asdasdasdasdasdsasdasdas DAVID LEAN'S
asdasdasdasdaaasdddsssdassdasdaA PASSAGE TO INDIA
asdasdasdasdasdasdasdasd
I've been on a bit of a David Lean kick lately, and after Zhivago, this was his final film I'd yet to see
That all changed last night though.
As the credits rolled, I felt a bit sad. Lean never made many films, and now I'd seem them all. I'd never again watch a David Lean epic for the first time. But that was alright, I knew I had alot of thoughts to share with you guys and was looking forward to that
I have to say, it's not nearly as smart or important as it thinks it is. It's more than a little over earnest and ham handed, and some of the portrayals of Indians are downright embarrassing
"Hahaha! I say, Mr Guinness, your brown-face get up is simply delightful!"
But.... with all that said, I liked it a heck of alot more than Zhivago. Unlike that emotionally barren wasteland of a story, I was swept up in PASSAGE, and really cared about the characters. It's heart is in the right place. Dr. Aziz Ahmed (Victor Banerjee)*, in particular, was immensely charming and elevated virtually any scene he was a part of
I've had a big India interest for a long time for a multitude of reasons**, and colonial India has been one of my favorite eras (despite the horrors the Brits perpetrated) ever since I became a Kipling fanatic at age 5. I found Lean's meticulous recreation of the period pretty fascinating, especially because if you were to shoot in some of those same locations today, it would look totally different. It's very much sort of a time capsule picture, and it captures an India that no longer exists
Unlike in Zhivago though, the spectacle wasn't empty. Even if the story was cliched and the film a bit slight given the fact it was the last one ever from the director LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, it's good fun and I enjoyed it. I put it in intending to only watch the first little bit and then switch to something else, but ended up glued to my seat (in this case, I watched it in bed) for the next two hours and 45 minutes
*What a cool guy! He really sold the betrayal and anger he felt after the allegations. His righteous indignation (after such extraordinary civility at the beginning of the film) sort of made you in the audience feel a bit of shame for how the west (and to some degree, Lean's film) had treated India up till then.
"Hooray! I saved the movie!"
I wonder if that was intentional, on his part. Whether or not the depiction of Dr Aziz was a bit paternalistic and patronizing on purpose, so that you can realize that you too were dismissing him as something less than a full person at the same time the films characters have that realization
Maybe, maybe not, who knows. Not a bad flick though, and if you have a few free hours handy, well worth checking out
*Alexander, Buddhism, colonialism, a failed trip in 2007
PS Peggy Ashcroft as Mrs Moore was also great. She really did seem like she had a good soul, and you can believe that Dr Aziz really would like and respect her from their first meeting
asdasdasdasdaaasdddsssdassdasdaA PASSAGE TO INDIA
asdasdasdasdasdasdasdasd
I've been on a bit of a David Lean kick lately, and after Zhivago, this was his final film I'd yet to see
That all changed last night though.
As the credits rolled, I felt a bit sad. Lean never made many films, and now I'd seem them all. I'd never again watch a David Lean epic for the first time. But that was alright, I knew I had alot of thoughts to share with you guys and was looking forward to that
I have to say, it's not nearly as smart or important as it thinks it is. It's more than a little over earnest and ham handed, and some of the portrayals of Indians are downright embarrassing
"Hahaha! I say, Mr Guinness, your brown-face get up is simply delightful!"
But.... with all that said, I liked it a heck of alot more than Zhivago. Unlike that emotionally barren wasteland of a story, I was swept up in PASSAGE, and really cared about the characters. It's heart is in the right place. Dr. Aziz Ahmed (Victor Banerjee)*, in particular, was immensely charming and elevated virtually any scene he was a part of
I've had a big India interest for a long time for a multitude of reasons**, and colonial India has been one of my favorite eras (despite the horrors the Brits perpetrated) ever since I became a Kipling fanatic at age 5. I found Lean's meticulous recreation of the period pretty fascinating, especially because if you were to shoot in some of those same locations today, it would look totally different. It's very much sort of a time capsule picture, and it captures an India that no longer exists
Unlike in Zhivago though, the spectacle wasn't empty. Even if the story was cliched and the film a bit slight given the fact it was the last one ever from the director LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, it's good fun and I enjoyed it. I put it in intending to only watch the first little bit and then switch to something else, but ended up glued to my seat (in this case, I watched it in bed) for the next two hours and 45 minutes
*What a cool guy! He really sold the betrayal and anger he felt after the allegations. His righteous indignation (after such extraordinary civility at the beginning of the film) sort of made you in the audience feel a bit of shame for how the west (and to some degree, Lean's film) had treated India up till then.
"Hooray! I saved the movie!"
I wonder if that was intentional, on his part. Whether or not the depiction of Dr Aziz was a bit paternalistic and patronizing on purpose, so that you can realize that you too were dismissing him as something less than a full person at the same time the films characters have that realization
Maybe, maybe not, who knows. Not a bad flick though, and if you have a few free hours handy, well worth checking out
*Alexander, Buddhism, colonialism, a failed trip in 2007
PS Peggy Ashcroft as Mrs Moore was also great. She really did seem like she had a good soul, and you can believe that Dr Aziz really would like and respect her from their first meeting
