| Sixty years
ago, a young and vibrant Greta Scacchi travels to colonial India to be with her
husband who is a junior consul in government service, and becomes
enthralled with India. Her least favorite thing? The stodgy English
women who also live there. Her favorite thing? The local prince, and
the excitement of the Indian court.
The film takes place in two time
frames. In the 1920s, a young and vibrant Greta Scacchi travels to
colonial India to be with her husband who is a junior consul in
government service, and becomes enthralled with India. Her least
favorite thing? The stodgy English women who also live there. Her
favorite thing? The local prince, and the excitement of the Indian
court.
Meanwhile, cut to present day, and Scacchi's grand niece, played by
Julie Christie, comes to India based on her great aunt's letters home,
to trace her steps and understand her. In reality, she is trying to find
herself after a disastrous relationship with a married man. The two
women follow strikingly parallel paths, even to becoming pregnant. At
the same time, the switching time frame device allow colonial India to
be contrasted with the present, and also shows the fascination of India
in both eras. Even if the story doesn't grab you, there are two other
good reasons to see this film. The cinematography is wonderful, and
Greta Scacchi, in her first film role, gets naked. |
DVD info from Amazon
-
Autobiography of a Princess, a
55-minute film about Royal India starring James Mason and
Madhur Jaffrey, directed by James Ivory and written by Ruth
Prawer Jhabvala
-
Conversation with the filmmakers,
part of a new series of interviews with James Ivory, Ismail
Merchant, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Richard Robbins
-
Widescreen
anamorphic format
|
|
So, we have beautiful
imagery, nudity, historical and cultural interest, love stories, and
fine performances from both Scacchi and Julie Christie. I think
the film has more appeal for estrogen oriented viewers, but it held my
interest, despite the fact that historical dramas are not generally my
favorite. Scoop's note:
Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala (Producer, Director, Writer) have churned out
more than 20 movies together. When it comes to costume dramas about the
British Empire, they rule the roost. Ivory has been thrice-nominated for
the best director Oscar. (Remains of the Day, Howard's End, A Room With
a View). Jhabvala won the Oscars for best adapted screenplay for the
latter two films, and was nominated for the other. |
The
Critics Vote ...
|
The People
Vote ...
|
| IMDb
guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of
excellence, about like three and a half stars
from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm
watchability, about like two and a half stars
from the critics. The fives are generally not
worthwhile unless they are really your kind of
material, about like two stars from the critics.
Films under five are generally awful even if you
like that kind of film, equivalent to about one
and a half stars from the critics or less,
depending on just how far below five the rating
is. My own
guideline: A means the movie is so good it
will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not
good enough to win you over if you hate the
genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an
open mind about this type of film. C means it will only
appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover
appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you
like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if
you love the genre. F means that the film is not only
unappealing across-the-board, but technically
inept as well.
Based on this description,
I think the film has more appeal for estrogen oriented viewers,
but it held my interest, despite the fact that historical dramas
are not generally my favorite, so I will give this one a B-. Beautiful imagery, nudity, historical and cultural
interest, love stories, and fine performances from both Scacchi and
Julie Christie.
|
|
