The Pool

Filmmaker Chris Smith's Sundance prize-winning drama stars Venkatesh Chavan as 18-year-old Venkatesh, an illiterate janitor at a hotel in the Indian state of Goa. Venkatesh supplements his meager income by being a street vendor, selling plastic bags with the aid of a 10-year-old orphan named Jhangir (Jhangir Badshah). Venkatesh's obsession is to swim in a pool that is part of a long-vacant estate, which he is able to view by climbing a mango tree overlooking the property. One day, residents arrive at the estate: a gruff man and his beautiful young daughter. Venkatesh insinuates his way into their lives by seeking out a job as a gardener on the property, setting the story into motion. Smith's direction is remarkably assured, considering that a) The Pool is a Hindi-language production (the filmmaker does not speak the language), and b) the stars were nonprofessionals who were unable to read. Nonetheless, Smith and his youthful actors overcame these barriers to create this original and moving drama that clearly underscores the social and economic obstacles that continue to hobble modern-day India. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)