
Did you know
37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

The enigmatic but vivid imagery of this loosely plotted film is based on a similarly evocative novel by the Italian author Antonio Tabucchi, Noturno Indiano. An old friend of the hero's has been living in Bombay with a prostitute. His friend Peter Schlemihl (Otto Tausig) is a concentration camp survivor, who went to India after being captivated by a photograph he saw there. When the prostitute writes to him in Europe asking that he rescue his friend from a mysterious malaise, he flies into India to try and help. When he gets to Bombay, he discovers that his friend has disappeared. Following the clues left behind by the friend, and based on his acquaintance with him, he journeys to Madras to speak to a Theosophist dignitary there, and then journeys on to Portugues Goa. With each step of his journey, the hero (Jean-Hugues Anglade) becomes more identified with his friend, and re-enacts in his own person the transformations he must have experienced.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

Jean-Hugues Anglade
Rossignol/Xavier

Clémentine Célarié
Christine
Otto Tausig
Peter Schlemihl

T.P. Jain
Le docteur

Iftekhar
Le professeur de théosophie
Dipti Dave
Vimla Sar
Ratna Bhooshan
La patronne de l'hôtel Khajurao
Tinku Parma
L'écolière
Credits
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Cinephile deep dive
Alain Corneau directs. Yves Angelo behind the camera. Thierry Derocles cuts. Produced in France. Dialogue in English, French.
Trivia
Also by
Production companies
AFC
FR
Christian Bourgois Productions
Ciné Cinq
Sara Films
FR
Themes & keywords
Release history · US