Phantom India (7 Parts)

Synopsis

Part 1: Briefly opens in Calcutta then goes to the South in search of traditional India, of religious piety, of the agricultural problems showing aspects of the daily lives of fishermen and peasants. Some Western beatniks discuss their attitudes to the country.
Part 2: Discusses religion, family planning, movie studios in the South of India but devotes most of its length to the dancing schools in Kaltchetra where girls learn the sacred dances in which the music and facial expressions are of precise religious significance.
Part 3: Asceticism, the sadhus wandering the roads, the ashrams, the esoterism, the philosophy of the negation of the world.
Part 4: Kerala, the only state to have a local government with a Communist majority and the one with the largest Christian minority. Ninety percent rural it is the state with the highest degree of literacy.
Part 5: Officially abolished in 1947 the caste system nonetheless remains the basic structure of Indian social life and is still endowed with a rigid form that no government has been able to eliminate.
Part 6: There are groups who have lived in India for centuries who have either refused to integrate into, or who were excluded from, Indian society, e.g. the aboriginal tribes like the Bonda, the Jews of Cochin, Catholics, and the Parsees who control the city of Bombay economically.
Part 7: Bombay, city of five million inhabitants, is in the midst of an economic boom and controlled by the Parsees; yet there are 600,000 people living in the streets and acute political problems.

Language

English

Country

France

Medium

Film; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 7 x 50 min.

Technical information

Black-and-white / Sound

Year of production

1969

Availability

Hire

Subjects

Anthropology; Religious studies; Sociology

Keywords

India

Credits

Director

Louis Malle

Producer

Elliott Kastner

Writer

Louis Malle

Contributor

Claude Nedjar; Etienne Becker; Suzanne Baron

Cast

Louis Malle

Distribution Formats

Type

Film

Format

16mm

Sections

Title

Impossible camera

Synopsis

Part 1: Briefly opens in Calcutta then goes to the South in search of traditional India, of religious piety, of the agricultural problems showing aspects of the daily lives of fishermen and peasants. Some Western beatniks discuss their attitudes to the co

Title

Things seen in Madras

Synopsis

Part 2: Discusses religion, family planning, movie studios in the South of India but devotes most of its length to the dancing schools in Kaltchetra where girls learn the sacred dances in which the music and facial expressions are of precise religious sig

Title

Indians and the sacred

Synopsis

Part 3: Asceticism, the sadhus wandering the roads, the ashrams, the esoterism, the philosophy of the negation of the world.

Title

Dream and reality

Synopsis

Part 4: Kerala, the only state to have a local government with a Communist majority and the one with the largest Christian minority. Ninety percent rural it is the state with the highest degree of literacy.

Title

A look at the castes

Synopsis

Part 5: Officially abolished in 1947 the caste system nonetheless remains the basic structure of Indian social life and is still endowed with a rigid form that no government has been able to eliminate.

Title

On the fringes of Indian society

Synopsis

Part 6: There are groups who have lived in India for centuries who have either refused to integrate into, or who were excluded from, Indian society, e.g. the aboriginal tribes like the Bonda, the Jews of Cochin, Catholics, and the Parsees who control the

Title

Bombay: the future India

Synopsis

Part 7: Bombay, city of five million inhabitants, is in the midst of an economic boom and controlled by the Parsees; yet there are 600,000 people living in the streets and acute political problems.

Production Company

Name

Nouvelles Editions des Films

Distributor

Name

BFI Film Bookings Unit

Email

bookings.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://www.bfi.org.uk/about-bfi/help-faq/film-bookings External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7957 8938 / 8935

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN