The following films "Water" and "The Devil Wears Prada" are reviewed by the Office of Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

'Water' reflects dignity of women
"Water" (Fox Searchlight) is a poignant drama set in 1938 India about the lives of women who, in accordance with Hindu tradition, are required -- following their husbands' deaths -- to live out their days as outcasts in a squalid widows' house, heads shaven and publicly deemed "half-dead."

Forced to beg in the streets for money, the women are forbidden by the cultural caste system to cast a "polluted" shadow on girls on their wedding day lest it bring them bad luck. And anyone who even bumps into one of the widows must cleanse himself or herself in a purifying bath.

The tale opens with newly widowed Chuyia (Sarala) -- a precocious 8-year-old child bride who barely remembers getting married -- being left on the doorstep of an ashram. In a heartbreaking sequence, she cries out to her distraught father not to leave her. She is taken under the maternal wings of two residents: Kalyani (Lisa Ray), a young beauty forced into prostitution by the camp's matriarch (Manorma); and Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), a devout older woman torn between conscience and faith.

Kalyani falls for an idealistic and progressive-minded law student, Narayan (John Abraham), who, flouting the taboo, actively pursues the romance.

Seven years in the making -- protests by Hindu militants shut down the production in India and forced it to relocate to Sri Lanka -- the movie has some lovely river photography (a Sri Lankan waterway doubling for India's Ganges River), which is a recurring motif throughout the film. In fact the river is a main character in the story. Despite the Hindu milieu, the film's use of water as a symbol of hope and spiritual rebirth should resonate with Christians.

And while some may feel the film undermines traditional beliefs, it is the sort of religious fundamentalism that would oppress truth and deny the sacred and equal value of all human life that is the real target here.

Visually poetic with soulful performances, director Deepa Mehta's film is simple yet deeply moving, as it explores the tragic lives of the widows in whose humanity is reflected the dignity of all women.

Subtitles.

The film contains implied prostitution, a suicide, brief drug usage, a transvestite character, some sexual references and a few mildly crude expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

-- David DiCerto

The Devil Wears Prada
Lauren Weisberger's 2003 best-seller has been skillfully adapted to the screen and emerges as a fresh telling of that sturdy perennial of the career gal who makes good, and almost -- but not quite -- loses sight of her values.

In the entertaining comedy-drama "The Devil Wears Prada" (Fox), aspiring journalist Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) improbably (since she cares nothing about fashion) lands an enviable job at prestigious "Runway" magazine, a stopgap till she can make it as a writer.

She's singularly unimpressed to be the lesser of two assistants to the queen of the fashion world, icy and imperious editor in chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), who doesn't suffer fools gladly, and whose soft-spoken injunctions strike fear through the ranks.

Andy's replacing Emily (Emily Blunt), an English girl who is happy to serve Miranda, especially as it means an annual trip to Paris for the new collection launch. Emily has been upped to senior assistant, and grudgingly shows Andy the ropes.

Both she and Miranda's right-hand man, Nigel (Stanley Tucci), disdain Andy's less-than-stylish fashion sense. When matters reach crisis proportions, and when Andy comes to realize her job could lead to a "big break," she implores Nigel for a makeover, and a Cinderella-like transformation follows.

Gradually, she rises in Miranda's eyes, especially when Miranda gives her a seemingly impossible assignment: Get the unpublished manuscript of the latest Harry Potter book for her two young children. Andy delivers the goods, thanks to the intercession of writer friend Christian Thompson (Simon Baker), who has a romantic interest in Andy. (She not only obtains the precious J.K. Rowling manuscript but she has it copied and bound, all in record time.)

Meanwhile, Andy's boyfriend, Nate (Adrian Grenier), and their friends -- much as they enjoy the expensive freebies that Andy throws their way -- feel she's growing apart from them, and her relationship with Nate becomes strained as Andy becomes more preoccupied with success.

When Emily is felled by illness -- and knocked down by a car, to boot -- Andy is given the plum Paris assignment, and Andy must make the latest of several moral and ethical decisions, as Miranda insists she break the news to the devastated Emily.

In Paris, matters will come to a head, and Miranda reveals briefly a touching vulnerability, which poignantly illustrates the loneliness that comes with fame.

Streep is marvelous, hardly ever raising her voice. In fact, her big dramatic moment is that intensely quiet one in Paris, but for the most part she effortlessly emanates the force of her position. Hathaway plays Andy as so gauche it's hard to see how Streep could have hired her in the first place, but she delineates her character's growing maturity impressively. Blunt is especially good at conveying -- underneath the bossiness and arrogance -- a poignant neediness. Tucci makes a sympathetic character as Nigel, especially when he's ultimately double-crossed by Miranda, and doesn't overdo the flamboyance.

Director David Frankel's fast-moving morality tale with a simple but commendable message about staying true to your ideals and not selling out, has been ravishingly photographed. New York and Paris have never looked so good.

Admirably light on objectionable content, the film has only a couple of implied premarital situations (but no sex scenes), some crass expressions, brief profanity and innuendo, and a couple of uses of the s-word, making this inappropriate for younger adolescents. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

-- Harry Forbes

Harry Forbes is director and David DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.