The Wind Cannot Read (1958)

Set in 1943 India during WWII, a British officer (Dirk Bogarde) falls in love with the Japanese translator (Yoko Tani) who is teaching Japanese to British soldiers. But it is WWII and the British and the Japanese are "enemies" and their relationship is frowned upon. Based on the novel by Richard Mason (who adapted his book for the screen) and directed by Ralph Thomas (THE CLOUDED YELLOW). For most of its running time, this is an intriguing interracial romance but as soon as the heroine started complaining about headaches, I groaned because I knew where it was going to end up. The film hits a wall in its last 35 minutes when it becomes a standard WWII programmer sundae with a tearjerker cherry on top. I was never a fan of Dirk Bogarde but I must admit, he's very appealing here and Yoko Tani is charming. I love B&W movies but I wish they had increased the budget so they could have shot it in color to take advantage of Ernest Steward's lensing of the stunning India locations. With Donald Pleasence, John Fraser, Ronald Howard and Anthony Bushell.