A Passage to India Film Analysis | Screenplay Explained | David Lean

A wonderful, mystical movie! In this video we find out how David Lean has structured the screenplay and why the film's Indian soul is vital to understanding it.

A Passage to India is a 1984 epic historical drama film written, directed and edited by David Lean. It is based on the 1960 play of the same name by Santha Rama Rau, which was in turn based on the 1924 novel by E.M. Forster.

Set in the 1920s during the period of the British Raj, the film tells the story of the interactions of several characters in the fictional city of Chandrapore, namely Dr Aziz, Mrs Moore, Adela Quested, and Cyril Fielding.

When newcomer to India Adela accuses Aziz of an attempted rape within the famed Marabar Caves, the city is split between the British elite and the native underclass as the budding friendship between Aziz and Fielding is tested. The film explores themes of racism, imperialism, religion, and the nature of relationships both friendly and marital.

This was the final film of Lean's prestigious career, and the first feature-film he had directed in fourteen years, since Ryan's Daughter in 1970.

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