The River

Described by Renoir as, "an Occidental meditation on the Orient," the film adopts the languid rhythms of the East, as it tells the story of three adolescent girls coming of age in West Bengal after WWII. Harriet (Patricia Walters), a self-conscious aspiring writer, Melanie (Radha), a quiet Anglo-Indian girl, and Valerie (Adrienne Corri), an imperious beauty, are three friends united by their infatuation with Captain John (Thomas E. Breen), a WWII veteran who has moved into their neighborhood. Yet his melancholy, caused by losing his leg in the war, renders him impervious to their attempts to attract his attention. Patricia's amused but understanding parents (Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight) try to distract her with involvement in the small events of daily life. But even with her parents, tragedy can strike, as it does for Patricia, turning her world upside down. Only then can she begin to understand the Captain, and finally penetrate his isolation, achieving a kind of love far different than what she had imagined. (official distributor synopsis)