The Luminist

Photography comprises the bright,tensile thread in the sweep of The Luminist,drawing tight a narrative that shifts betweenthe prejudices and passions of VictorianEngland and those of colonial Ceylon. It bindsthe destinies of Catherine Colebrook, theproper wife of a fading diplomat, who rebelsagainst every convention to chase theromance of science through her lens, andEligius, an Indian teenager thrust into servitudeafter his father is killed demandingnative rights.The Luminist is a weave of legend and history,science and art, politics and domesticitythat are symphonic themes in the maintitle, the story of an enduring and forbiddenfriendship. Catherine and Eligius musteach struggle with internal forces that inspirethem and societal pressures that commandthem. Rocklin's is a bold landscape, againstwhich an intimate drama is poignantly playedout. Just in this way, our minds recall inevery detail the photo snapped at the momentof pain, while all the lovely scenes seem torun together.