Vanaja is not a happy film. Bad things happen to its main
character, a 15-year-old girl whose father is an alcoholic
fisherman, whose village is desperately poor, and whose
virginity is executed by a wealthy rapist. If the movie is mean
when it comes to her life, it is generous when it comes to her one
passion: dancing to traditional Indian music, dancing in rich robes
and jewels, dancing with the gods. (Varsity, 4329 University Way
NE, 781-5755. For more info see Movie Times.)

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...