---
title: "All We Imagine as Light"
year: 2024
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/all-we-imagine-as-light"
fi1m_id: "all-we-imagine-as-light"
imdb_id: "tt32086077"
tmdb_id: 927547
wikidata_id: "Q125422662"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 24
published: "2026-09-30T22:33:36.659816+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-30T22:33:48.260823+00:00"
region: "PT"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# All We Imagine as Light (2024)

Directed by Payal Kapadia · 1h 58m · IGAC M/12 · Drama, Romance

## Identity

All We Imagine as Light

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/all-we-imagine-as-light
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** all-we-imagine-as-light
- **IMDb ID:** tt32086077
- **TMDB ID:** 927547
- **Wikidata ID:** Q125422662
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32086077/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/927547, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125422662

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 83 from 24 reviews

*In a sentence:* A rice cooker arrives from Germany without a note, and it is the most eloquent thing a husband says all film

> Payal Kapadia’s film follows two nurses and a hospital cook through a Mumbai shot almost entirely after dark, and it is patient, tender and quietly angry. The second half leaves the city and asks for some faith, which it mostly repays.

## Synopsis

Mumbai, in the monsoon. Prabha (Kani Kusruti) is a senior nurse at a city hospital, a woman from Kerala whose husband left for a job in Germany soon after their arranged marriage and has stopped calling. She shares a one-room flat with Anu (Divya Prabha), a younger nurse who is secretly seeing Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon), a Muslim boy, while her parents send her photographs of suitable grooms. Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), the hospital cook, is being pushed out of the flat she has lived in for years by developers, because she has no papers to prove her late husband’s tenancy. A rice cooker arrives from Germany with no note. Dr Manoj (Azees Nedumangad), a colleague, writes poems and wants Prabha to read them. The rain keeps falling and the trains keep running.

## Review

*All We Imagine as Light* opens with voices. Over pictures of Mumbai after dark, markets being unloaded, a train, wet tarpaulin, people we never see tell us how long they have lived here and where they came from, and none of them says the word home. Payal Kapadia, who wrote and directed, spends a few minutes on this before she gives us a face, and by then we know what her film is about: a city full of people who arrived from somewhere else and have not quite decided to stay. It is a lovely film, tender and slow and cross underneath, and we recommend it with one caveat about its second half.

The face, when it comes, is Prabha’s. Kani Kusruti plays her as a senior nurse at a Mumbai hospital, a woman from Kerala whose husband went to Germany for work after an arranged marriage and has stopped ringing. She shares a small flat with Anu (Divya Prabha), a younger nurse who is seeing a Muslim boy called Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon) and hiding him from parents who are lining up a groom. The third woman is Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), the hospital cook, whose building has been bought by developers who want her out and who has no paper to say her late husband ever lived there. Dr Manoj (Azees Nedumangad) writes poems and would like Prabha to read them.

Ranabir Das shoots nearly all of the Mumbai half at night, and he lights it with what is there: sodium lamps, shop signs, the blue-white of a phone held under a blanket, rain on the window of a moving train. The flat, put together by production designers Piyusha Chalke, Shamim Khan and Yashasvi Sabharwal, is one room and a kitchen with a curtain doing the work of a wall, and the camera does not treat it as a trap. People cook in it and sleep in it and the cat comes and goes. Maxima Basu puts the nurses in the same pale uniform at work and then lets Anu go out in colour while Prabha stays in what she came home in. You could tell the two women’s ages from the washing line.

Early on, a parcel arrives from Germany. It is a rice cooker, red, expensive, and there is no note. Prabha unpacks it, looks at it, and later that night, alone in the kitchen, she picks it up and holds it against herself. We were moved more than we expected to be by a woman embracing a kitchen appliance, and it is Kusruti’s stillness that does it. She does not cry. She presses the cold metal to her chest and waits, as though it might warm up. Kapadia does not add a word.

The scene most critics single out, in which Manoj gives Prabha a poem and she reads it by her open window, is as good as they say, though we liked Nedumangad more in the corridors, hovering, trying to find a reason to be where she is. Anu’s strand is thinner. Divya Prabha is lively and exact, and her scenes with Kusruti, teasing, borrowing money, being told off, are the warmest in the film. But Shiaz for a long stretch is a voice on a phone and a boy on a scooter, and the film cares more about what stands between the pair than about who they are together. That is partly the point. It still leaves one of the three stories waiting for its turn.

