Nepal, Dec. 15 -- The review contains spoilers.

Throughout history, cinema has been used as a medium to spark conversation, ignite movements and inspire change. 'Shakti', directed by Nani Sahra Walker, belongs to this lineage of cinema.

It is a film that unfolds through silences, gestures, and everyday moments, asking difficult questions about caste, sexual violence, and justice without turning them into spectacle.

Set in Kathmandu, 'Shakti' follows Durga (Laxmi Bardewa), a single mother, and her young daughter, Lila (Polina Oli). The film opens not with conflict but with a memory. Durga and her "kuire" (foreigner) husband embrace each other by a river, hills resting quietly in the background.

The image is tender and calm. There is no...