No Lean task this!

March 25th marked the centenary year of David Lean, one of my favourite directors. I must confess I have’nt seen most of Lean’s films and am told most of his later work, notably a Passage to India, was a “truckload of shit”, but that does’nt detract one bit from his work that I did like, The Bridge on the River Kwai. I remember seeing it many years ago. It came as a late night movie on Star Movies and I watched it long after my parents were asleep. Usually my late night TV viewing is dedicated to sleazy shows like “Hot &Wild” or “Happy Birthday” on FTV. However I remember that night was different. I could’nt catch most of the dialogues and the story sometimes went over my head (I was barely 11, okay!)…(umm..yeah I did watch FTV even then!)..but the thing that struck me most powerfully was the visuals. Man! The cinematography was gorgeous! The visuals didnt just hit you, they seemed to envelop you. The suffering of the POWs and the war appeared so near. Alec Guinness as Col. Nick was fabulous and so was William Holden. Long after the movie had ended, I lay twisting and turning, unable to get the film out of my mind. A more or less similar thing happened with Lean’s other masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia. I have seen it about a dozen times now and am yet to be bored. There was something very arresting in Lean’s work, some sort of a “Leanism”. I am yet to figure it out though!

Bravo David!

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