Review of Ganga (1960) by Daniel K — 15 Jan 2010

4: Any rational person would have to agree that The River is among the Top 10 most beautiful Technicolor pictures ever made. It belongs in the same category as films like The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. At first, this might seem surprising since it was Renoir's first color film and he filmed it with an Indian cameraman, also his first color film, and his son. However, one must never forget that we are talking about the great Jean Renoir, who knows more than a little about framing and color. The Indian cameraman, Ramananda Sen Gupta, also seems to have had quite an eye and was apparently assisted by the great Satyajit Ray and his cinematographer, Subrata Mitra. Still, despite the genius behind the camera, it is a bit unexpected that they'd be able to perfect the process to such an extent the first time around. It doesn't hurt that the landscapes and images chosen for inclusion in the film are so unique and beautiful. I still think ray's Pather Panchali may be the most beautifully filmed Indian picture I've ever seen, but this is certainly the best color version of the country out there. There is more than enough photography of the the river to qualify this as a documentary of sorts. Apart from the photography, the other key elements of the film are the story and the voiceover narration. Few films are able to utilize voiceover narration so effectively. I suspect the reason for this is that Rumer Godden (via June Hillman) was simply able to read her original words over the types of images she was imagining/recalling in her head as she wrote them. It's a superb story and just the right elements are brought out in the film. Despite being only 99 minutes and taking everything at a leisurely pace, one feels quite connected to the characters and locales in the end. It is a timeless tale in an exotic, yet familar, country filled with wonderful performances. It is always fascinating how alike some of Jean Renoir's films are to Auguste Renoir's paintings. They share many of the same soft, swirling, and calm qualities, while arousing similar emotions. They even seem to look somewhat similar in my mind's eye as a I relfect back upon them. This is one of Renoir's greatest and I suspect I may be selling it a bit short at 4 stars.

Addendum: Flixster really needs to fix the date on this entry.