Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, even a tsunami. Knowledge of storms depends on where you live on this planet. For some, the monsoon is a regular element in their society.
Sturla Gunnarsson takes us into monsoon season in India in her documentary Monsoon.
We see the bureaucratic nuances of the weather system in India: odd and funny at the same time. Monsoons start in June but when they officially start is surprisingly complicated. A girl wanting to live with 12 other families in a single undamaged home than being in a big city. A monsoon brings rain: some areas have breached levies while other areas don't get rain.
Rain is crucial to just about any farming. A monsoon can impact farmer suicides, an all too common occurrence in India.
Some families in the monsoon area just calmly deal with walking in very high water.
For as much water is featured in the film, the presentation is rather dry. After all, these people deal with monsoon season like those in Manitoba deal with snow every winter. This may come as a surprise to filmgoers who have not lived through a monsoon.
We see how animals are more non-plussed about the rain than the humans.
Watch Monsoon on a rainy day or when you are begging for rain. In the North America madness over storm watches, seeing this film may change your perspective on large weather patterns.
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Monsoon made the TIFF list of Canada's Top Ten feature films of 2014. You might find the film online.
video credit: TIFF Originals
photo credit: Monsoon
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