Then the film leaves the city, and takes a turn we will not describe. What we can say is that Das swaps neon for sunlight, that Dhritiman Das’s music, which has stayed out of the Mumbai scenes almost entirely, is allowed in, and that Clément Pinteaux, who has been cutting between ward and flat with unhurried regularity, starts holding shots longer than we expected. It took us a quarter of an hour to settle into the new pace, and we suspect some viewers will not. We did, in the end, and Anu’s story gets its best scene there.

Chhaya Kadam is the film’s ballast. Parvaty smokes, drinks and has no illusions about who the city is for, and Kadam plays her without a shred of self-pity. Kapadia’s anger about Mumbai’s developers and its papers-or-nothing bureaucracy is real, and she lets Kadam carry it rather than a speech.

At 118 minutes it never hurries, and its 15 certificate is for very little. Watch it late, with the lights off and the window open if the weather allows; it is a night film for most of its length.

*Fi1m score 84, published 30 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Almost every critic is won over. Of twenty-four reviews, twenty-three are positive and one is mixed, which is as close to unanimity as the reviews get. The praise settles first on how Kapadia films Mumbai: the rain, the neon, the crowded trains, and the way the light shifts from the harsh city to the calmer coast. The performances of Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha come next, with several reviews noting that the two women find harmony rather than friction. Many also single out the mix of documentary observation and something close to dreaming.

Where critics hesitate, it is nearly always over the move to the countryside late on. The AV Club finds that stretch less tethered to reality, and Collider calls the film slow and dour before a hopeful last act rewards patience. Deadline takes the opposite view and holds the hallucinatory third act up as the film’s strongest passage. Vulture notes that sadness lingers under the ending. The spread is narrow, from approving to rapturous, and nobody dismisses it.

## Straight answers

**Is All We Imagine as Light worth watching?**

*All We Imagine as Light* is worth watching for anyone with patience for a slow, tender film about lonely people in a big city, and we scored it 84. Payal Kapadia's story of two nurses and a hospital cook in a night-time Mumbai is quietly angry as well as gentle. Our one caveat is the second half, which leaves the city and takes a quarter of an hour to settle.

**How long is All We Imagine as Light, and what is it rated?**

*All We Imagine as Light* runs 1h 58m and is rated M/12 by the IGAC in Portugal. It is a drama and romance film.

**Where can I watch All We Imagine as Light in Portugal?**

*All We Imagine as Light* is not on any streaming or rental service in Portugal at the moment. It is available in 12 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is All We Imagine as Light, and is it suitable for children?**

*All We Imagine as Light* is neither violent nor frightening; its UK 15 certificate is for very little, and our review says as much. It is a quiet adult drama about loneliness, an absent husband, a secret romance across a religious divide and a woman being pushed out of her home, with some smoking and drinking. Nothing in it would alarm a squeamish viewer, but young children would find it slow.

**How does All We Imagine as Light compare to Chungking Express?**

*All We Imagine as Light* and [*Chungking Express*](https://film.one/film/chungking-express) both spend most of their length in a rain-soaked city after dark, with people who nearly connect and often do not, but they move at different speeds. Wong Kar-Wai's film is funny, restless and driven by music and colour; Kapadia's is slower, sadder and more angry about who her city is for. Pick the Hong Kong film for energy, the Mumbai one for stillness.

**What should I watch after All We Imagine as Light?**

After *All We Imagine as Light*, try [*Chungking Express*](https://film.one/film/chungking-express) (1994, Fi1m 85): Hong Kong after dark, neon and rain, and people who nearly meet but do not. Then [*Certain Women*](https://film.one/film/certain-women) (2016, Fi1m 84): Three women, small towns, and a director who trusts a held face over a speech; and [*Cléo from 5 to 7*](https://film.one/film/cleo-from-5-to-7) (1962, Fi1m 88): A woman walks a city for two hours and the city tells her who she is.

