A Passage to India
Introduction
Fourteen years separate not only the publication of EM Forster's last two novels, but also the release of David Lean's final two films. Lean's adaptation of Forster's 1924 novel A Passage to India, for both men their last major work, was also partly based on Santha Rama Rau's stage adaptation of the book, which had already been televised by the BBC in 1965. For the first time since he had become a director, Lean also took solo screenwriting and editing credits on the film.
Although appearing outwardly to continue the series of epic stories set in exotic lands that Lean began with Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), it is actually much closer in spirit to his more intimate projects like Summertime (1955) and in particular one of his first films, Brief Encounter (1945). All three films focus on the emotional and psychological turmoil of a middle class woman brought about by her seemingly irrational and destructive behaviour as the result of sexual passion. In addition, Lean repeats the structure of Brief Encounter, book ending both films with sequences showing its female protagonist back home, reflecting on the transformative possibilities of her recent emotional experiences. Lean even provides for the possibility that these two women may in fact be conjuring up memories and feelings that may have happened only in their imaginations, which is the crux of the courtroom drama at the centre of A Passage to India. The scenes showing Miss Quested back in London do not appear in the original novel, which begins and ends quite differently to the finished film, while the events in the Marabar caves which lead to the trial are treated more ambiguously by Forster.
Aficionados of the book were quick to complain of the ways in which the movie version deviated from its source material, but some of the new scenes, while perhaps cruder than their literary equivalent, are among the most memorable of the film. This is particularly true of the striking scene in which Miss Quested wanders into the ruin of a palace now overrun by monkeys. As she explores the site, she realises that the murals depict a number of sexual images, all of which draw her in and contribute to her dawning sense that the passion and romance the she is really seeking are lacking in her fiancé. Her reverie, which anticipates the events in the Marabar caves, is then shattered by the sudden shrieking of the monkeys.
Although Adela Quested becomes more central in the film version than in the novel, Dr Aziz, especially in Victor Banerjee's subtle performance, remains the true focus of the narrative. His character is the most fully realised in the movie, and the only one that emerges truly changed by the events that take place. He is also given the most detailed and impressive personal arc, something that is put into sharp relief when compared with most of the other characters. Although Miss Quested and Fielding are forced to re-assess their respective roles in the society in which they live, we barely see them change as people. Even Mrs Moore (like Dr Godbole) never really develops as a person, and while the audience is invited to share and agree with her expressed views, they remain fixed and unwavering from the outset and she is ultimately unable to help anyone. In the end she simply departs, leaving everything unresolved behind her, dying while on her way back home.
In retrospect, despite the controversy over the changes to the original story and the predictable polemics over the eccentric casting of Alec Guinness in the role of Dr Godbole, it remains a powerful and moving film. What is also now clear is how well Lean succeeds in the complex task of being true to both his pictorial sensibilities and in using them to critically illustrate the characters' romantic fantasies about the mysterious Indian sub-continent. Significantly, he accomplishes this while still retaining both Forster's critical view of the British Raj as well as his essentially humanist tone.
On its initial release the film had mixed critical fortunes, but it won two Academy Awards, and was a modest success at the box office. This lead to a number of adaptations of Forster's other novels, including A Room with a View (d. James Ivory, 1986), Maurice (d. James Ivory, 1987), Where Angels Fear to Tread (d. Charles Sturridge, 1991) and Howard's End (d. James Ivory, 1992).
The BFI regrets that it is not currently possible to display materials relating to this project.
Sergio Angelini