HEAT AND DUST

The filmmaking team of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, novelist and screenwriter, began their collaboration 21 years ago in India, a dominant setting for their sophisticated comedies. Their films travel between the East and West, scrutinizing the differences in manners and cultures and brilliantly conveying them on screen with “Shakespeare Wallah” (1965), “The Guru” (1969), “The Europeans” (1979), “Quartet” (1981) and “Roseland” (1977), among others. They return to India for HEAT AND DUST, telling a romantic love story that also explores the contrast between British and Indian rules of conduct during colonization and today. Anne (Julie Christie) is fascinated by her great aunt Olivia's (Greta Scacchi) letters that disclose the scandal created 60 years ago when Olivia left her husband for an Indian Prince. Recognizing a free spirit so very like her own, Anne embarks on a journey to India to trace Olivia's steps and recapture something lost and something won in a similar search for her own fulfillment. The film cuts between the '20s and '80s, subtly revealing ironies in the changes wrought by time. Fine acting, exotic scenery and literate comedy enchant the senses. “The filmmakers' tapestry is rich. . .acid observation and witty detail. . .Merchant Ivory Productions has come of age with this exquisite film.” – Judith Crist, Saturday Review “Haunting, beautiful high-comedy. . .elevates dialogue to a position of importance it hasn't enjoyed since, possibly, the wise-cracking screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s.” – Vincent Canby, New York Times