Shot in stunning Technicolor and set in India, Jean Renoir's The River tells the story of two young British sisters and a local woman who fall in love with an American soldier, vying for his attention as life goes on around them on the banks of the Ganges. It is beautiful to look at and the general theme, the constant flow of the river mirroring the never-ending cycle of life, is of interest, but you can't help but feel that the film is unable to make up its mind whether it wants to be a travelogue or a coming-of-age romance, marred by the often unnecessary and always didactic voiceover narration. It's apparently one of Martin Scorsese's favorite films, so who's to argue with the master, but it feels like it could have been so much more.

One of the most beautiful films of all time; simple and intimate, moving and fascinating, produced with the most loving touch I've ever witnessed in a movie.

Hwoo! Damn that guy is going ham on the tabla during the beginning credits! Beautiful intro credits with the use of rice flower to create all the calligraphy. You can tell this movie was made with a love and admiration for the country of India and all it's beautiful people and culture. A very charming, heartfelt, tender and cozy movie. An easy watch. The technicolor really radiates throughout the movie. It's gorgeous. Indian culture is so interesting and enlightening, even though their countries health standards aren't the cleanest. The technicolor looks amazing and the music is righteous. These locations in India are really pretty. I wish to one day visit. That's the thing with a lot of older movies is that they still have traditions that are very old fashioned that I can't really relate to. Nonetheless, it's still interesting to see how things were done back in an older time. Courtship and all that. That dance that Melanie does as the goddess was so entrancing to watch. Interesting love triangle between the three girls and the captain. Woah, that took a dark turn lol. The little boy died. Well, that's why you don't play around with cobra snakes. Boys will be boys I guess. Going out, seeking adventure and danger. I love that speech that Melanie's dad gives right after the boys funeral. It's a very honest and cynical look but also a hopeful and enlightening one. Interesting how the only boy in the family was the one who died. There's some kind of symbology there. The way Renoir presents the cycle of life in this movie makes it very easy to wrap your head around. People die and are born again both in the way physically but also spiritually. An indulging look at Indian culture and all the beauty the country has to offer that satisfied my appetite. Some of the acting didn't really hit the mark, it felt like some actors were kind of lukewarm but I guess it adds to the charm of the movie. I love how family-oriented and human it feels. The river I think symbolizes the journey from adolescence into adulthood and that first feeling of love that we all experience. It's all those experiences that we go through while flowing through the river in which we learn that makes us wiser, stronger and older. Renoir has this way of presenting his films in a very magical way. It's very unique. Cinematically beautiful and philosophically enlightening. I would enjoy watching this movie again.

It was beautiful! Its an absolutely delightful film, really hypnotic in its rhythm and in its love for India. Its old so some gender roles are out of date but its wonderful. Remember its slow but that's the hypnotic part. Give it the time it needs.

Exceptionally beautiful film that says, gently, and meaningfully - NOT MUCH. It's supposed to be a family drama, coming of age story and romantic "struggle", but the real star is the cinematographer and directors exceptional eye for composition, framing and editing. The images in this film are outstanding throughout, but the story is essentially about a teenage girl's fixation with an older, but still attractive man and her jealousy over his relationship. Movie needs some dramatic story beats at the end to reward the viewer, otherwise this cinema classic begins to feel like an extended series of outstanding location shots, ancient ruins, artful compositions without narrative.

Incrediably BORING! For those fans of old English stories where nothing happens and that, only slowly!

It was god awful! I wanted to see beautiful scenery of the ganges river and the people living along it and saw almost nothing of the sort. The acting was unbelievably bad and disturbing and peculiar most of the time. how is this movie getting good reviews? it is a nightmare

The scenery and composition are stunning. It's the juvenile subject matter that fails to move me.

While it has spectacular cinematography, story and acting, the music is ok at best and couldn't make this a true masterpiece.

