The Salt In Our Waters is primarily concerned with the lonely nature of being an outsider, burdened with challenging the norm. The film details the journey of a young artist who moves to an isolated fishing village in Bangladesh. Upon his arrival the fishermen are preparing to brave a particularly violent oncoming storm.

In this sense the group is readying themselves for the onset of two storms. The newcomer, Rudro, unintentionally ignites long-held feuds and invites a degree of chaos into everyday life. The world he strode into hangs in a delicate balance, one that can be swept away with a gust of wind. We see Rudro’s art projects flutter away, we see houses disintegrate, we see waves tower and crash over adult men. This little world has been manmade, and it is easily demolished. Like so many newcomers, his indifference to unspoken social codes upsets the balance of the community.

Rezwan Shahriar Sumit sets aside the first half of this film to trace the various community allegiances, to sketch the tangled social web which stretches across these beachside huts. A lot of the tension is left to simmer, only bubbling over in the final act of the film. Sumit’s handle on tone and atmosphere is impressive, especially considering this is his debut feature film. However, the film is weakest when characters devolve into self-referential debates on science and faith, country and city, nature and man. These moments unravel the work of an otherwise careful story of challenging tradition.

The Salt In Our Waters is an intriguing story about tradition and the shifting parameters of what counts as improvement. It unfortunately slips into stilted dialogue, but is still well-paced and beautifully shot. While not perfect, Sumit’s control over the narrative is thrilling and he promises to be a director worth watching.

RATING: 3/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Fazlur Rahman Babu, Titas Zia, Tasnova Tamanna

DIRECTOR: Rezwan Shahriar Sumit

WRITER: Rezwan Shahriar Sumit

SYNOPSIS: A young artist moves to a Bangladeshi fishing village. The community soon suspects his sculptures are bringing about bad luck.