PLOT: A widow in Pakistan hides her own past and watches helplessly as her beloved son is drawn into a group of Muslim fundamentalists. The story is set in 1979 when General Zia controlled the country.

With its focus on one woman and her beloved son, Silent Waters (Khamosh Pani) tells a much larger story about history, nationalism and religion.

Set in 1979 in Pakistan -- when General Zia was giving fiery speeches on what it meant to be a true Islam nation -- Silent Waters is the story of Ayesha (Kirron Kher) and her son Saleem (Aamir Malik). Saleem is an indulged only child. The easy-going young man has a girlfriend, but no job, and his mother worries about his future.

When a pair of Muslim zealots come to Ayesha's town to recruit young men, Saleem's best friend is quickly involved in their political causes. At first, Saleem is not fully on-side, but Silent Waters shows his slow and steady conversion to fundamentalist convictions. Soon, he is criticizing his mother's way of teaching young girls in the village their lessons from the Koran.

"I'm somebody now," he fiercely tells Ayesha. She is, of course, terrified for him.

Ayesha, who is a symbol of tolerance and courage, watches her son become lost to her. Then a group of Sikh pilgrims comes to her town and Ayesha's own painful past is revealed.

Silent Waters has its roots in the events of 1947, and the creation of India and Pakistan. Sikhs and Muslims fought bitterly during the Partition, and women were among the "items" and pieces of property each group of men stole from the other.

For some of those women, the choices were abduction and rape at the hands of the enemy -- or the suicide demanded for honour's sake by their own father or brother.

Filmmaker Sabiha Sumar has said that she was intent upon showing the vulnerability of women in war zones.

An indictment of intolerance, Silent Waters is a truly powerful picture, and of the sort that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you've left the theatre.

Silent Waters won the Golden Leopard (given for best film) at the Locarno film festival last year, and Kher likewise took top prize for her portrayal of Ayesha. The film is in Urdu and Punjabi with English subtitles.

(This film is rated 14-A)

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