Roberto Rossellini - India: Matri Bhumi (1959)

Review:

One of the greatest documentary film I've ever seen! This is definitely one of the best work of Rossellini. It's better than Louis malle's india I think.

A Visionary, One-of-a-Kind Documentary from Roberto Rossellini.

I first read about "India, Matri Bhumi", an amazingly visionary though largely forgotten documentary from Roberto Rossellini, when one of my favorite critics Andrew Sarris mentioned it in his Film Culture essay on Rossellini back in the 60s. Sarris calls the documentary "one of the prodigious achievements of the century". So it piqued my interest since then. And then I read several critics' writings on the film, including film historian Tag Gallagher in his magnificent recent biography, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERTO ROSSELLINI. I wasn't able to watch it until recently when I viewed it along with several other Rossellini films. Though it is apparently not for every taste like most of Rossellini's work, "India" is undoubtedly on a short list of director's masterpieces. If you are a fan of the director, this is definitely worth catching. The documentary is basically an episodic portrait on India, circa 1957-1958; It captures life in flux at that moment in time. "India" is divided into four sections, each documenting the strange interaction between humans and animals, tradition and technology. The first section, after the opening shots of people walking in the streets, deals with some elephants taking bath; the second part concerns a labor worker in a dam; the third part is about an old man and a man-eating tiger; the fourth and most remarkable section involves the desperate attempts of a pet monkey whose master has died of heat wave. What surprised me the most about "India" is Rossellini's camera movements. Rossellini uses a combination of circular, swooping tracking shots, pans, and zoom to conjure up a strange yet personal vision of India, something that is almost very hard to describe in words. The color photography is also rich and fascinating.

This uneven documentary on the sights and sounds and people of India by noted Italian director Roberto Rossellini mixes together city and country views, and a variety of disconnected events and activities like vegetables in a salad. It can still taste good even though there is not a discernible pattern to it. Highlights include work on a dam, stories about a tiger and a monkey, and an unlikely love affair. Throughout the scenery and the action, Rossellini's enjoyment of India and talent with filmmaking is apparent. — Eleanor Mannikka







http://rapidshare.com/files/183695634/India.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/183725403/India.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/183777226/India.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/183841701/India.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/183900934/India.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/183983626/India.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/184027561/India.part7.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/184036832/India.part8.rar

Subs: Castellano/English

http://rapidshare.com/files/220697060/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/220750166/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221060251/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221225840/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221339189/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221467036/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221515651/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part7.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221536705/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__Xvid_MP3_ita_HoHoHo.part8.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/221553201/India__matri_bhumi_Rossellini_1959__SUB_srt_eng_spa_chn_HoHoHo.rar

no pass