Chaleur et poussière

Very disappointing and drawn out effort that neither gives a realistic or particularly romantic pictures of those seemingly despicable days in India. One or two pretty scenes but low key and seeming dispassionate direction leaves one wondering where the enthusiasm came from to even set this up. Greta Scacchi looks lovely in her first major film but most is overdressed soap opera and Julie Christie seems so lost she must still be wondering why she ever did this.

Unusually structured and travelling at about the speed of India's Metupalayam Ooty Nilgiri Passenger Train, this film still delivers an intriguing story.

Set in India it has the bonus of authentic locations, and features two beautiful actresses at different stages of their careers in the same movie, although they don't share a single scene together.

The story takes a little getting into. It's actually two intertwined stories and starts with Anne (Julie Christie) travelling to India to find out about the life of her great aunt Olivia (Greta Scacchi) - a forerunner of "Who Do You Think You Are?" Flashbacks reveal Olivia's story and the film cuts back and forth from one story to the other as we see that Anne's journey follows Olivia's path, and also begins to parallel her story.

A fascinating aspect of the movie is how it reveals two Indias: one under the British Raj during the 1920's, which Olivia inhabited, and the modern one of the 1980's that Anne experiences.

Over the years there have been many films about British rule in India - Hollywood loved an earlier period especially along the Northwest Frontier, but of late, British films and television have concentrated on the decades just before India's independence - the twilight of the Raj.

Another critical element in the drama is the relationship between a semi-independent prince, the Nawab of Khatm (Shashi Kapoor), and the British rulers. The film shows the attitudes of the British and Indians towards each other, and also the attitudes of the British towards their fellow Britons. It highlights the class system that existed between the races and how crossing that line was linked to the balance of power.

Despite being married to Douglas Rivers (Christopher Cazenove), a British colonial official, Olivia crosses the line, has an affair with the Nawab, and is virtually banished from both societies. Although Anne also has an affair with an Indian, it is 60-years later and no longer has the significance of her great aunt's fall from grace.

This film looks good and composer Richard Robbins created an evocative score blending electronics with Indian instruments.

Although the script and direction understates just about everything, even using narration to glide over what could have been emotion charged scenes, the combination of stars, locations and the lovingly recreated depiction of an era ensures that "Heat and Dust" still leaves an impression.

I'm seeing this for the first time. Although I have enjoyed Merchant-Ivory films in the past (really want to see The Bostonians again, and A Room With a View), I can't say I was affected very much by this one. Shashi Kapoor gets off some funny lines, but is otherwise pretty bland. Nickolas Grace is the only memorable character--as he was in Brideshead Revisited. Passion just isn't present in this movie. Watch A Passage to India instead.

As per usual, James Ivory captures a good feel for the period and setting, helped by, as usual, a fitting Richard Robbins score. As a cultural study, it has some things to say, with an insight into the culture of the indigenous Indian population, but it conveys little in the way of messages, as the screenplay is awfully convoluted, not helped by switching between different narrators and time periods. Some of the supporting characters are not defined well either, and there are a few lethargic gaps between events in the tale. The filming on-location is great, and generally it is all rather well made, but it pales against the work that Merchant-Ivory would produce later on, as this simply is not near a perfect film.

In essence, a ball of nostalgia, clash of two experiences, some drops of Madame Bovary, beautiful acting and fascination about India of a cinema decade and, not last, James Ivory. I saw it as seductive portrait of lost words, beautiful work of Greta Scacchi and Julie Christie and flavors of The Jewel in the Crown.