an impending calamity, the Indian
government let it off with out any criminal consequences.
Directed
by Ravi Kumar, Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain is a historical drama ostensibly inspired by the book “Bhopal: Lessons of a Gas
tragedy” by the New York Times reporter Sanjoy Hazarika. The picture stars Martin Sheen as Warren Anderson, the sloganeering CEO in denial fond of spouting company
lines like “We set the highest safety standards in the industry” and “We are
Union Carbide, united in our efforts to build a better future for everyone.”
This fictionalized account, which revisits the events leading up to the catastrophe, revolves
mostly around the efforts of a couple of investigative journalists questioning
Carbide’s commitment to safety, given the rumors swirling that the plant was
leaking a very dangerous chemical. Both Motwani (Kal Penn), a local, and Eva
Gascon (Mischa Barton), a writer for Paris Match, were stonewalled at every
turn whenever they confronted executives and managers about whether an exposure
to just one drop of MIC was lethal.
The
picture inexorably leads to the unfortunate meltdown which scarred an entire
country while the conniving culprits escaped unscathed. A sobering lesson about
controlling the corporate message in this age of double speak where symbolic
gestures have replaced sincerity, substance and any concern about viable
solutions.
Excellent
(3.5 stars)
Unrated
In English and Hindi with subtitles
Running time: 96
minutes
Distributor: Revolver
Entertainment
To see a trailer for Bhopal, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7dZiYzKBY
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