The Village Has No Walls

Into the 1940s Maharashtra village comes a fledgling teacher on a mission from the Raja to provide the local children with an education. It takes time for him to win the elders' confidence; to persuade the shepherd villagers to spare their children for lessons; to allay fears that he's after their women; to overcome the jealous threats of one inhospitable local; to come to terms with traditional disciplines and superstitions - until eventually he finds himself an indispensible part of the community. This leisurely, well-populated film has ethnological and historical interest, but as drama it rather saps one's patience. (Adapted by Vynakatesh Madgulkar from his own famous 1953 Marathi novel.