Calcutta (1969) - film review

In this eye-opening documentary, Louis Malle offers a personal reflection on modern day Calcutta, a city that harbours the most egregious extremes of poverty and privilege.  First there are the familiar sights.  Bathers in the Ganges; a women’s demonstration organised by the Popular Front; a colourful religious festival; a hospice in which Catholic nuns try to save the dying people they find abandoned in the streets...  But there are other facets too.  There are thriving modern industries, illustrated by a jute factory.  There are golf courses where the anglicised rich spend their leisure time, seemingly oblivious to the extreme poverty that surrounds them...

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