‘Gods Do Not Follow:’ A quiet rebellion against inherited rules

That line from “Prodigal Son” kept coming back to me while watching “Gods Do Not Follow.”

Ishan Pehal’s short film follows Uma, a 16-year-old girl living in a village high up in the mountains. She is grieving the death of her father, but the annual village fair offers her something to look forward to. There is, however, one problem: Uma gets her period, and according to the customs of her community, she is expected to stay away from the fair.

It sounds like a simple rule. But that’s precisely what makes it interesting. Uma lives in a society where modernization seems to be moving at a speed even slower than Internet Explorer. And within this world, she finds herself surrounded by restrictions that she has inherited rather than chosen. Rules that exist because they have always existed. And slowly, she begins to question them.

That is where “Gods Do Not Follow” reminded me so much of “Prodigal Son”. Chalamet’s character talks about being judged before he has even had the chance to become anything – almost as though guilt is something that is assigned to you at birth.

Uma experiences a quieter version of that same idea. She is told what she can and cannot do before she even gets the opportunity to decide for herself. But what makes the film work for me is that Uma’s rebellion isn’t some grand, cinematic act. It happens through tiny choices. Tiny moments where she begins to push against the boundaries that have been placed around her. And by the end, she hasn’t necessarily escaped everything that constrains her, but she has taken the first steps toward reclaiming a sense of herself.

And that makes this film much bigger than a story about one woman, or even one particular cultural practice. It becomes a universal story about society and the self. We all have these unsaid vows that we are afraid to break. Rules that we follow without knowing why. Things we’re told we’re not supposed to question, even when we don’t understand their purpose or what would actually happen if we broke them. And don’t get me wrong, I do believe rules are necessary for a society to exist. Without some form of structure, society doesn’t exactly become a very functional place. But I also believe understanding comes first. And the freedom to choose comes even before that.

That’s what Uma’s journey represents to me. Her rebellion, in its tiniest forms, brought me joy not simply as an audience member, but as an individual who has always found himself questioning the rules of the world around him. And maybe that’s why the film resonated with me despite the obvious differences between Uma’s life and mine. I’m a man. She’s a young woman growing up in a very specific cultural environment. Her experiences aren’t mine. But the idea the film explores is universal. The revelation was in the moment when you realise that some of the walls around you aren’t actually walls at all but rather, they’re boundaries you’ve accepted because you were told they were there.

“Gods Do Not Follow” is a wonderful, beautiful short film about finding oneself, told in a remarkably gentle and intimate way. The performances are excellent, and the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. The mountains aren’t simply a backdrop here; they become part of the film’s identity, creating this beautiful contrast between the vastness of the landscape and the restrictions placed on the people living within it.

Ishan Pehal has done an incredible job directing this film. Over the past few years, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn toward films set and shot in the mountains, particularly films that use these isolated communities to explore societal issues and the tension between tradition and a rapidly changing world. “Gods Do Not Follow” fits beautifully into that space.

It isn’t a film that screams its message at you. It simply lets you spend time with Uma, lets you understand the world she inhabits, and then lets you decide what you think about the rules that govern it. And sometimes, that’s all a film needs to do. Truly a must-watch.