India Song

It's unfortunate that this film is not available in vhs or dvd form for the viewing public. India Song is a great example of Duras' reworking of the traditional relationship between sound and image. The emphasis on the sound track is a crucial aspect of the film as the viewer is actively challenged to figure out which voice belongs to which character and the chronology of events in the narrative. Ofcourse, this separation of sound and image can be troubling for some and unfortunately Duras' films are often labeled "difficult" . But for those up to the challenge you won't be disappointed.

Cult films, with a slow speed, filmmakers have produced a lot in Europe, many in Brazil and Asia, and some even in Hollywood, industry that excels by the narrative cinema of fast cuts and action and comedy and adventure without complications in the plot (and now increasingly chroma key due to the billionaire success of the superhero movies Marvel & DC Comics). And why such a huge phrase?! To contrast, my friends, to contrast (this i learn in the brief workshop "Creative Writing for Comments on YouTube"). Because Marguerite Duras masterpiece apparently fits the cult movie label that no one watched because they collapsed from boredom. But they made a mistake. Hassle is a missing element in this good piece of film. The off-screen narration is the perfect guide to the dance of characters flowing across the screen and above all to the coming and going of the protagonist Anne-Marie Stretter (Delphine Seyrig) in doubt about what love she would choose. Pure cinematographic poetry (man, this deserves a hashtag ... #PureCinematographicPoetry... okay, I liked it).

ps: translation brazilian portuguese/english made by Google (blame on it)

I've seen India Song two times. The first time I saw it I fell asleep after thirty minutes or so. There's a scream somewhere in the film that woke me up for a while, but it didn't last. Anyway I was intrigued by the way the images and the narration was juxtaposed, they don't really play the same tune. The images are soft, cool and slow, while the narration was telling us about strong emotions. A pretty good picture of the angst of the priviliged classes in colonial service. I sort of missed the details of the plot, but I think I got the essence of the film. The second time I saw it I stayed awake for five reels (I was counting the shiftmarks) but it was still beautiful and I truly enjoyed it. It's a one of a kind movie and I think it should be credited for that.

I was taken aback at first - the complete absence of spoken dialogue from the cast was a bit unnerving - instead, the film consists of two strands, visual and aural. Visually, the film is slow, languorous and visually sensual. It is almost a 'silent' film. Aurally, the film consists of voices over, providing not so much a narrative as recollections. The voices over (not being a fluent French speaker I had to rely on sub-titles) are telling a story of events that happened in the past whilst the cast act out the events as though they are the ghosts of the buildings in which the events were played out. But there is a story - of a woman married to a French diplomat, living for the time being in Calcutta, who takes lovers to relieve the tedious boredom of social niceties (and the heat, dust and flies). This story is punctuated by one scene in which someone who has fallen in love with her makes his feelings known to her and then, betraying the norms of his society, declares his feelings and his despair, by getting emotional about it - very emotional. I was transfixed. Fortunately, I watched it on DVD having recorded it from BBC4 - so I've got it to watch again, as I shall most certainly do.

She's great, it's her vision which is superb. She made this film cos she wanted us to be a poet. No wonder India Song is very unique among all other films. I watched a lot of films, but I've never been met a picture like this. Which threaten you to be a poet. No action, no story, no climax, just her vision. To watch these art house flicks, process of understanding and analyzing is most important, it will sharpen up your vision, then you can use it in your everyday life, and it will definitely makes your life richer mentally.

Someone once said, to read Duras's books, it's just like writing a book. So, maybe, to watch her movies is like co-creating a film also.

Old memories is like a ghost story. I once read Mrs. Stretter really exists and India Song based on Duras's memory. It's fun to look at the beautiful ghosts singing and dancing