Review of A Passage to India (1984) by Angela B — 07 Oct 2008

The scene of the train seemingly floating across a vast sea of fog under the moonlight in the opening ten minutes is absolutely spectacular. I don't think anyone but Lean can come up with shots like this.

It doesn't hold a candle, or a match, to many scenes in Lawrence, but it's certainly not bad. Every Lean picture should have been made in 70mm. It is most instructive to compare this Forster adaptation to Merchant/Ivory/Jhabvala Forster and James adaptations.

Same author, but vastly different films. It's fairly easy for mew to imagine a M/I/J adaptation of this particular novel and, while it would be spectacular in its own right as almost all their films are, it would certainly lack the scope and majesty of Lean.

Lean reaches for the stars and the moon, literally at times. He has the capacity to operate on an entirely different level. His frames manage to convey such a grand sense of place as to leave one enraptured and speechless at times.

His characters and casting are superb. They are larger than life and yet simultaneously authentic. Lean is certainly not one for understatement. This story could have been a relatively small and short picture, but in his hands it is magnified in every way.

He certainly leaves ample time for reflection and contemplation during the film, which is something sorely lacking in most pictures. Lean certainly knows how to end a picture. There's a certain consistent magic in his best, and even his mediocre, work that few directors can capture.

He is sorely missed. One only wishes he had been a bit more productive.