Born a lower-caste girl in rural India's patriarchal society, "married" at 11, repeatedly raped and brutalized, Phooland Devi finds freedom only as an avenging warrior, the eponymous Bandit Queen. Devi becomes a kind a bloody Robin Hood; this extraordinary biographical film offers both a vivid portrait of a driven woman and a savage critique of the society that made her.
The numerous, unflinchingly filmed scenes of public and gang rape make this a visceral, if gruelling, experience, especially when juxtaposed with sprawling, beautifully photographed vistas of the Indian deserts and mountain ranges.
– David Jenkins,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
An astonishing, overpowering piece of rabble-rousing, consciousness-raising, epic-scale filmmaking.
– Kevin Thomas,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb 2001
fresh:
An exciting movie that brings Devi's story to life with passion but without passing judgment.
– Richard Corliss,
TIME Magazine,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Seema Biswas is convincing in the role: small, fierce, dark-eyed and indomitable.