However this is to be more of a review of what India has meant at various times during the filming of life in that country. The earliest films in my memory were those of the 1930's which examined life in India in what were essentially escapist films. These largely dealt with experiences with the RAJ and the British citizens who had come to India to help rule that vast and complex society. These were largely war films involving the British soldiers with renegade members of Indian society mostly those in the Northwest or what was then called the Indian Frontier. This area was largely in the Kashmir that area of India that in recent history was divided between India and Pakistan and not to successfully.
There are several pictures in this genre including "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" among others. In one Shirley Temple managed to play a role in bringing cooperation between the rebellious natives under the rulership of Cesar Romero, a hard to picture role assignment. Of the the several RAJ films made of this period one alone stands out, "Gunga Din."
GUNGA DIN (1939)
Gunga Din was a film that use a poem of Rudyard Kipling to create an original story. It dealt with rebellious elements in the northwest frontier. The films Indian landscape was largely re-created using California's Owens Valley. The savage jagged Sierra Nevada range in this area capped by the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, Mt. Whitney, serves well as a mock Himalayans even though this range is half as tall. The Alabama Hills at the base of the range and the flat areas of the Owen's valley serve equally well as the imagined landscape in India.
The film's three male lead stars, Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Victor McGlaughlin provide a viril set of leads. Joan Fontaine, in love with Douglas, is the sole female performer of note in the film. The two villans, Edwardo Cianelli, as the leader of the rebellious group of fanatics and Abner Biberman as his main lieutenant are equally effective, in particular Cianelli, whose proclamation of "The Error of False Pride," provided a chilling initiation of torture to captured Brits. San Jaffre in the role of Gunga Din provides the glue to hold the whole thing together. It's a wonderful adventure story, with beautiful natural scenery, thuggery at it's worst, gallant horsemanship, elephants, and great battle scenes at both big and small combat level all add to the enjoyment of the film. There is enough humor to add to the pleasure and the nice ending where a faux Rudyard Kipling quotes the poem Gunga Din is a touching scene. This is really one of the great adventure films to come out of the thirties.
THE RIVER (1951)
This is a truly beautiful film directed by Jean Renoir and based on a story put together by he and Rumer Godden. The story has autobiographical touches based on Godden's life in India when a teen. Financing was arranged by a man who had never produced a film before and who would never produce one again. While the financing and other matters of importance were taken care of Renoir started to shoot one year earlier. This effort mostly concerned the river, The Ganges in this case, and the people who lived and worked in the areas on the rivers shores.
The story is concerned with the life of three young, i.e. teen age girls. The first of these is Harriet who is the oldest of four sibling sisters, two of which are twins, and a single brother Bogie. Harriet was played by Patricia Walters in her first and only film role. Somehow Renoir had seen her and thought she would be perfrect having lived in India all of her short life, she being only 14 at the time. The second girl, Valerie, is two or three years older. She's a 17 year old and more sophisticated than Harriet. She was played by the experienced actress, Adrienne Corri, who had flaming red hair. Corri played one of the victims of the vicious boys in "Clockwork Orange" film. The third girl was an Anglo-Indian by the name of Rahda who plays Melani. The's a particularly beautiful girl and is a little more sophisticated than the other two but also more conflicted because of her Anglo-Indian ancestry. Her father was a Brit, played by the familiar Arthur Shields. Her mother was a deceased woman of Indian ancestry. It should also be noted that the beautiful Nora Swinburn plays Harriet's mother.
The story is centered on these three girls and their relationship to each other. An American G.I. has an important impact on their lives, in that all three decide they love him. The soldier, played by Thomas E. Breen, is handicapped bu the loss of a leg which occurred during the recently ended World War II. The three girls friendship is based on particular relationships. Harriet's father runs the Indian Hemp factory for Valerie's father. Melani is a next door neighbor of Harriet's and actually a niece of the American war veteran.
