Bhowani Junction

 

 

Create your own review

Powerful and turbulent film about a beautiful Anglo-Indian woman during the last days of British India. The appropriately exotic-looking Ava Gardner is perfect as the ravishing but anguished and tormented half-caste Victoria Jones, who is emotionally torn by her conflicting loyalties between Britain and India, made only more difficult by her romantic feelings for three very different men with wildly disparate political proclivities--a British colonel, an Indian loyalist, and a fellow Anglo-Indian. The three men who are the object of Victoria's affections are excellent, with Bill Travers as the half-caste whom she shares the same uncomfortable and confusing position of not being fully of both worlds but nevertheless belonging to both, but while he is wholeheartedly content to renounce his Indian roots, she is not; Francis Matthews (in full Indian makeup) as the Sikh whom Victoria is fascinated by with his unwavering patriotism and native customs which she has long neglected and he reintroduces her to; and Stewart Granger as the dutiful, hardened colonel that is strangely sympathetic to Victoria's plight and turns out to be the one she truly loves, but whom she wisely gives up for the time being in order to "find" herself first. Also good is Lionel Jeffries in a chilling performance as a lieutenant and would-be rapist who disturbingly lusts after Victoria. But no matter how powerful and poignant Victoria's story is, even more forceful is the backdrop which it is set against in the historical time of British India and all the complex and emotional issues which inevitably accompanied that period--colonialism to independence, violence or Gandhi's idea of peace.

Powerful and turbulent film about a beautiful Anglo-Indian woman during the last days of British India. The appropriately exotic-looking Ava Gardner is perfect as the ravishing but anguished and tormented half-caste Victoria Jones, who is emotionally torn by her conflicting loyalties between Britain and India, made only more difficult by her romantic feelings for three very different men with wildly disparate political proclivities--a British colonel, an Indian loyalist, and a fellow Anglo-Indian. The three men who are the object of Victoria's affections are excellent, with Bill Travers as the half-caste whom she shares the same uncomfortable and confusing position of not being fully of both worlds but nevertheless belonging to both, but while he is wholeheartedly content to reject his Indian roots, she is not; Francis Matthews (an Englishman in full Indian makeup) as the Sikh whom Victoria is fascinated by with his unwavering patriotism and native customs that she has long neglected and which he reintroduces her to; and Stewart Granger as the dutiful, hardened colonel that is strangely sympathetic to Victoria's turmoil and turns out to be the one she truly loves, but whom she wisely sees off for the time being in order to "find" herself first. Also good is Lionel Jeffries in a chilling performance as a lieutenant and would-be rapist who disturbingly lusts after Victoria. But no matter how powerful and poignant Victoria's story is, even more forceful is the backdrop which it is set against in the historical time of British India and all the issues which inevitably accompanied that period--colonialism to independence, violence or Gandhi's idea of peace.

Powerful and turbulent film about a beautiful Anglo-Indian woman during the last days of British India. The appropriately exotic-looking Ava Gardner is perfect as the ravishing but anguished and tormented half-caste Victoria Jones, who is emotionally torn by her conflicting loyalties between Britain and India, made only more complicated by her romantic feelings for three very different men with wildly disparate political proclivities--a British colonel, an Indian loyalist, and a fellow Anglo-Indian. The three men who are the objects of Victoria's affections are excellent, with Bill Travers as the half-caste whom she shares the same uncomfortable and confusing position of not being fully of both worlds but nevertheless belonging to both, but while he is content to wholeheartedly reject his Indian roots, she is not; Francis Matthews (in full Indian makeup) as the Sikh whom Victoria is fascinated by with his unwavering patriotism and native customs that she has long neglected and which he reintroduces her to; and Stewart Granger as the dutiful, hardened colonel that is strangely sympathetic to Victoria's plight and turns out to be the one she truly loves, but whom she wisely gives up for the time being to "find" herself first. Also good is Lionel Jeffries in a chilling performance as a lieutenant and would-be rapist who disturbingly lusts after Victoria. But no matter how powerful and poignant Victoria's story is, even more forceful is the backdrop which it is set against in the historical time of British India and all the issues which inevitably accompany that period--colonialism to independence, violence or Gandhi's idea of peace. A comment--As terrific as I felt Ava was, I always thought it really would of been something to see the equally ravishing Merle Oberon, the only real-life Anglo-Indian star at the time (and even to this day) as half-caste Victoria. Although she was still very youthful-looking when this film was made, she would probably not even be considered since she would be considered too old at the time (in her early to mid-forties) and her star had already faded. Not to mention that Oberon would never agree to appear in a film portraying the half-caste she was in reality since it would hit too close to home as she spent her lifetime suppressing and denying her heritage, even till her death. Nevertheless, even an Oberon fan like me isn't sure that she coulda done a better job than the Scotch-Irish Gardner, who turns in such an agonizing, sincere performance as if she were an Anglo-Indian herself.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

4.0 out of 5 stars Choas of India's Independence
This is an interesting flick which shows the choas that created India and Pakistan as two inperfect nations. Read more

Published on Nov 13 2002 by Roger Kennedy

2.0 out of 5 stars Torpid and turgid trivialisation of important topic
Ava Gardner once described this as the most difficult film of her career.I tend to assume that she meant the physical grind of location filming in Pakistan,rather than the... Read more

Published on Dec 19 2001 by F. J. Harvey

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ava Gardner !!!!
Ava Gardner once more shows how good she can be in a dramatic part with this role as an Anglo Indian trying to exist in a world where she is respected by neither the British nor... Read more

Published on Nov 1 2001 by Daniel G. Madigan

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!