Renoir's take on Rumer Godden's novel is part colonialist narrative and part documentary footage of the real India (Bengal) of the time. To me, it is an uneasy blend - but in glorious color. The film is narrated by Godden's adult alter-ego but she recounts her early adolescence and the arrival of a disabled ex-soldier who was her first crush. He is the American cousin of a British man next door who had taken an Indian wife (now deceased) and raised a multi-racial daughter. The film reflects on her status as one who doesn't belong anywhere but her angst is not very palpable nor is the treatment of her by others very negative -- so Renoir doesn't hit this theme very hard. Instead, the mood is more of an extended reverie on childhood and its events; there is one great fantasy scene told by Godden's stand-in Harriet who is a budding writer. In this scene, there is birth, a wedding, and rebirth plus Indian music and dance. The film also includes death in the endless cycle that mimics the river's flow. All things must pass, including this moment in time (for both India and the characters in the story).

Beautiful color photography, a little to slow for my tastes.

Tale of English youth coming of age in India. Ultimately it falls short, but it is still beautiful in its depiction of India and its culture.

Forgotten Masterpiece

Not even close to the directors best films. Still worth a watch though if only for the beautiful imagery.

Colonial sentimentalism with mawkish narration. Has ethnographic value, though.

Oui, oui, c'est un chef d'oeuvre tout ça, n'empêche que s'il est magnifique, moi, je l'ai trouvé parfois un peu bavard.

This is the story of a few English families living on the banks of the Ganga in Bengal during the colonial era who are tasked by the British Raj to run the jute trade. This familiar setting invokes several cliches in our minds and Renoir sets about transcending each of them. To start with, the narrator's father who supervises the jute trade is a gentle soul. He is not the typical penny pinching capitalist but someone who finds the never ending 'river' of human beings carrying jute from farm to factory, fascinating. His interactions with locals both in and not in his employment show us how he believes in equality, respect and co-existence. The family takes after him and his 'house full of women' has embraced a new culture with open arms without any fear of losing their own. The family celebrates Indian festivals, mingles freely with the locals and experiences the great spiritual seduction that India is. The metaphor of the river as a symbol of the infiniteness of creation with its unending cycles of creation and destruction is exemplary. The family experiences the permanence of the river and contrasts the transitory nature of their existence with it. The pains and joys of life that are experienced uniquely by each one of the three women are so different and yet so similar! Some of us get a kiss on the lips, others a kiss on the forehead and others remain with unrequited desires and confused emotions. And yet, like the change of seasons we all bloom and flourish and we all perish in the end while the cycle of life goes on. So what should we do given this human condition that we've been subjected to? Like all great artists, Renoir attempts to answer this most enigmatic and intriguing question. 'The River' proposes 'Consent'. It seems to whisper gently to our worried minds and torrid hearts to accept the ebb and tide of our existence, to not quarrel, to not revolt (What we think of as revolts are really tiny quarrels when you look at our insignificance and the enormousness of creation). The message here is to accept, to open our eyes and for the first time watch without resentment, to observe and learn from nature. As we follow nature's course intently we might get bitten by a snake and die a swift death or a new insight will turn the course of our lives and push us in another unfamiliar direction. Sitting on the banks, witnessing the course of the river and that of our existence, Renoir tells us that all is not lost. That this journey, however short or insignificant it might be, contains the potential to experience limitless joy and beauty - the innocence of children, the pleasure of creating new life, the camaraderie of good friendship and above all love for another person no matter how flawed or imperfect they are.

A great movie that I didn't fully understand. It's subtle, a meditation on human life with many themes, and the cinematography is gorgeous - this movie must be seen in the rich, beautiful color it was filmed in. The direction, of course, is also fantastic. It paints an intimate picture of India, and has many highly multifaceted, complex characters. The movie feels longer than the 1 hr, 40 min running time - maybe its because of the loving intimacy and detail. I didn't fully understand the film as I guess maybe I'm not mature enough or a deep thinker yet, but it's great and I will be sure to watch it again in a few years or more so I can get the story and the themes more and enjoy this movie even more than I do now.

This coming of age story is absolutely delightful and also features some of the most stunning cinematography ever seen in Technicolor.

Jean Renoir's 1951 masterpiece, his first film in color.