Review of A Passage to India (1984) by Aidan H — 27 Feb 2011
As Lean is one of my favourite directors, I was more than a little excited by the prospect of another epic from the master but, despite decent enough performances from Ashcroft and James Fox, the alleged sexual assault at the heart of the story was so ambiguous it failed to engage my attention.
Davis (as the alleged victim) gives little indication of why she accuses the good doctor and the film's reluctance to fill in the blanks further adds to the mystery and confusion. The lush locations struggle to support the flimsiness of the script whose flirtation with themes of racism and reincarnation hint at something deeper but decline to explore them further.
Lean is capable of taking an intimate story and turning it into an epic but here, the lack of memorable characters and the abstract nature of the central idea didn't sweep me up. Stars for the cinematography.
This review of A Passage to India (1984) was written by Aidan H on 27 Feb 2011.
A Passage to India has generally received positive reviews.
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