The River

Jean Renoir’s visually ravishing film of Rumer Godden’s novel about an English family in late-Raj Bengal.

  • Director

    Jean Renoir

  • With

    Patricia Walters, Radha, Adriene Corri, Esmond Knight

  • USA-India-France-UK 1951. 99min

  • 35mm

  • Certificate

    U

Jean Renoir worked with Rumer Godden to adapt her novel, a portrait of an English family living in Bengal towards the end of the Raj. The film comes close to documentary in its contemplative realism, and is partly about the pains and pleasures of young love as experienced by several young women, partly about the cyclical nature of life and death. It boasts remarkable Technicolor camerawork by the director’s brother Claude.

The screening on Wednesday 4 May will be introduced by Geoff Andrew, Programmer-at-Large.