Fitzpatrick sends the Technicolor cameras under the supervision of Hone Glendinning to Udaipur in India, to give us some interesting pictures of the Indian city and its suburbs. Some nice pictures show up, along with some odd local customs, like feeding wild boars.
Usually, Mr. Fitzpatrick had only nice things to say about his cinematic subjects. This time, though, I thought I detected a sense of unease. It's not simply that he uses the word "picturesque" a lot; I have concluded that when people talk about buildings that way, it means they look nice, considering they're old and broke. He talks about all the cattle wandering around the city, as wasted beef on the hoof, seems to call attention to the segregation of the castes in a manner that indicates that he doesn't disapprove, and tells us that people in India look down on farmers. That's something that hard-working Americans would think nonsense.
Perhaps, though, I am stretching. He so often simply rhapsodizes over the beauty of things that any comment that isn't fawning seems disapproving.
Usually, Mr. Fitzpatrick had only nice things to say about his cinematic subjects. This time, though, I thought I detected a sense of unease. It's not simply that he uses the word "picturesque" a lot; I have concluded that when people talk about buildings that way, it means they look nice, considering they're old and broke. He talks about all the cattle wandering around the city, as wasted beef on the hoof, seems to call attention to the segregation of the castes in a manner that indicates that he doesn't disapprove, and tells us that people in India look down on farmers. That's something that hard-working Americans would think nonsense.
Perhaps, though, I am stretching. He so often simply rhapsodizes over the beauty of things that any comment that isn't fawning seems disapproving.
