Set in Pakistan in 1979 at the dawn of an Islamic fundamentalist takeover, "Silent Waters" centers around Ayesha (Kirron Kher), a Muslim woman whose hopes for her son Saleem (Aamir Malik) are dashed when he, on the cusp of manhood, is indoctrinated into the militant movement. When a group of Sikh pilgrims from neighboring India come to town, the enmity of Partition, which divided the region in two three decades before, flares up once again, and Saleem enjoins his mother to publicly reaffirm her faith, forcing Ayesha to confront her haunted past.

Sarah Lawrence-educated director Sabiha Sumar says that each of her works is produced first for her own people in Pakistan, so much of the background information required to fully grasp the film's historical context would presumably already be known by its target audience. Still, key developments are revealed deftly through plot in such a way that Western viewers, whose attention now is increasingly focused on the Middle East due to ongoing world events, acquire a rudimentary understanding of Pakistan's turbulent recent history without the film having to resort to exposition.

Unfortunately, any inherent interest in such a cinematic examination is undermined by a lack of subtlety of characterization, with the exception of a sensitive performance by Kher. Saleem is affable and comfortably handsome but ultimately a cardboard cutout of any number of shaggy-haired slackers who resist their mothers' exhortations to get a job. More significantly, the Islamic fundamentalists who lure Saleem to their cause likewise lack dimension: Although it's immediately clear that these aggressive, patronizing slogan shouters are the bad guys here, a more nuanced approach would have better articulated their allure to impressionable youth like Saleem. Starring Kirron Kher, Aamir Malik and Shilpa Shukla. Directed by Sabiha Sumar. Written by Paromita Vohra. Produced by Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Philippe Avril, Helge Albers and Claudia Tronnier. A First Run release. Drama. Punjabi-language; subtitled. Unrated. Running time: 95 min