All We Imagine as Light

Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light is one of those films that sneaks up on you. It starts as a quiet, observational drama, unfolding in the lives of two nurses, Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha), navigating life in Mumbai. But by the time the credits roll, it’s left a deep imprint — an achingly human meditation on loneliness, longing, and the fragile bits of joy that keep us moving forward. It’s artful, deeply felt, and occasionally melancholic, but never so heavy that it drowns in despair. There’s always a flicker of light, a reminder that even in our trudging through this mortal coil, there’s beauty to be found everywhere.

Kapadia films Mumbai with the same kind of immersive, mood-driven approach that Sofia Coppola used in Lost in Translation — it’s a cliché, but the city isn’t just a setting, it’s a character. It’s an ocean of movement and quiet, anonymous struggles. If Lost in Translation painted Tokyo as a neon-lit purgatory of isolation, All We Imagine as Light treats Mumbai with a similar dreamy detachment — overcrowded yet lonely, vibrant yet indifferent. It’s not exactly a love letter to Mumbai, but it sees the city’s soul for what it truly is, good and bad.

The film is deeply feminist, but in a way that doesn’t feel didactic. It’s not about big statements; it’s about everyday realities — about women seeking space, privacy, and autonomy in a world that keeps boxing them in. Prabha, emotionally estranged from her absent husband, receives a package from him: a rice cooker. It’s a tiny, absurd gesture, but one that sends ripples through her carefully maintained life. Meanwhile, Anu, younger and more carefree, is struggling to find a moment alone with her controversial Muslim boyfriend in a city where privacy is a luxury. Their friend Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam) faces eviction, yet another reminder of how unstable and unforgiving their world can be.

What makes All We Imagine as Light truly remarkable is how effortlessly it shifts from realism into something more dreamlike. By its final act, the film almost transcends itself, veering into an emotional space that feels untethered from strict reality. It’s the kind of move that could feel forced in less capable hands, but Kapadia makes it sing.

Visually, the film is stunning — naturalistic but painterly. It reminded me of Wong Kar Wai in the way it lingers on faces, light, and the quiet moments between characters. The sound design and music are just as crucial, creating a textured, atmospheric world that pulls you in.

All three leads are phenomenal, delivering performances that feel so natural, so deeply human, that you forget you’re watching actors. There’s a reason Kapadia has been compared to filmmakers like my boy Sean Baker — there’s a shared sense of humanism here, a respect for the small struggles that define a life. The sometimes-documentary feel of the film reminds me of Baker’s work as well.

At Cannes, All We Imagine as Light was met with glowing praise, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a film that understands the weight of daily existence but never loses sight of the glimmers of hope that keep us going. A deeply moving, hypnotic experience, and one of the most quietly powerful films of the year.