Stains review: Powerful portrait of a woman in the face of tradition

The short film Stains revolves around a couple from different cultural backgrounds who are spending the weekend with the young man’s mother on the occasion of Onam. During this time, the young woman gets her period and encounters the discomfort and prejudice that the mother has about menstruation.

The young woman tries to negotiate the conservative reaction that she is faced with while examining her relationship with her boyfriend as well as with her own body.

Stains was Rhea Mathews's graduate film at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and has been adapted from Manjula Padmanabhan’s eponymous short story.

In the conflict between tradition and modernity, Mathews’s film exposes the ways in which women have to constantly navigate the space of family and tradition which continues to impose its rules on their bodies.

The vivid portrayal of the protagonist’s mindscape underlines the predicament of the woman who is exploring the rhythms of her body as it undergoes certain changes. In the physical space, while she does not wish to offend the man’s mother, she nonetheless struggles to retain her individuality and sense of self.

The man, in turn, is not really a chauvinist but someone who just does not wish to upset the apple cart and step on his mother’s toes.

Through the course of the film, there are several restrictions that are placed on the young woman, which especially includes what she can or cannot eat, and the traditional and elaborate Onam feast is contrasted with the simple yet joyous meal that she prepares for herself.

Stains puts an incident from everyday life under the microscope, enabling us to see the fabric of society and what it is really made of. The use of colour, silences, small gestures and music accentuates the narrative that is bolstered by strong performances from the cast. Particularly noteworthy is the role played by Leah Grace as the protagonist who conveys the unease and emotional containment evocatively. She makes her choices, as must all of us, deciding what we can and cannot live with in the end.

As a student film, Rhea Mathews's Stains makes its mark. One waits to see what the young filmmaker will do next.