The story plays out beautifully and all the relationships are resolved. There is also a tragedy in the film which I won't discuss here. The American finally decides to leave and tells Melani I can't stand living anywhere where I am constantly reminded of my handicap. She replies very intuitively from her own status as a bi-cultural person, "Where will you find a county of one-legged men."
This film is highly recommended for it's beautiful color, it was considered the finest color film production up to that time. Most memorable is an abstract segment of the movie dealing with Melani. In keeping with Indian tradition she has been betroved to a man she doesn't hardly know while being deeply in love with another. In the film within a film segment she is beautifully dressed and brought forward to meet her husband to be. Her eyes are covered and when the covering is removed she sees before her the man she really loves. Then suddenly a metamorphosis takes place and she is re-costumed in beautiful traditional Indian style and the young man turns into a replication of the Indian God Krishna. Melani proceeds to dance for him a really beautiful very stylized dance. It is a memorable moment.
JEWEL IN THE CROWN (1984)
Jewel in the Crown is a very special film in the group that we are discussing since it was originally a twelve hour presentation on the magnificent PBS Masterpiece Theatre program. It covers a period from shortly before the World War II conflict into the partition of India into the two separate states Pakistan and India. It closely delves into the relationships of the native people of India and the colonial people who rule the country.
The Jewel in the Crown represents India as a part of the British Empire which is represented by the crown. Peggy Ashcroft in her role as Barbie Batchelor in the film explains this near the films beginning.
The film covers several different stories the most important of which is that of a young English woman who lives with her Aunt in India. She's a Brit. with out pretence relative to her relationship with Indian people. She happens to meet and eventually fall in love with a native Indian, Hari Cumar played by the very handsome Art Malik. This is a doomed relationship because of the prevailing class concious bigotry of the British living in India at the time. The worst of these is Tim Piggot Smith playing a British official and Army Officer Captain Ronald Merrick who is not from the wealthy or aristocratic class. For various reasons he particularly takes his bigotry out on Malik. Malik as Hari Cumar has a different background having been educated England in the British University system. He was accepted there, changed the spelling of his name to anglicize it, played cricket, etc. He was financed by his uncle who when he suffered financial reverses had to stop helping Malik's education forcing the latter to return to India.
This is just one of the stories developed in the series. There is a portion on the fighting of the Japanese in Burma. A portion devoted to Brit's living in the hilly area of Kashmir and their lifestyle and their relationship to the native Indians. The relationship of the titled and wealthy Indians with the poor who mainly live in the country. The relationship between the Hindus and Moslems and in particular the killings that resulted when the two groups have to migrate from the where they previously lived to the new area where people of the same religion were congretated.
There is sexuality and exploitation, homosexuality and depravation and all the reality of real life. Jewel in the Crown is a product of the finest period of Masterpiece theatre productions most memorably "I Hadrian," "To Serve Them All My Days," "Brideshead Revisited" and a whole series of other outstanding long programs.
STAYING ON (1980)
It should be noted that a follow up film was made several years later called "Staying On." It starred Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson as a British couple who did not leave India when the exodus of Brits occured after the separation of the country into two different states. Their relationship to each other and to the newly enfranchised Indians is noteworthy. It was also the first time the two leads had worked together on a film since their acclaimed World War II effort "Brief Encounter." The latter is covered in an excellent review by Des Kennelly, the former editor of Classic Films, in the first edition of that publication back in 1981.
PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984)
Chronoligically this film was produced shortly after Jewel in the Crown. It's setting is some twenty years earlier. It starts with a journey to India by Peggy Ashcroft as Mrs. Moore, the mother of a British legal professional, Nigel Havers, who is stationed in India. Accompanying Ms. Ashcroft is the Australian actress Judy Davis in the role Adele Quested, Haver's fiance.
Things are complicated in that most of the British are so caste oriented as to be unable to accept Indians in any form as being culturally equal. Havers is one of these, his mother and fiance it turns out are not. A conflict develops but at a very low key. An Indian lawyer Aziz, Victor Bannajee, meets Mrs Ashcroft and because of her acceptance of all becomes friends with her. Their friendship ends up in Davis being drawn into the relationship as well.
