Shakespeare Wallah
As explained in one of the bonus interviews on the new Blu-ray release, “wallah” means “seller,” perhaps even proponent. Although not the debut by Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, this 1966 black-and-white feature brought them to the attention of cineastes worldwide. Shakespeare Wallah tracks an Anglo-Indian theater troupe’s up and down tour of India and registers the retreat of Western high art (and Indian tradition) against the advancing monoculture of banality.
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That Girl in Yellow Boots
British-born Ruth (Kalki Koechlin) is seeking her long-lost father in India but finds trouble instead. Filmed with handheld high-definition cameras, That Girl in Yellow Boots (2010) captures the heat and perspiration, the bribery and bureaucracy—the crowded sense of place. Working illegally as a masseuse, Ruth slips easily into the sex trade amid the isolation and anxiety. Drugs and predatory men are everywhere in this poignant journey of a stranger in a strange land.
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The Maze
William Cameron Menzies (Things to Come) was called in to direct this low-budget entry in the original wave of 3D pictures. The Maze (1953) stars Grace Kelly stand-in Veronica Hurst who worries about her missing fiancé called suddenly to the ancestral castle in Scotland. The servants are weird, the fog is thick and the best moments recall the dark shadows of German Expressionism. No need for glasses. The Blu-ray includes 2D as well as 3D versions.
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Henry Miller Asleep & Awake
This curious 1973 documentary by Tom Schiller (later known for his short films on “Saturday Night Live”) features author Henry Miller (Sexus) waking from bed and conducting a tour of the many pictures pasted on his bathroom wall. The idiosyncratic gallery triggers a series of associative thoughts—on sex to be sure, but also art, religion, literature and life’s unanswerable questions. End quote: “My whole past seems like one long dream punctuated by nightmares.”
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