The River

"Beauty... Mystery... Delightful Humor..."

1951 1h 39m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 135🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes★7.4IMDB · 7,001

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.

“Beauty... Mystery... Delightful Humor...”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Nora Swinburne
The Mother
Esmond Knight
The Father
Arthur Shields
Mr. John
Suprova Mukerjee
Nan
Thomas E. Breen
Capt. John
Patricia Walters
Harriet
Radha Burnier
Melanie
Adrienne Corri
Valerie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean Renoir
Writers: Jean Renoir, Rumer Godden
Languages: English, Bengali
Countries: France, India

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

75 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Bengali.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, India.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean Renoir, shot by Claude Renoir. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by M.A. Partha Sarathy. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Gale shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nora Swinburne and Esmond Knight and Arthur Shields carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Beauty... Mystery... Delightful Humor...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean Renoir directs. Claude Renoir behind the camera. M.A. Partha Sarathy scores. George Gale cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, India. Dialogue in English, Bengali.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

175 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Bengali.
3International production across 2 countries: France, India.
4Directed by Jean Renoir, shot by Claude Renoir. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by M.A. Partha Sarathy. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor George Gale shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Nora Swinburne and Esmond Knight and Arthur Shields carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Beauty... Mystery... Delightful Humor...".
9IMDB entry: tt0043972 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "based on novel or book", "river", "snake charmer", "hindu".

The technical file

Cinematography: Claude Renoir
Original score: M.A. Partha Sarathy
Editing: George Gale
Production design: Eugène Lourié
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The River (1951)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 7,001 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 2 BAFTA 3 wins & 4 nominations total

Also by

Jean Renoir

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-08
★ 7/10
I found there to be something of the beauty of one of novelist Rumor Godden's other novels - "Black Narcussus" (1947) in this gorgeously photographed tale of three young women growing up with the Ganges river providing a constant in their lives. Our story is narrated, in part, by "Harriet" (Patricia Walters) who lives an affluent life beside the river with her much younger sisters, brother and with her mother (Nora Swinburne) expecting number seven! The age difference means she spends much of her time with her two friends "Valerie" (Andrienne Corri) and "Melanie" (Radha). "Melanie" is of mixed-race, her father being British, her late mother a local - and so their's is a more complex dynamic fitting in with a society that was still pretty unforgiving of inter-racial transgressions. The three girls rub along well enough though, enjoying the simplicities of their privileged lives, until the arrival of the handsome "Uncle John" (Thomas E. Breen) who is the cousin of "Mr. John" (Arthur Shields) - the dad of "Melanie". This visitor has, quite literally, been through the wars and has a prosthetic limb to show for it. Psychologically struggling, he has come to hide himself away; to remove any reminders of his former more able existence. What he doesn't bargain for though are these three girls. They take an immediate shine to him and over the course of the latter part of the film we enjoy their growing infatuation and rivalries - all set amidst the colourful and vibrant Hindu community in which they live but with which they have remarkably little but the most polite of involvement. As you'd expect, the narrative delivers an occasional tragedy and it takes a perhaps little too stoic a view on the value of human life - especially when it isn't white - but for the most part the story seems set on avoiding anything politically, or even societally contentious as the plot develops. Essentially, there's not a great deal of actual substance to this story. It's a beautifully photographed and aesthetically pleasing depiction of a dream, if you like - and it's not a great dream for everyone; even "Harriet" - before the timeless Ganges continues on it's way past farms, fields, temples and homes. It looks great on a big screen and if you can, literally, go with the flow then you ought to be able to appreciate it for what it was, when it was written in 1946.

Production companies