Shortly before the halfway point of the film Bannerjee, as host, takes Ashcroft and Davis to visit the Marabar Hills to see a large group of caves there. His planning includes riding on an elephant and a picnic lunch. Somehow, in the visit to the caves Davis undergoes a peculiar set of fears which result in her running from the cave and stumbling and falling while running down the hill to the area below the caves. This results in Bannerjee being charged with attempted rape. Davis, in her distress, is not able to address the issue at all. At the Court Trial over Bannerje's guilt, Davis when finally brought in to testify says she has no memory of the incident and cannot describe what really happened. This results in the freeing of Bannerje.
The film includes such stalworts as Alec Guinness playing a sort of Indian mystic Godbole, and Art Malik playing a beligerant Indian attorney defending Bannerjee. You may remember Malik from Jewel in the Crown playing the unfortuante Hari Kumar, or more recently having a role in the new Upstairs Downstairs series.
Not everything is rectified. The conclusion includes the death by natural causes of Peggy Ashcroft on board an English ship returning to England, and the denunciation of Davis by the inbedded British government population. "Bitch," one angry English matron calls her. Bannerjee, greatly angered by Davis's turning on him or so it seems to him and anger with James Fox playing an English educator, Mr. Fielding for an incident that never happened, has withdrawn from public life and broods about how he was treated unfairly. The final minutes are devoted to James Fox who was one British colonial who was realistic about the Indian people, informing him the Davis is living in England alone. Bannerjee writes her a letter and we see her reading it looking as enigmatic as Davis can easily manage to do.
BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2004)
In the last few years a whole new set of pictures have come out about India and it's peoples. Most memorable are "Outsourced," and "Eat, Pray, Love," which stars Julia Roberts. However, I would also like to comment on a new type of film about India, the so-called Bollywood films. These are usually big colorful films with lots of activity, music and color. The one that comes most to mind is, "BRIDE AND PREJUDICE,' which translate the Jane Austen novel into a Indian film. Darcy is played by a rich American and the bride is Indian. It has a couple of really neat musical numbers, one of which called "The Cobra Dance" done by one of the sisters called Bakshi in this film. The second is a play on words called, "What's Life Without Wife" in which the sisters discuss the importance of being a wife. Ashiyara Rai is the principal Indian player in this delightful colorful film.
OUT SOURCED (2006)
This really fun film without a cast of well known performers familiar to American audiences deals with that most singular problem, of replacing American employees with much less expensive employees from developing countries. I have experienced this on many occasions. The most entertaining of these was an outsource to Salvador in Central America. The contact was very willing to answer questions about his work and El Salvador. In the movie the outsourcer is a Seattle company that markets a bunch of novelty items. One such example is the large cheese hats worn by Green bay Packer fans.
Todd Anderson, a mid-level manager at a Seattle company selling novelty items is told by his boss, Dave that the work he supervises, a phone bank of order takers, is going to be outsourced to India and that he, Todd, has been selected to go to India to setup the new department and train the Indian phone answering people. This meeting between Todd, Josh Hamilton, and Dave, Matt Smith, is the introduction to a very funny film discussing a modern day problem, Out Sourcing. Todd's response is "no way." However, when he learns his job has disappeared and there won't be any work remaining for him in Seattle he reluctantly agrees to go. From the time of his arrival his experiences in India are real eye openers. For example, the man who is supposed to meet him holds up a sign that says "Toad" resulting in Todd missing his Indian contact. Later the man his new Indian Assistant, Purobit, played by Asif Barna finally connects with him.
It does not take long for Todd and the film viewers to realize how different life is in India including the differences in acceptable behavior. Early on, when addressing the group of some twenty people who have been hired and he is teaching them American ways, one of the new hires tells him, "That maybe he needs to spend some time learning Indian Ways."
