Critic Reviews

• Tom Keogh, Film.com

  Mehta's larger goal -- demystifying India -- is powerfully, unsettlingly realized.

• Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

  Works because it doesn't come off as a lofty diatribe but actually mixes humor with its pathos.

• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  The film has a seductive resonance.

• Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

  Mehta's direction of her unusually intimate film is delicate. The acting is notably good, especially from Azmi.

• Mary Brennan, Film.com

  The pieces don't all work perfectly, but the whole is gently affecting.

• Jay Antani, Cinema Writer

  Fire lights its spark beautifully

• John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

  should spark interest in India's modern culture even if it doesn't satisfy those who think a lesbian love affair should burn more explicitly

• Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews

  Although the acting is pleasant enough, the script by the director suffers from a paucity of ideas. His characters are handsomely outlined but never adequately filled in.

• Rachel Malik, Sight and Sound

  One of the most powerful achievements of Fire is to represent a form of desire which is not an escape, but a political challenge.

• Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

  A compelling drama set in India about the boundlessness of desire.

• Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine

  In its quiet way, Fire packs an emotional wallop.

• Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies

  A sensuous visual experience, thanks to the collaboration between cinematographer Giles Nuttgens and Mehta.

• David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

  Audacious, yet sensitive, Fire may shock traditionalists but might well win Indian cinema a whole new audience.

Read all 13 critic reviews