Heat and Dust

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source: Heat and Dust

Everything that is part of this movie is of poor quality as none of the sets have anything special and so are the actors. The plot ensures a certain fun and curiosity but in the end it is certainly not an original story, nor really interesting. As always there are cultural contrasts between the cultures of very primitive peoples and the European one which is always mocked in order to defend the weak and the inferior ones.

It's a story told in two different time periods of two different woman who are attached by decision taken by both of them in there lives. Both the era generated by director with there details are mesmerizing, but modern day India dulls against the British one as there are many clichés that are shown which exist till today among western countries about India. Period films are mastered by merchant ivory production and this one of the finest examples of it. We are captured by the brilliant photography and then by the characters etched by screenwriter and director. Greta schahi proves her mettle in her first major role and Julie Christie is just as natural as always. Casting of every little character is perfect. Best thing is the way story is told, how two era become one and how easily is one moving from one to other.modern day story dulls little bit against raj era one but it is saved by Julie Christie's beautiful presence. Certain question arise and they are answered beautifully. How we get in a relationship with someone who is so different from us culturally and in every way, is it just the avaibality or something more ? Human mind is such an intriguing place to understand. Why we take certain steps always remains a question. Just like the character of chid. Who is running away from world yet is attached to it.

This is an awesome movie, I am not writing a critical review, perhaps it is because I allow myself to fade into the film, I am transported to that time and place, I am not looking to find fault with this or that. I have just recently discovered this Ivory Merchant production, a flawless gem from 1983, interesting and amazing. I was enthralled and spellbound with the performance of the beautiful British actress primarily Greta Scacchi, similarly easy on the eye, an apt and good role for the lovely Julie Christie, with a host of other well known stars. Rating 6.6? I don't think so... the compelling authentic storyline of the British Raji in India in the 1920s, the music, the photography make it first class for me. I see no weaknesses as indicated by other reviewers. Obviously there is a mutual attraction between the British Officer's wife and the handsome, powerful Indian Prince, what other details need be explained? This DVD goes into my collection with the other Ivory Merchant masterpieces, Howards End, Room with a View and Remains of the Day. 24 yrs old, I am glad I found it in 2008 Comment from Malcolm in Toronto, 23rd February 2008

As per usual, James Ivory captures a good feel for the period and setting, helped by, as usual, a fitting Richard Robbins score. As a cultural study, it has some things to say, with an insight into the culture of the indigenous Indian population, but it conveys little in the way of messages, as the screenplay is awfully convoluted, not helped by switching between different narrators and time periods. Some of the supporting characters are not defined well either, and there are a few lethargic gaps between events in the tale. The filming on-location is great, and generally it is all rather well made, but it pales against the work that Merchant-Ivory would produce later on, as this simply is not near a perfect film.

In essence, a ball of nostalgia, clash of two experiences, some drops of Madame Bovary, beautiful acting and fascination about India of a cinema decade and, not last, James Ivory. I saw it as seductive portrait of lost words, beautiful work of Greta Scacchi and Julie Christie and flavors of The Jewel in the Crown.

Excellent film, maybe Merchant-Ivory's best. The story is wonderfully compelling. I love how the lives of the two British women are linked together. It's fascinating to see how differently they were treated by falling in love an Indian at different times in the same century. Great roles for Julie Christie and Greta Scaachi to play in this beautiful and poetic film. It's filled with great character parts for the English and Indian people surrounding them. Lots of food for thought, the film touches on the traditions and ways of life of both cultures showing how trapped people could be. There are some funny incidents when the cultures clash. The end brings both sadness and hope. A very underrated film that deserves to be seen and remembered!

I'm seeing this for the first time. Although I have enjoyed Merchant-Ivory films in the past (really want to see The Bostonians again, and A Room With a View), I can't say I was affected very much by this one. Shashi Kapoor gets off some funny lines, but is otherwise pretty bland. Nickolas Grace is the only memorable character--as he was in Brideshead Revisited. Passion just isn't present in this movie. Watch A Passage to India instead.

This is a film that I truly wanted to love because as a fan of the Merchant Ivory films, it seemed to have a lot of potential. Also, being interested in Indian culture, I wanted to see it for that aspect, and there I was not disappointed. You get a lot of that but you do not get much story. It is an examination of a woman's life through letters left behind that are in the hands of her great-niece Julie Christie. Greta Scacchi, in her film debut, gets better material than Christie, and her performance and character reminds me of an underrated drama she did a few years later, "White Mischief". When Christie arrives in India, she goes to the exact locations where her aunt went 60 years before, and in comparing that gap, it appears that not much has changed. In a sense, she is nearly possessed by her aunt Spirit as she finds herself drawn into this strange culture, finding solace there and making friends with the locals, eventually having an affair with a married Indian man. As I said above, the better sequences are the earlier ones, dealing with newlyweds Scacchi and Christopher Cazenove, and it's obvious that she finds little passion in that marriage. She's very similar in that area to Miss Quested in "A Passage to India" and Karin Blixen in "Out of Africa", but those are better films that flow with better pacing and more interesting stories. You don't even get the vistas of the beautiful Indian countryside, just glimpses into some of the traditions and a bit of historical relevance. It's nearly humorless and at times that makes it tedious to get through.