In India, home to some truly brilliant minds, a stigma surrounds women and the idea of the menstrual cycle. Many men and women are entirely unsure of why it takes place and what it’s purpose is, while others simply refuse to discuss the topic. Period. End of Sentence. is a documentary that follows the production of a low-cost sanitary pad, a product that less than ten percent of the female population in India uses. The story of these women is heartbreaking, but the intention is to both end the stigma of the female period and provide relief for a never ending problem.
This documentary is used to inform rather than to entertain, and as a result of that, viewers derive some pleasure from Period. End of Sentence. Viewers are transported to a country almost nothing like their own, and they are provided the ability to hear the stories of a series of women (ranging greatly in terms of age) and understand what issue is lurking throughout India. Viewers begin to question the reality of things as information is shared about the state of India and its unique, and honestly scary views of the menstrual cycle. Sure, this part of the female being can be, in general, taboo to discuss, but the reality is that the majority of the civilized world understands this to be a normal part of female existence.
Period. End of Sentence. is a true eye opener as it shocks the world, and viewers are able to see, possibly for the first time, how incredibly different the female period is viewed around the world. Director Rayka Zehtabchi is unapologetic and refuses to let this stigma stand in the way of spreading the word. In addition to simply spreading word, she, and the rest of the cast and crew of Period. End of Sentence., aims to bring an affordable solution to India, and other parts of the world in which it is not currently available. (You can click the following link to learn more about The Pad Project: www.thepadproject.org.)
The world is a strange place, but it’s still hard to imagine that one of the most basic and essential of human cycles is considered unacceptable, or that those who experience this cycle have no idea why it takes place or what it is. Period. End of Sentence. is infuriating to viewers as they look upon and listen to what many Indians have to say about the menstrual cycle. Having learned about this process when I was in the fifth grade, it’s alarming to know that these issues exist elsewhere around the world.
Again, Period. End of Sentence. is not here to entertain so much, but rather to enlighten its viewers and express the dangers of these ways of thinking. Furthermore, it doesn’t look to clever devices in an attempt to strengthen its testimonials. Period. End of Sentence. relies on fact to guide the film and attract viewers (with the exception of the title, however, which is brilliant). It’s not often that a film appears completely void of any form of flattery or exaggeration to get its point across, but this seems true of Period. End of Sentence. I never felt as if someone was forcing their opinion on me, but instead that I was being invited into their world and explained the nature of the problem in the simplest of terms. Period. End of Sentence. is, in some ways, a breath of fresh air, and in others, the kick in the pants needed to cause change.
Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi.
Starring Ajeya, Anita, Gouri Choudari, Shabana Khan, Arunachalam Muruganatham, Preeti, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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