---
title: "All We Imagine as Light: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/all-we-imagine-as-light/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/all-we-imagine-as-light"
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 24
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): what the critics said

Critics' score 83 from 24 reviews: 23 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

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.

## Little White Lies — Jenna Mahale

Rating 4/5/5. 28 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light)

## IndieWire — Sophie Monks Kaufman

Rating A. 13 November 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-1235008070/)

## The New Yorker — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-current-cinema/the-gorgeous-mumbai-rhapsody-of-all-we-imagine-as-light)

## Los Angeles Times — Joshua Rothkopf

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-11-15/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-india-payal-kapadia)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/23/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-payal-kapadia)

## Slant Magazine — Ryan Coleman

Rating 3.5/4. 26 May 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-payal-kapadia/)

## Empire — Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light/)

## Sight and Sound

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](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

Rating Critic's Pick. 23 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-1236014776/)

## Radio Times — Max Copeman

Rating 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 the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-iiklf8/all-we-imagine-as-light)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Jordan Mintzer

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-1235897240/)

## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen

Rating 4/5. 16 May 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-2024)

## The AV Club — Jacob Oller

Rating B. 12 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.avclub.com/all-we-imagine-as-light-review)

## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-a-shimmering-city-whisper.html)

## Screen Daily — Fionnuala Halligan

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/all-we-imagine-as-light-cannes-review/5193937.article)

## The Observer — Anuj Mishra

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2025. 

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 the review](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

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/movies/all-we-imagine-as-light-review.html)

## The Skinny — Ben Nicholson

Rating ★★★★★. 25 November 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/all-we-imagine-as-light)

## Paste — Natalia Keogan

Rating 8.6. 11 September 2024. 

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 the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/payal-kapadia/all-we-imagine-as-light-review)

## Deadline — Damon Wise

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](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

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/all-we-imagine-as-light-2024-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2024. Festival review. 

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 the review](https://www.thewrap.com/all-we-imagine-as-light-review/)

## The Playlist

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 

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 the review](https://theplaylist.net/all-we-imagine-as-light-review-first-indian-competition-entry-in-30-years-earns-its-accolades-cannes-20240524/)

## Collider — Emma Kiely

Rating 7/10. 14 October 2024. 

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 the review](https://collider.com/all-we-imagine-as-light-review/)

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