Smokescreen: The River (1951)

Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, who was born in India and lived there for many years. The film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal River around which their daily lives unfold. The character Harriet, with aspirations to writing, is as if an expression of Godden herself. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation. It's a beautifully observed rite-of-passage and culture-clash story. It is about belonging, and the passage of time. There is death and birth, and the river continues to flow. Martin Scorsese considers "The River" one of the two most beautiful colour films ever made, "I watch that film three times a year. Sometimes four." Renoir was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Starring: Esmond Knight, Nora Swinburne and Arthur Shields.