India Song is a film which simultaneously represents a departure from, and a codification of, Marguerite Duras' oeuvre. The narration introduces characters who have appeared frequently in Duras' films and novels…. However, their position as protagonists is extremely tenuous. They do not develop in the traditional sense from work to work. Rather, they remain elusive, representing a constant flux of just "being". The acts they encompass pale in relationship to their reactions to same….
The narrative employed in India Song is common to Duras' work. However, the manner in which the film unfolds stylistically represents a significant variation. The past is witnessed through the unfolding of the present. The narrative's structural foundations are re-examined from the advantageous position afforded by the present. There are no flashbacks. Time is not segmented. It is a continuum. A murder, a love affair, a suicide—each act is alluded to by the inquisitive off-screen voices. In Nathalie Granger and La Femme du Gange this technique functioned as a complement to the dialogue taking place between the characters on screen. India Song extends this formula one step further….
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