A rural Indian woman struggles for her family against a cruel male-dominated society and oppressive religion. Fire in the Mountains is a hard-hitting story of no way out. The mountainous, stunning landscape of the Himalayas does not hide daily suffering of a subjugated protagonist. She is trapped in a world that relies on her breaking back labor. She is enslaved by work without joy and her bottled up emotions burst in an unexpected climax. Fire in the Mountains presents a gloomy scene of servitude within a place characterized with grand beauty.
In Uttarakhand, India, Chandra (Vinamrata Rai) barters desperately needed tourist business with her neighbor. They go upstairs to their house while she carries their bags up the steep hill slope. There are rooms to rent that supposedly have beautiful views and American-style toilets Dharam (Chandan Bisht), her drunkard husband staggers looking for his dinner towards them. Chandra pleads with him to sell their farm land greenhouse as they urgently need money.
Chandra descends down the hillside carrying Prakash (Mayank Singh Jaira) who has been crippled since birth to see the doctor; but more therapy is required Prakash’s problems necessitate further therapy from his mother, Kanchan (Harshita Tiwari), skips chores for social media As it happens, Dharam’s sister Kamla (Sonal Jha) lives off of Chandra’s charity but provides no assistance whatsoever; this makes her live there at no cost A despondent Dharam seeks advice from a village “guru” All they need is participation in one shamanic ritual that will fix all their troubles To spend on fantasy instead of using up family savings would be insane according to Chandra It also taught me about where my place was.
This feature debut by director/writer Ajitpal Singh is highly dramatic. Each character stands out in an elaborate plot. Everyone around her takes Chandra for granted. She is like a beast of burden in which all loads are piled on. Her thoughts and feelings are unimportant. However, her husband and children resent the weight of these responsibilities.
Dharam’s embarrassing failings always lead outwards. He looks for answers outside of himself most times he fails The ceremony will solve everything by appeasing the gods. Dharam makes sure to separate his drinking and abuse from their problems His consultations with the shaman enforce his patriarchal authority in his own house A man should never obey a woman who is head of household This concept is quite ridiculous when Chandra does everything.
The subplots centered on Prakash and Kanchan are the most compelling parts of this movie Prakash uses his mom as a crutch Carrying him down is just another responsibility imposed on her by life Other kids in the village tease him; but he isn’t that sympathetic Her storylines are more reasonable She is a bright student with an academic future that holds promise yet, as any typical teenager, she wants to be noticed through provocative behavior on social media Chandra sees no good value in Kanchan’s educational accolades or idle gallivanting in town There still need to be fields planted, animals fed, water brought into the house Idle play was something she could not afford.
Singh does an excellent job portraying the Indian government subtly on target Radio news plays throughout this film Reporters praise India’s fast-progressing space industry and rapid development We hear radio reports about India’s booming space program accompanied by background music These lines show how superficial it all sounds because there isn’t even a paved road leading towards Chandra’s village Dirty old men prey upon her hopes for better medical access This part makes me especially angry.
One of the things that is most striking about Fire in the Mountains is how much impact it makes despite its relatively short running time. Singh has taken a simple and direct approach in which every minute counts. Chandra gives her all, completely surrendering herself to the role. The film’s ending leaves an impression on us. It is when a rope snaps under the weight of a too heavy load.
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