### Reviews we read (24)

- **Little White Lies**, Jenna Mahale (4/5/5): Mahale calls the film a gorgeous romance that captures Mumbai’s particular romantic chaos. She praises its transportive visuals and subtle, powerful details of desi girlhood. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light)
- **IndieWire**, Sophie Monks Kaufman (A): Kaufman calls the film a sensual triumph, praising its intimate and hypnotic portrait of two nurses’ lives in Mumbai. She especially singles out the richly composed cinematography and the performances of Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-1235008070/)
- **The New Yorker**, Justin Chang (95/100, inferred): Chang calls the film one of the year’s great movies, praising its radiant, atmospheric portrait of Mumbai and women’s solidarity. He especially singles out the lead performances, whose contrasting characters find harmony rather than conflict. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-current-cinema/the-gorgeous-mumbai-rhapsody-of-all-we-imagine-as-light)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Joshua Rothkopf (90/100, inferred): Rothkopf praises the film as subtle, assured and politically resonant, finding its portrait of women’s solidarity deeply moving. He singles out the shift into near-fantastical realms as the film’s transformative strength. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-11-15/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-india-payal-kapadia)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the film a glorious, absorbing triumph, rich in humanity and emotional clarity. He singles out its dreamlike storytelling and the revelation that brings Prabha closer to understanding her life. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/23/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-payal-kapadia)
- **Slant Magazine**, Ryan Coleman (3.5/4): The critic calls the film an exceptional, generous portrait of Mumbai and its people. They praise Kapadia’s fluid camerawork for contrasting the women’s confinement with the city’s openness. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-payal-kapadia/)
- **Empire**, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (85/100, inferred): The critic finds it a memorable, compassionate drama that makes a clear statement about working-class women’s constraints. She praises Kapadia’s precise characterisation and the film’s immersive rhythms of city life. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light/)
- **Sight and Sound** (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a delicate, assured portrait of Mumbai and its residents, and sees Kapadia as a filmmaker of significant promise. They single out Kani Kusruti’s restrained performance and the film’s poetic, carefully observed blend of realism and dreamlike imagery. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/all-we-imagine-light-payal-kapadias-graceful-vision-mumbai-marks-her-out-filmmaker-significant-promise)
- **Variety**, Jessica Kiang (Critic's Pick): Kiang finds the film a gently luminous portrait of connection and unexpected sisterhood. She especially praises its richly observed, beautifully lit portrayal of Mumbai after dark. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-1236014776/)
- **Radio Times**, Max Copeman (4/5): The review describes the film as a serene, soulful and transcendent portrait of love and sisterhood. It praises Kapadia’s blend of urban documentary and near-dreamlike drama. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-iiklf8/all-we-imagine-as-light)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Jordan Mintzer (80/100, inferred): Mintzer finds the film a rich, moving tale of love and loss, balancing melancholy with humor. He singles out its luminous visual transformation from Mumbai’s harsh neon to the calm seaside light. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-1235897240/)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The review presents the film as a hopeful drama that refuses to give in to gloom. It singles out its tough tenderness and quiet feminist fury. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-2024)
- **The AV Club**, Jacob Oller (B): Oller finds the film intimate, lyrical, and emotionally perceptive, though its shift to the countryside feels less connected to reality. He especially praises how Kapadia captures the women’s tenderness and solidarity amid Mumbai’s crowded, rain-soaked atmosphere. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/all-we-imagine-as-light-review)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (75/100, inferred): Ebiri admires the film’s intimate, shimmering portrait of Mumbai and its women, while noting that sadness lingers beneath its hopeful ending. He singles out Kapadia’s mesmerizing, dreamlike filmmaking for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-a-shimmering-city-whisper.html)
- **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (70/100, inferred): Halligan presents Kapadia’s debut as eloquent and warmly observed. The available standfirst singles out its portrait of three women seeking a place in modern Mumbai. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light-cannes-review/5193937.article)
