The River

Jean Renoir's masterpiece

An exquisite coming-of-age story, "The River" is set on the banks of the Ganges in the early 1950's. The life of a British family is interrupted by an unexpected visitor, Capt. John, a young American soldier who lost a leg in the war. Three teenage girls promptly fall as madly in love with him as their newly awakened emotions will allow. While Capt. John favors the Indian girl Melanie, he also succumbs to the advances of the petulant Valerie, ignoring the homelier Harriet. After numerous tangents into the life and customs of Bengal, the story reaches a climax with the death of the only boy in the family. Capt. John returns to America, a girl is born, and life and the river flow on...