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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
One of the places I would like to travel to is India. I would like to see the Taj Mahal (yes, I know it is cliché) but also dive deep into the culture and try some food. India is a fascinating place to me. It is the most populous country in the world, with over a billion people. I even took several classes with individuals from this country. They have all been extremely friendly to me, and I would love to see their country.
Last year, I traveled to London to see the Crown Jewels. While learning about the Crown, I learned about its history and how the government of India wanted it back. This reminded me of the film Ghandi when India wanted independence from the Crown. A Passage to India is a film set before India’s independence. It was during a time called the British Raj when the British Crown ruled over India from 1858 to 1947. Almost an entire century. I need to research the British rule and all the countries that made up the United Kingdom. I don’t want to go into much detail about this because I don’t know about it. I can say that there was racism and classism involved.
During my quest to watch the Academy Award films in five major categories, I landed upon A Passage to India. If it hadn’t been for my journey to watch all those films, I probably would’ve never watched or even known about this film. The film was written, directed, and edited by David Lean, who did Lawerance of Arabia, so you know it will have some decent quality. It was based on a 1960s play and a 1924 novel by E.M. Forster. I want to take a second to talk about E.M. He wrote A Room with a View and Howards End. If you watched those two films, you know its all about that Victorian age style and feel.
I thought this film would be about a few white people rolling up in India, learning about the culture, and trying to make a few changes as they see the wrongs in India. The whole white savior angel of films. I will say that the film’s first half was boring but the second half had more drama than some T.V. shows. Set in the 1920s, Adela Quested (Davis) is sailing from England to the British Raj India with Mrs. Moore (Ashcroft), the mother of her fiancé, Ronny Heaslop (Havers), her son from her first marriage. The pair roll up to Chandrapore where Heaslop is the city magistrate and looks down upon the Indian people. Dude is racists and has a tree branch up his ass. Adela has some medical stuff going on and plans on staying while Mrs. Moore is staying for a few weeks and rolling out back to England. The pair arrive in Bombay and must travel 1000 miles to Chandrapore. Damn, I am happy we have planes because why even travel. Take a few weeks just to get to the place.
Upon arrival, Adela and Mrs. Moore think there will be harmony and that people will get along. They soon realize that the British community is straight-up segregated from the Indian population and culture in the heat of an Indian independence movement. During the first half of the film, we learn about certain characters. First, there is Major McBryde (Culver), who oversees law and order and another racist. Then there is Collector Turton (Wilson), Ronny’s boss, and his wife, Mrs. Turton (Pemberton). Turton is chill and wants peace as he attempts to help Adela and Mrs. Moore meet Indians in social settings. Adela is heartbroken when she sees that the British straight-up treat the Indians bad and are seen as distrustful and not on their level.
Mrs. Moore runs into the BEST character in the film at a local mosque, Dr. Aziz Ahmed (Banerjee). Aziz is a widower who is shocked to see her but acknowledges her kindness and not being a racist. Aziz offers to host an excursion to the local Marabar Caves during the trek. Godbole tries to discourage the excursion to the ladies, and Ronny is entirely against hanging with Indians. You have to see some other characters who are iffy.
I will jump to where the film’s second half starts because that is when the drama hits. As I said, the first half is meeting characters and is pretty slow. Mrs. Moore gets claustrophobic at the caves because of the cave’s limited size and the large crowd’s noise, where their voices echo. Mrs. Moore goes outside to rest while she thinks that Adela and Aziz continue the exploration of the caves with the help of a guide. Adela and Aziz seemed to connect as she asked him about his wife and whether he loved her. When they reach the highest elevation, Aziz steps away to get a quick cigarette smoke in before entering the caves. Adela walks in, starts hearing things, and soon runs off. After his smoke, Aziz notices that Adela is gone and rushes to find her. He then sees her running down the hill like she is on fire. She is picked up by the doctor, who takes her away. Adela arrives at their house bloodied as if she had been in a fight and delirious. You know what homegirl does?? She says that Aziz tried to sexually assault her inside the caves. What the fuck is that shit?!?!
When Aziz returns to Chandrapore, there is a mob, and Aziz is arrested. This shows the explicit racism and gap between the Indians and the British. Ali and Hamidullah volunteer to represent Aziz because they see the wrong in the case. I want to say that Godbole was at peace with things. It has to be the culture because this dude tells Fielding that he is not worried or concerned because no matter if he protests or not, the trial’s outcome has already been decided. The good-natured heart of Mrs. Moore firmly states to her punk ass son that Aziz is innocent and throws the middle figure up at her son and bounces back to England. She should’ve stayed to testify, but on the ship back to England, she suffers a heart attack and dies. What the fuck is that shit?!?!
The entire court scene was a JOKE! Aziz’s lawyers know it’s a joke and make a scene. There are a few faces you might see where you know them from other films. When he starts questioning Adela, Major McBryde knows he has the case in the bag. The problem is, Adela says that Aziz never entered the cave, said it was false, and that she doesn’t love that punk-ass Ronny. Shit went down. The judge says Aziz is free, and you would think the Super Bowl was won because the people went wild when hearing the verdict.
That was the whole film with people dealing with the consequences. I liked the ending as Aziz wrote Adela a letter stating that he forgave her and some other things. It was a nice little ending showing Aziz is a way better man. Did he have anger? You bet your ass he did, but to forgive after learning some things shows tremendous character.
I want to talk about several people who deserve credit. First, Judy Davis, as Adela Quested, was really good and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. You can tell when someone is good when you somewhat hate her for making false accusations. Davis’s major scene came from the court case. She was acting for gold in that scene. Secondly, I want to talk about Peggy Ashcroft as Mrs. Moore. Ashcroft was cool and awesome as Peggy. She won the Academy Award for her role. She showed that her character wanted people to get along and change because people were suffering.
Let me get to the true superstar of the film. That person is Victor Banerjee as Dr. Aziz Ahmed. I don’t know how in the world Banerjee wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award. That was highway robbery, and you have TWO people nominated for a film that year. Banerjee was excellent in his role. He was passionate and emotional when he needed to be, along with having a sweet and heartfelt smile. Dude was robbed out of a nomination.
A Passage to India is a good film that starts off slow and then gets good towards the end. This film isn’t for everyone. It is one of many British films that is Academy Award worthy. I was happy that I watched it, but it isn’t a film that I would probably watch again as it is not my thing. Watch it to lead you to learn about the Indian Independence movement.