- **The Observer**, Anuj Mishra (70/100, inferred): Mishra presents the film as a compelling, unsentimental portrait of Mumbai’s exclusions rather than a love letter to the city. He singles out its frank portrayal of urban displacement and the obstacles facing its characters. [Read](https://observer.co.uk/culture/the-critics/article/one-slow-day-in-the-life-observer-burgess-prize-2025-winners)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (64/100, inferred): The page’s text is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be confirmed. No specific praise or complaint can be reliably reported from the available content. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/movies/all-we-imagine-as-light-review.html)
- **The Skinny**, Ben Nicholson (★★★★★): Nicholson praises the film as a beautiful, delicate and expressive character study. He singles out Kapadia’s lyrical, rain-soaked portrait of Mumbai and the nuanced lives of its three women. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/all-we-imagine-as-light)
- **Paste**, Natalia Keogan (8.6): Keogan finds the film a stunning, politically astute portrait of modern Mumbai and its women. She particularly praises its practical lighting and cinematography for immersing viewers in the city’s texture. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/payal-kapadia/all-we-imagine-as-light-review)
- **Deadline**, Damon Wise (85/100, inferred): Wise praises Kapadia’s film as an evocative, quietly ambitious meditation on ordinary women and life in Mumbai. He particularly singles out the hallucinatory third act for confirming Kapadia as a major new talent. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/05/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-payal-kapadia-poetic-meditation-on-life-in-urban-mumbai-cannes-film-festival-1235940870/)
- **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (85/100, inferred): Wilkinson finds the film tender, immersive and emotionally buoyant. She especially praises Kapadia’s gentle visual craft and the warmth of the characters’ interactions. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/all-we-imagine-as-light-2024-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)
- **The Wrap** (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film beguiling and tender, balancing Mumbai’s harsh realities with romantic yearning. They single out a quietly luminous scene in which Prabha reads a poem by her open window. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/all-we-imagine-as-light-review/)
- **The Playlist** (75/100, inferred): The headline indicates an approving verdict, saying the film earns its accolades. The review’s specific praise is unavailable because the page is blocked. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-first-indian-competition-entry-in-30-years-earns-its-accolades-cannes-20240524/)
- **Collider**, Emma Kiely (7/10): Kiely finds the film slow and dour but ultimately soulful, with a hopeful final act that rewards patience. She especially praises the camerawork for making crowded Mumbai feel profoundly lonely. [Read](https://collider.com/all-we-imagine-as-light-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Payal Kapadia
- **Director:** Payal Kapadia
- **Writer:** Payal Kapadia
- **Cinematography:** Ranabir Das
- **Editor:** Clément Pinteaux
- **Music:** Dhritiman Das
- **Production design:** Shamim Khan, Piyusha Chalke, Yashasvi Sabharwal
- **Costume design:** Maxima Basu
- **Producer:** Thomas Hakim, Julien Graff
- **Cast:** Kani Kusruti as Prabha; Divya Prabha as Anu; Chhaya Kadam as Parvaty; Hridhu Haroon as Shiaz; Azees Nedumangad as Dr. Manoj; Tintumol Joseph as Nurse Shanet; Anand Sami as Drowning Man; Lovleen Mishra as Dr. Supriya
- **Runtime:** 1h 58m
- **Certificate (IGAC):** M/12
- **Release (Portugal):** 19 December 2024
- **Genres:** Drama, Romance
- **Box office:** $3 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf1jAx6VhZ8

## Where to watch in Portugal

Not streaming, renting or buying in Portugal at the last check.

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, DE, FR, GB, IT, NL, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- APRECI Award for Best International Premiere 2024: APRECI Award for Best International Premiere (won)
- Cannes Film Festival 2024: Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix (won)

## If you liked this

- *The Lunchbox* (2013): Another Mumbai loneliness, carried by notes in a tiffin box rather than a rice cooker.
- *Chungking Express* (1994), Fi1m 85: Hong Kong after dark, neon and rain, and people who nearly meet but do not. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/chungking-express.md)
- *Certain Women* (2016), Fi1m 84: Three women, small towns, and a director who trusts a held face over a speech. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/certain-women.md)
- *Cléo from 5 to 7* (1962), Fi1m 88: A woman walks a city for two hours and the city tells her who she is. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/cleo-from-5-to-7.md)
- *Sir* (2018): A Mumbai flat, a domestic worker and an employer, and a love nobody around them will allow.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/all-we-imagine-as-light