Harriet: People like me ought to die.
Captain John: I don’t think you’re the type. People like you don’t just lie down and die.
Harriet: What will I do then?
Captain John: Begin again. You know what I think? I think with everything that happens to you, with every person you meet who is important to you, you either die a little bit or are born.
From The River (1951), directed by Jean Renoir. I saw this about a year ago, and – oddly enough – remember almost nothing about it, except I made a note to read the book, which I haven’t done. It was a Criterion DVD with the usual outstanding features, including a fascinating biography of Godden’s life.
Jean Renoir, son of the famous Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste, also made Partie de Compagne (1936), one of my favourite films of all time. One viewing about 25 years ago is still burned into my memory. Renoir directed this film, based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant. The film remained unfinished and, when you see it now, at 40 minutes long, a card fills in the rest of the story.
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