It does not take long for both Todd and Purobit to realize that one lady in particular is smarter and more comprehending than the others. Over time the American supervisor tends to rely more and more on her, the lovely Asha played by Ayesha Dharkar. Many strange things happen in India. One most memorable incident involves a shipment of theirs which ends up being sent to another city of the same name. He has to retrieve it and she is asked to accompany him because of her knowledge of both languages. It involves a train trip followed by a boat trip. Unfortuately, the boat has problems on the way back and they are forced to spend the night in the city. The hotel has only one room left, the Bridal Suite. the consequences of this incident is that the two of them get much better acquainted.
Eventually the boss in Dave arrives in India to check on the call center. He is given a demonstration of how well they are doing and in a special incident sees what the number one girl, Asha. can do handling a difficult order. There is a second reason whyhe has come to India. The the company has decided to move the outsourcing site to China and that Todd will have to go there next. The latter manages to convince Dave that the demonstration of how well they are doing in India is really the result of the assistant manager. Purobit is easily talked into going to China wants he realizes it means a raise which will enable him to afford to marry the girl he has been engaged to. Asha and Todd have one last time together. She has explained to him that her parents have already arranged a marriage for her and that she is just waiting for her fiance to have enough money to pay for a wedding. In a clever ending she demonstrates to him that she indeed can do anything.
EAT, PRAY, LOVE (2010)
I would be the first to admit that Julia Roberts has never done much for me. Of all her films the only one I really liked was "Notting Hill," with Hugh Grant. EAT PRAY LOVE is essentially her film. It takes place in New York, Rome, India and Bali. the Eat Pray Love segments are Rome, India, and Bali in that order. The New York part is the setup for what follows, why she makes this particular journey. She is Liz Gilbert, early middle aged, 40, and unhappily married. The unhappiness is centered in she and her husband not having much in common or enough love to sustain their relationship. She is a well off successful author. She finally makes the decision of traveling to help over come her malaise.
In Italy, principally in Rome and Naples, she meets a mixed group of people and finds out that she really enjoys doing things with them. They enjoy life, food and their well being. She eats like it is going out of style. In her journey to Naples she goes with the principal girl from her group of friends, Tuva Novotny. They are at a Neapolitan pizza parlor, where I guess pizza was invented, and her friend says I can't eat this I am getting to fat and my friend will see it and be turned off. Roberts notes, you are developing a muffin top on your tummy. You needen't worry, when he wants you take your clothes off your companion will be so entranced that he will never notice it.
From Rome she travels to India where she plans to develop a sense of peace and calm. She is in a group, mostly non-Indians who work on contemplation and prayer. Some times you are given a special assignment, of complete silence. While there she meets Richard Harris, Richard of Texas in this film, who talks to her and gradually reveals his own problems. The two of them grow better together. Gradually she feels the rest and relaxation and escape from cares that she feels she needs.
Years before she had visited Bali and met with a man of great peace and calm on that small island. Bali is a part of Indonesia, but unlike the rest of Indonesia it's basic religion is Hindu. Eventually, she meets a man from a Latin American Country, Felipe played by Javier Barden, who is there with his daughter. He has an import/export business and operates out of Bali. He also owns a yacht and over time the two of them become better acquainted. She, however, has brainwashed herself to be careful of any entanglements and at first tries to avoid their reltaionship. Eventually, she overcomes her fears and they pair off as a couple.
Strangely enough this picture has received an extremely large number of negative votes from person's who regularly use the IMDB. I tried to decide why this is so and read a number of the letters. I couldn't find a set pattern but it seemed to me it had to be an organized protest of some sort. My initial assumption was that it was from 100% Christians that objected to the Hindu teachings. No other film except one that I have looked up on IMDB has ever shown such an overwhelming low ball attempt. I would like to know what causes it.
That's enough pictures about India. They cover a period of over 75 years of film making. There are many others, of course, "The Rains Came," with Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power and George Brent immediatly comes to mind and is certainly a memorable film from the early period of the 1930's.
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