When I think of films by David Lean, I think of sweeping grandeur and bigger than life characters, but this is a rather clumsy film about British colonials behaving badly in India. Whatever subtleties E. M. Forster had in mind were lost in this adaptation of the novel.
Adela Quested (Judy Davis) travels to India with her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) sometime in the early 20th century to meet up with her fiance, the local British magistrate. She and Mrs. Moore are appalled at the attitudes of the colonials towards the local people and want to meet some Indian people socially.
Richard Fielding (James Fox), the head of the local university arranges a gathering at his home for the two English ladies and two Indian men, Dr. Aziz, whom Mrs. Moore has met already and requested attend, and Professor Godbole from the university. Dr. Aziz is honored by the two ladies accepting him as an equal and to reciprocate invites them on a day trip to a famous Indian cultural site, some caves in the nearby mountains.
During the trip - an elaborate picnic complete with an elephant and coterie of servants - Miss Quested and Dr. Aziz have occasion to be alone outside one of the caves high up on the mountain. Miss Quested enters the cave while the doctor is off smoking a cigarette, has a bad reaction to the heat and the echoes inside the cave, and runs off in a panic. She is met by one of her countrymen and driven back to the British compound where she is coerced into telling a story of rape by Dr. Aziz.
A trial ensues where the British attempt to railroad the doctor into a conviction, but Miss Quested recants her deposition and Dr. Aziz is free. Bitter about his treatment, he rejects the friendship of Mr. Fielding and goes off to Kashmir to practice medicine away from all Brits. But in the end he and Fielding reconcile and he accepts that all has turned out well.
I know this is a rather simplified summary of the plot, and I'd tell you more about the character development, but there really wasn't much to it. Judy Davis plays Miss Quested as a high strung enigma. Much of her behavior is unexplained, so the central character in the story is weak and the film suffers because of it.
The very underrated James Fox is excellent and nearly pulls it all together, but the other two main characters don't add much complexity. Victor Banerjee (Aziz) isn't a very good actor, and Alec Guinness, who is, is wasted in the role of Prof. Godbole. The viewer is asked to assume too much in the relationships of all these characters, and it's unclear from the film what Forster really intended.
It has its moments, but if you didn't see David Lean's name in the opening credits, you'd be hard pressed to realize this is a film by one of the masters of cinema.
Adela Quested (Judy Davis) travels to India with her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) sometime in the early 20th century to meet up with her fiance, the local British magistrate. She and Mrs. Moore are appalled at the attitudes of the colonials towards the local people and want to meet some Indian people socially.
Richard Fielding (James Fox), the head of the local university arranges a gathering at his home for the two English ladies and two Indian men, Dr. Aziz, whom Mrs. Moore has met already and requested attend, and Professor Godbole from the university. Dr. Aziz is honored by the two ladies accepting him as an equal and to reciprocate invites them on a day trip to a famous Indian cultural site, some caves in the nearby mountains.
During the trip - an elaborate picnic complete with an elephant and coterie of servants - Miss Quested and Dr. Aziz have occasion to be alone outside one of the caves high up on the mountain. Miss Quested enters the cave while the doctor is off smoking a cigarette, has a bad reaction to the heat and the echoes inside the cave, and runs off in a panic. She is met by one of her countrymen and driven back to the British compound where she is coerced into telling a story of rape by Dr. Aziz.
A trial ensues where the British attempt to railroad the doctor into a conviction, but Miss Quested recants her deposition and Dr. Aziz is free. Bitter about his treatment, he rejects the friendship of Mr. Fielding and goes off to Kashmir to practice medicine away from all Brits. But in the end he and Fielding reconcile and he accepts that all has turned out well.
I know this is a rather simplified summary of the plot, and I'd tell you more about the character development, but there really wasn't much to it. Judy Davis plays Miss Quested as a high strung enigma. Much of her behavior is unexplained, so the central character in the story is weak and the film suffers because of it.
The very underrated James Fox is excellent and nearly pulls it all together, but the other two main characters don't add much complexity. Victor Banerjee (Aziz) isn't a very good actor, and Alec Guinness, who is, is wasted in the role of Prof. Godbole. The viewer is asked to assume too much in the relationships of all these characters, and it's unclear from the film what Forster really intended.
It has its moments, but if you didn't see David Lean's name in the opening credits, you'd be hard pressed to realize this is a film by one of the masters of cinema.