Watching A Passage to India (1984) after seeing TV series The Jewel in the Crown (1984) is a bit like watching The Godfather after watching The Sopranos. You think, what's so great about this, ay? Of course, The Sopranos came decades after the Godfather movies, but A Passage to India was contemporary with the production of Jewel in the Crown, and both are inspired by literature, EM Forster's novel and Paul Scott's quartet of novels.
Reading the Wiki page for the movie, it becomes abundantly clear that the novelist, Forster, didn't want his novel turned into a film. His descendants or executors said no, as had he, until the responsibility of refusal was passed on to someone less scrupulous, at which point the rights were acquired and the production went ahead. The movie is directed by David Lean, but Lawrence of Arabia this ain't. It's a long film but not an epic one. Watching some of the same actors who were in Jewel in the Crown play in this movie, albeit in very different roles, is one thing, a curiosity, but it can't prevent the story from being stiff and queasy, like watching someone try to vomit while being on parade. A dignified hurl? There's no such thing.
Better to watch The Jewel in the Crown, which is truly exceptional, as well it might be given its title. A Passage is one of those exotic costume dramas that won Oscars because it was deemed worthy, I suspect, not because it was so very wonderful. Or, at least, it's not so wonderful now.
Reading the Wiki page for the movie, it becomes abundantly clear that the novelist, Forster, didn't want his novel turned into a film. His descendants or executors said no, as had he, until the responsibility of refusal was passed on to someone less scrupulous, at which point the rights were acquired and the production went ahead. The movie is directed by David Lean, but Lawrence of Arabia this ain't. It's a long film but not an epic one. Watching some of the same actors who were in Jewel in the Crown play in this movie, albeit in very different roles, is one thing, a curiosity, but it can't prevent the story from being stiff and queasy, like watching someone try to vomit while being on parade. A dignified hurl? There's no such thing.
Better to watch The Jewel in the Crown, which is truly exceptional, as well it might be given its title. A Passage is one of those exotic costume dramas that won Oscars because it was deemed worthy, I suspect, not because it was so very wonderful. Or, at least, it's not so wonderful now.