Review of Ganga (1960) by Kevin N — 30 Apr 2011

A luscious technicolor treat from the great Jean Renoir which boasts the same technical brilliance as his earlier masterpieces but has a unique warmth of its own, a love for India and for humanity. These are good performances all, especially Patricia Walters' gentle delivery of young Harriet, a girl on the verge of womanhood who isn't sure if she'd like to leap forward head-first or drag her feet.

But Harriet's innocence actually makes its way into Renoir's telling of the story itself; in the last decade before violence and corruption in the movies would explode, Renoir delivers this sweet, clean and honest movie and asks us to enjoy it with our most childlike senses.

I let it wash over me and take me to a relaxing and redeeming state of mind I had forgotten.