The River
Classic film by Jean Renoir (The Rules Of The Game) about an adolescent who lives with her English family on the banks of the Ganges during the last years of British colonial life.
Renoir’s first feature film in colour, a lyrical adaptation of Rumer Godden’s popular coming-of-age novel, follows a close-knit upper-class British family in the final period of colonial India. Harriet and her four teenage sisters are raised in a philosophy that embraces both Christianity and Hinduism. Their quiet life is disrupted by the arrival of a soldier recovering from the horrors of war, who offers the girls a glimpse of a wider world they have never been exposed to before. Featuring stunning Technicolor cinematography by Claude Renoir capturing the majestic beauty of Bengal, THE RIVER is a treat for the eye and the mind. The film was an important source of inspiration for the young Satyajit Ray who met and befriended Jean Renoir on the film set.