ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
It is the story of a love paralysed at the height of passion. Around the contours of this story lingers another one: a horror story in which famine and leprosy coalesce in the pestilential humidity of monsoon season—immobilised, too, in a daily paroxysm.
Born out of one of Duras’s childhood memories in French Indochina – to which she returned obsessively across different forms – India Song follows Anne-Marie Stretter, the wife of the French ambassador to India, who spends her days inside an opulent mansion, soaked in sweat and ennui. The hostess of a lavish reception to the colonial elite, she performs her diplomatic role surrounded by many suitors (most notably the hysterical vice-consul of Lahore, in an unforgettable performance by Michael Lonsdale). India Song is the culmination of a long and rich collaboration with Delphine Seyrig, who was told by Duras to act like the “understudy” of Anne-Marie Stretter: “You are not to embody the heroine, because no one can embody her. The heroine is inside of me – that is where she is – that is where she was born, so it is impossible to project her.”
With beautiful tableau-like compositions (the work of cinematographer Bruno Nuytten, a frequent collaborator who shot the whole ‘Indian Cycle’ of which India Song is the centrepiece), and a regal colour palette – rich in greens, reds and whites – India Song moves as sumptuously and as gracefully as Seyrig’s Stretter, choreographed to the sounds of a chattering disembodied chorus; the desperate cries of a beggar woman; and the unforgettable tangos and rumbas composed by the Argentinian, Carlos d’Alessio.
The screening will be preceded by an introduction by film critic Phuong Le.
Born out of one of Duras’s childhood memories in French Indochina – to which she returned obsessively across different forms – India Song follows Anne-Marie Stretter, the wife of the French ambassador to India, who spends her days inside an opulent mansion, soaked in sweat and ennui. The hostess of a lavish reception to the colonial elite, she performs her diplomatic role surrounded by many suitors (most notably the hysterical vice-consul of Lahore, in an unforgettable performance by Michael Lonsdale). India Song is the culmination of a long and rich collaboration with Delphine Seyrig, who was told by Duras to act like the “understudy” of Anne-Marie Stretter: “You are not to embody the heroine, because no one can embody her. The heroine is inside of me – that is where she is – that is where she was born, so it is impossible to project her.”
With beautiful tableau-like compositions (the work of cinematographer Bruno Nuytten, a frequent collaborator who shot the whole ‘Indian Cycle’ of which India Song is the centrepiece), and a regal colour palette – rich in greens, reds and whites – India Song moves as sumptuously and as gracefully as Seyrig’s Stretter, choreographed to the sounds of a chattering disembodied chorus; the desperate cries of a beggar woman; and the unforgettable tangos and rumbas composed by the Argentinian, Carlos d’Alessio.
The screening will be preceded by an introduction by film critic Phuong Le.
04:00 pm
Sat, 03 Aug 2024
Cinema 1
06:30 pm
Wed, 14 Aug 2024
Cinema 1
Red Members gain unlimited access to all exhibitions, films, talks, performances and Cinema 3.
Join today for £20/month.
no. 236848.