India Song (1975)

Set in India, the promiscuous wife (Delphine Seyrig) of the French ambassador indulges in numerous affairs with the full knowledge of her husband. A Vice Consul (Michael Lonsdale) is obsessed with her but an earlier scandal involving him prevents any relationship. Based on the novel LE VICE CONSUL by Marguerite Duras and directed by her. This is quite a unique and unconventional film and I suspect would bore the less adventurous who might consider it pretentious. INDIA SONG is told in images and narration. The actors pose as if in a tableaux or drift casually across the screen while unseen voices talk about them for two hours. That's it! But Duras wanted to tell a story visually and the "dialogue" spoke by narration rather than a traditional narrative. This can prove frustrating at first but one soon gets used to the movie's rhythm. With Mathieu Carriere, Vernon Dobtcheff, Claude Mann and Didier Flamand.