The Stream (1951)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The current |
| Original title | The River |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language |
English Bengali |
| Publishing year | 1951 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jean Renoir |
| script | Jean Renoir and Rumer Godden based on their own novel |
| production |
Kenneth McEldowney Jean Renoir |
| music | M A. Partha Sarathy |
| camera | Claude Renoir |
| cut | George Gale |
| occupation | |
| |
The Stream is an American feature film by Jean Renoir with British-Indian cast that was shot and set in India .
action
The film is narrated in retrospect by the diary- writing 14-year-old Harriet, a young English woman with literary ambitions. She spent a carefree childhood and adolescence with her parents and five siblings (including only one boy named Bogey) in Bengal, East India . Here her father runs a jute factory as a manager . One lives lordly in a feudal house, which stands directly on the bank of the Ganges , the eponymous river. The children are fascinated by the exotic world of their home country; Bogey, for example, really wants to learn from a local how a snake charmer can lure cobras with the flute. Harriet's closest confidante at that time is the somewhat older Valerie, like her Englishwoman, who is about to enter adulthood and is the daughter of the jute factory owner. With the arrival of Melanie John, the daughter of an Englishman and his now deceased Indian wife, another friend appears. Melanie also testifies to the daily difficulties of living between two cultures.
One day an American named Captain John appears on the river, an officer with a prosthetic leg. The captain had lost his leg in World War II just a few years ago and traveled to India to search for meaning and find a new destination for the rest of his life. All three girls fall (more or less) in love with this neat, charming and desirable man who seems to work a magic on women. Harriet, Melanie and Valerie invite Captain John to the Diwali Festival of Lights . Harriet soon gains so much trust in the man who is actually a stranger to her that she even shows him her diary. In order to get his full attention (and to pull him away from Valerie and Melanie), Harriet even tries to impress the older man with her knowledge of Hinduism and tells him a story from this known world. Captain John is polite and gentlemanly , but shows no further interest in Harriet.
Only the almost adult Valerie knows how to “crack” the American. During a romantic rendezvous on the banks of the Ganges, the two of them share a tender kiss, which Harriet, who secretly followed John after the Diwali festival, observes. A world is collapsing for Harriet, especially since immediately before that, her brother Bogey tragically lost his life. Since Harriet feels responsible for his death, she soon loses all courage to face life. She is running away from home and intends to drown herself in the floods of the Ganges. Her attempted suicide with a sailing boat - she tries to sink herself and her boat in a river current - fails, however, because her dead brother's friend saw her steal the skiff, and she is rescued by fishermen. On land, Harriet can be brought back to life by resuscitation.
Meanwhile, Captain John is most interested in the half-Indian Melanie, the most mature of the three girls. But there are misunderstandings, due to the cultural differences and Captain John's sometimes presumptuous attitude , which lead to a break. Despite some disappointment, each of the girls experiences an inner, maturing change through the encounter with Captain John, and the man also comes to new, deeper insights on the Ganges when he leaves India again. The young women read the first letter addressed to them together, and at the same time new life is born in the house of Harriet's parents. The family has another girl, now the sixth.
Production notes
The stream , a mixture of colorful Indian documentaries and coming-of-age history , was made in India in 1949/50 and was probably the technically most complex film that Jean Renoir has ever made. The premiere took place on September 10, 1951 in New York City, the French premiere was on December 19, 1951. In Germany, Der Strom was first seen on November 21, 1952, in Austria on January 23, 1953.
The film-technical building designs come from the hand of Eugène Lourié and were implemented on site by the Indian Bansi Chandragupta . Satyajit Ray was one of several assistant directors of Renoir and, according to his own admission, learned a lot from Renoir's India film for his later staging skills. The sitar music for a solo piece was provided by the just 19-year-old Subrata Mitra , who later became Ray's regular cameraman.
Awards
The film received several awards:
- 1951: International Prize to Jean Renoir at the Venice Film Festival and nomination for the Golden Lion
- 1951: NBR Award (USA) for best foreign film
Reviews
“Great color symphony of river, temple and spring shots, with which the French director Jean Renoir builds a forefinger story of first love happiness and sorrow. With bacchanalian scenes of Hindu sacrificial feasts and Renoir's great discovery, the dancer Radha. Renoir, 57, called the film 'my tribute to India where I was born again'. "
Reclam's film guide said: “Renoir's first color film sets a psychological intimate play in a strange, exotic world that he lovingly portrays. The recurring images of the river, the ships, and the people who live on its banks are more than just decorative adornments. Similar to the hero of the film, Renoir was apparently looking for a lost harmony in India; and his search is not without naive romanticism. "
“In India, he [Renoir] shot a very atmospheric, lyrical story with nephew Claude about life, love and death on the Ganges in Bengal ('The Stream'), which in its harmonious, calm, rhythmic narrative flow and its sometimes intoxicating atmosphere reminded of his best films in the 30s. "
“Experience three adolescent girls in a small British community on the Ganges, each in their own way, their first love for a war-wounded officer who ends up leaving without choosing one of them. A poetic work, the excellent camera work of which includes the electricity as a symbol of life in the dramatic plot. Satyajit Ray, who assisted on the set, was influenced by Renoir's style in his own work. "
“Immensely moving, lyrical adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel about English children growing up in Bengal. One of the great color films, a total triumph for cameraman Claude and director Jean Renoir. "
"A smooth and surprising work from this director, superbly observed and a pleasure to watch, but very thin in terms of drama."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Der Spiegel , No. 49, of December 3, 1952
- ↑ Reclams Filmführer , by Dieter Krusche, collaboration: Jürgen Labenski. P. 496. Stuttgart 1973.
- ^ The current in the lexicon of international film
Web links
- The current in the Internet Movie Database (English)