Cactus Pears

A family consecrates the loss of its patriarch with a 10-day mourning period that strands Anand in the countryside he long ago deserted for Mumbai. Grief's common phases (poring over old photos, sharing beloved memories) coexist with local rituals, all while Anand's hidden desires materialize in a rekindled friendship with childhood companion Balya.

Review from rogerebert.com

There are few gentler films you’ll find this year than Rohan Kanawade’s “Cactus Pears.” A touching queer romance whose subtle rhythms pull us into its tender embrace.

In following a man grieving the death of his father and his journey back to his small, traditional village, Kanawade offers an affecting culture clash between tradition and modernity, rural and urban, heteronormativity and queerness, with an unhurried deliverance that inspires moments of overwhelming beauty. The Marathi language film gathers instances of devastating sadness and male affection into a search for belonging. Upon premiering at Sundance, “Cactus Pears” won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize Dramatic in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. With a film whose most seismic truths arise from modest gestures, Kanawade has crafted a work that asks us to consider how love can be born from loss.

The film’s opening shot is one of reflection: Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) wears an exhausted expression in an extreme close-up, as though his entire world has disappeared. The next full shot reveals him to be sitting with his mother, Suman (Jayshri Jagtap), in a hospital waiting room. When Anand leaves the frame to bring in his relatives, Kanawade doesn’t cut to the action happening outside this space. He instead holds on Suman, capturing the wellspring of tears that slowly but mightily pour out. Her husband, Anand’s father, is dead—and Anand doesn’t quite know what to do.

Read the rest of the review from Robert Daniels here...