In 1858, one year following a massive and violent rebellion against the East India Company, the entirety of the Indian subcontinent would become a colony under the direct rule of the British Crown in what was to be known as the British Raj. Queen Victoria would be given the title of Empress of India. Britain would rule India for nearly a century, finally withdrawing from India in 1947 when the United Kingdom was left weakened and incapable of controlling her massive empire in the aftermath of World War II.

It was far from a time of peace and prosperity, and tensions within India were rife. Indian nationalists accused their British overlords of draining India of her wealth. The British colonial government in India also enforced racial discrimination against the Indian populace, to which even the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, was appalled. Indians were also irritated by the government’s use of Indian troops for British imperial campaigns. Many in Britain were appalled by British rule in India, such as the aforementioned prince of Wales, but also English author E.M. Forster, who spent some time in India as the secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas. Inspired by his time in India, Forster wrote his magnum opus, “A Passage to India” in 1924. Forster’s novel would eventually be adapted to the big screen in 1984 by Sir David Lean (“Brief Encounter”) in what would be his final film.

Lean’s adaptation of Forster’s novel was not as grandiose as Lean’s previous work such as “Lawrence of Arabia” or “Doctor Zhivago”. It is more of a grounded picture, and it is interesting to see Lean drive away from action and adventure. James Fox  (“Sherlock Holmes”) and Victor Banerjee (“High Life”), who play Richard Fielding and Doctor Aziz, probably give the best performances in the film. Aziz, takes the elderly Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft, “The 39 Steps”) and her soon to be daughter-in-law Adela Questad (Judy Davis, “Maire Antoinette”) to the Marabar Caves, based on the Barabar Caves of Bihar. During the trip, the claustrophobic Adela suffers a nervous breakdown in one of the caves and believes she had been cornered by Aziz, even though he was actually in a different cave. Aziz was then assumed to have assaulted her and was subsequently arrested.

One aspect that should be appreciated is how the social and ethnic tensions are depicted. The Indian locals believe in the innocence of Doctor Aziz, believing that the trial is nothing more than a sham. Whereas the English seek to put Aziz in prison for his alleged crimes, the British do not seem to want to give Aziz a chance merely because he is an Indian. All of them except for Aziz’s friend Fielding and Mrs. Moore, both of whom believe in Aziz’s innocence much like the locals. Mrs. Moore in particular is appalled by the treatment of the Indians by the local British government, even by her own son’s prejudices towards them.

For his final outing, while nothing like “Lawrence” or Zhivago, Lean has done a good job bringing Forster’s novel to the big screen. For this one, he is left without his usual collaborators, screenwriter Robert Bolt (“The Bounty”) and cinematographer Freddie Young (“Ryan’s Daughter”), in which Lean had to write the film himself and take care of the cinematography. For this, he does a fine job. The scenery is gorgeous much like Lean’s other pictures, and the story dialogue is already engaging. Lean went into retirement in 1970 following the harsh reception towards Ryan’s Daughter, but he proved in his final outing that he never lost his touch. He may not have outdone himself as he did with “Lawrence,” but “A Passage to India” is still a fine picture.

Photo via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment via IMDb