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The River

Le fleuve (The River)

1951

Jean Renoir

Patricia Walters, Adrienne Corri, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight ...

7.7

4,094

Drama. Romance Harriet (Patricia Walters) is a pensive, awkward, and fanciful adolescent growing up in Bengal near the banks of the river. The eldest child of a jute factory manager (Esmond Knight), she spends most of her days writing poetry in her diary and observing life pass by over the garden walls with her attractive and self-confident friend, Valerie (Adrienne Corri), and her levelheaded, yet superstitious governess, Nan (Suprova Mukerjee). One ... [+]

	Author	Review
Spain	FilmAffinity	"Jean Renoir's 'The River' and Michael Powell's 'The Red Shoes' are "the two most beautiful color films ever made," Martin Scorsese says in an interview on the new Criterion DVD of the restored print -see youtube video-."	POS
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"A haunting reverie of the growing-up of a sensitive English girl (...) the illustrations of the country are beautiful beyond words-the serenity of the river, the power of boatmen sweeping its stream, the bazaars full of color and movement, and the dazzling brilliance of festivals."	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"The film is one of the simplest and most beautiful by Jean Renoir, among the greatest of directors. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Renoir's location work in India and his semi-documentary excursions look great, juxtaposed as they are with his bold fantasy sequences evoking India's spiritual life. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"Masterpiece (...) Renoir's images flow with the same still motion as his metaphorical river"	POS
United Kingdom	Wally Hammond Time Out	"It encompasses the whole cycle of life and is told with a stoic wisdom and simplicity that’s as beautiful as it is moving."	POS
United Kingdom	Philip French The Guardian	"It's a beautifully observed rite-of-passage and culture-clash story"	POS
United States	Ignatiy Vishnevetsky AV Club	"'The River' relies almost entirely on Renoir’s mastery of filmmaking basics. Yet it’s also a complex and mysterious work."	POS
United States	Nikola Grozdanovic IndieWire	"The film is a cinematic love letter to India’s rich culture and traditions (...) [Renoir's] most visually stunning piece of work."	POS
United States	Variety	"This is a beautiful picture, and certainly neither Technicolor nor India ever looked better (...) The characters are completely credible."	POS
United States	Michael Atkinson Village Voice	"Renoir fashioned what might be his sweetest movie about family and one of the post-war years’ most serene cinematic statements."	POS
United States	Clayton Dillard Slant	"Essential (…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	David Parkinson Empire	"Gloriously photographed and providing perceptive insights into contrasting cultures (...) But its attitudes to race and gender now sit as uncomfortably as some of the performances (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU

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