Heat and Dust
Time Out says
Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from her own novel, Heat and Dust fuses several Merchant Ivory themes: the exoticism of India stirring English blood, the past hanging heavy over the present, dirty dealings flourishing behind a cloak of good manners. Anne (Christie) arrives in India to investigate the story of her great-aunt Olivia (Scacchi), cause of a considerable Raj scandal in the '20s. Ivory cuts back and forth between the newly-married Olivia's discovery of India, crashing colonial boredom relieved only by outings with the local Nawab (Kapoor); and Anne's as she follows obsessively in her great-aunt's footsteps. But whereas Olivia's spirited disregard for convention lands her in disgrace, the same path 60 years later leads Anne towards self-awareness and contentment. Directed with Ivory's customary charm, the film boasts fine performances (Christie and Scacchi in particular), and switches periods with effortless ease, striking up a fine network of ironies along the way. Passion, never one of Ivory's strong points, does get rather submerged beneath a welter of local colour; a delight none the less.
Details
Release details
Duration:
130 mins
Cast and crew
Director:
James Ivory
Screenwriter:
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Cast:
Julie Christie
Greta Scacchi
Christopher Cazenove
Shashi Kapoor
Madhur Jaffrey
Charles McCaughan
Barry Foster
Nickolas Grace
Zakir Hussain
Greta Scacchi
Christopher Cazenove
Shashi Kapoor
Madhur Jaffrey
Charles McCaughan
Barry Foster
Nickolas Grace
Zakir Hussain