India Song

“India Song remains a landmark in 1970s modernist cinema. It is set mostly in a French Embassy in Vietnam, mostly during a long evening party. Couples dance to languid tangos, drifting through the frame or gliding out of darkness in the huge mirror that dominates the sitting room. But there is no synchronised dialogue. We hear anonymous voices who seem to be commenting on the image, even though the voices are in the present and the action occurs in the past. Moreover, most of dramatic action – seductions, betrayal, and a suicide – takes place offscreen or in the mirror. India Song is an experiment in sustained tempo: Duras timed every gesture and camera movement with a stop-watch. We cannot be sure that the action we see took place or is a kind of emblematic staging of the characters’ relations. Murmurs on the sound track suggest that the party is crowded, but the vacant long shots show only the principal characters. The film pulls the spectator into a hypnotic reverie while also meditating upon the insular routines of colonialist life.” (Kristin Thompson, David Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction)

Direction and screenplay: Marguerite Duras; Language: French with English and Slovene subtitles. 

Organisation: Slovenska Kinoteka; In collaboration: City of Women.
With the support of the Slovenian Charles Nodier Institute.