Cinemascope: The World Before Her

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.

Released in 2012.

Plot line: Twenty young women from across India arrive for an intense, month-long beauty boot camp - they are the hand-picked contestants for the Miss India pageant. Winning the coveted title means instant stardom, a lucrative career path and freedom from the constraints of a patriarchal society.

In another corner of India we visit a camp for young girls run by the militant fundamentalist movement. Through lectures and physical combat training, the girls learn what it means to be good Hindu women.

Moving between the transformative action at both camps and the characters private lives, The World Before Her creates a lively, provocative portrait of the worlds largest democracy at a critical transitional moment.

I love documentaries that shed light on a subject without beating you over the head with a message. This is a powerful, poignant and often disturbing look at how Indian society views girls and women.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.