Mr. and Mrs. Iyer

India is more partitioned - by religion and region and caste - than almost anywhere in the world. In the wake of 9/11 and the Hindu/Muslim riots that convulsed the Indian state of Gujarat, the actress-director Aparna Sen, cherished for her performance in Salil Dutta’s Aparachita, gave us this delicate, heartfelt look at how two imperiled souls can look beyond projection and stereotype. Anyone who’s been to India will recognize the clamor, the disputation, the borderless mayhem of a jolting bus-ride. But out of that disturbance, Sen conjures hope (and she uses the name “Iyer” because it designates a very specific region and religion and caste, that of the South Indian Hindu Brahmin). Mr. and Mrs. Iyer has a sweet, Brief Encounter sincerity that, at a time when we’re all talk of borders and walls, reminds us of Gandhi’s truth: an eye-foran-eye leaves the whole world blind. (Telluride Film Festival)