Official Synopsis:
Even in a land ravaged by fear and intolerance, the seeds of love can still take root and blossom. It is 1947 amidst the chaos and bloodshed unleashed when India and Pakistan are split into separate states, Skih and former soldier Gian (Jimi Mistry) risks everything to save Naseem (Kristin Kreuk) a young Muslim woman, from a violent mob. Soon, love builds a bridge between their two worlds, healing the wounds in both their hearts. But how long can their joy last when religious zealots try to tear them apart forever? With its rich tapestry of stories & characters based on real people and events, Partition is a moving and timeless tale of innocent people struggling to find happiness in treacherous times.
  
Our Take:
Partition has some very admirable qualities. With a modest budget, the filmmakers were able to pull off the feel and look of a period piece epic romance; the type of film that takes place in a traitorous time for a country with two people finding love in the middle of it. The production design is impeccable, and at no point do you doubt its authenticity, and the costumes and props all look of the era. The only problem is that Partition isn’t really worthy of such talented behind the scenes personnel.

Partition is just another standard period love story film. It takes place during the violent times when India and Pakistan were separating. The country is filled with fear and intolerance, and after a group of Muslims gets attacked by Indian soldiers, a former soldier ends up finding a young Muslim woman hiding from the carnage. Instead of turning her in, he protects her and then they fall in love. (Yeah, it’s one of those kinds of movies.) Even though they are on different sides of the tracks they….well, you know the rest. Basically, along the way we learn about India in those times and what it was like to live through such a horrible period in a country’s history.

The film is pretty standard in that sense. It never really goes for over the top romance but it also never really reaches a genuine connection to the audience. It’s done so plainly and without flavor that you never really find yourself caring for these characters.

What I did admire about the film was its ability to, on a small budget, pull off the feel of an epic period romance. The sets look fantastic and authentic, the costumes all feel real, and the filmmakers use CGI to help tell the story. Whereas trying to get enough extras to make a huge crowd scene feel real would probably cause an inordinate amount of headaches, instead the use of CGI seamlessly helps to add to the authenticity. The problem with my admiration for all the behind the scenes crew is that the film’s story didn’t draw me in, so instead I ended up paying closer attention to production crew’s craft instead of the directors, actors and writers. As much respect and admiration as I have for the behind the scenes crew, it’s never a good thing when that’s the best part of your film.

The only special feature on the DVD is a fluffy promotional making-of piece.

On the top corner of Partition’s DVD cover there are some awards listed that the film won. When I originally looked at the box I thought to myself, “Well, if it has a few awards so it shouldn’t be that bad.” As I looked closer I saw the awards were for production design and sound. Watching the film, I saw why those were the awards it was garnered. The film isn’t terrible, but it’s not really worth the time either. It’s just mediocre. As much as I liked the production design and sound editing, I can’t recommend a film just for that. It gets a C for the movie and a + for the crew of Partition.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C+
DVD: C

- Adam Rettek
Staff Writer