Projects matching: Ismail Merchant

Synopsis

The Mystic Masseur, a joyful drama of optimism, self-belief and wondrous imagination, that can work miracles. Based on the first novel of Nobel winning V S Naipaul,The Mystic Masseur , is the first ever film adaptation of any of Naipaul's work. The Mystic Masseur tells the story of 'Ganesh', a struggling author, who finds his fortune when he discovers he has an ability to cure people's minds. It is rare to see a rags-to-riches story in which we are so intimately involved with the characters, so sympathetic to them, and led so easily to understand that riches may not always be a good trade for the happiness of youthful ambition.

Synopsis

Post-colonial India of 1950's, and Cotton Mary, (Madhur Jeffrey) an Anglo-Indian nurse befriends expatriate Lily Macintosh (Greta Scacchi) at the premature birth of her baby. Lily's husband John, (James Wilby) a BBC correspondent, is away working, and she is exhausted and emotional after the birth, and further devastated after realising she is unable to breast feed her child. Mary provides a vital lifeline by taking the baby on daily trips to her crippled sister, Blossom, a wet nurse who provides milk for the infant. The success that Mary has in arranging for the feeding of the baby makes her indispensable to Lily, who offers her a permanent position in her home as a Nanny working with her family. Mary's relationship to the baby and her burgeoning friendship with Lily gives her a unique position to operate. Mary abuses this relationship, and deviously does everything she can to gain control of the house and achieve the prestige of being both associated with, and of extreme importance to a British family. Cotton Mary offers a thought provoking insight into the ambitions of an Anglo-Indian woman trapped in a class-ridden, status conscious society.

Synopsis

Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) become involved with two couples: a wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry J. Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife Ruth (Vanessa Redgrave), and a working-class couple Leonard Bast (Sam West) and Jacky (Niccola Duffet). The interwoven fates and misfortunes of these three families and the diverging trajectories of the two sisters’ lives are connected to the ownership of Howards End, a beloved country home. An adaptation of E.M. Forster’s 1910 compelling study of one woman’s struggle to maintain her ideals and integrity in the face of Edwardian society’s moribund conformist values. A classic novel of class relations and changing times in Edwardian England. Cannes 2016 - Cannes Classics

Synopsis

Young Cambridge graduate Maurice Hall is trapped by the oppressiveness of puritanical Edwardian society as he tries to come to terms with his sexuality. He must strive to realise his dreams. The restoration, by the Cohen Media Group, used a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Director James Ivory gave the nod to the digitally restored version of his film, and cinematographer Pierre Lhomme supervised the colour correction. Official Selection Berlinale 2017 - Berlinale Classics - World premiere (Digital Restoration)