Corrie Film Club shows The Pool

This is no ordinary swimming pool. In Goa, south India, it is a thing of enchantment, an oasis of unbelievable luxury. Two boys, Venkatesh (Venkatesh Chavan) and Jhangir (Jhangir Badshah) are living hand-to-mouth, and cannot believe what they are seeing. Venkatesh perches unseen in the branches of a tree by the pool, and watches. He becomes obsessed with the demure girl called Ayesha (Ayesha Mohan) who is always reading by the pool.

The film was directed by Chris Smith, the US documentary film-maker who made The Yes Men. Though it was completed six years ago, it took a long time to be released in the UK. Gentle, well acted and beautifully shot, its language is Hindi (which Smith could not speak), and distributors perhaps thought it would not be a money-spinner. For those of more subtle tastes, it is a deeply rewarding film. At its start, Venkatesh, a sensitive, illiterate village boy, is working in a second-rate hotel and supplementing his small income by selling plastic bags in the street with his best friend, an orphan lad. The swimming pool in the garden of a house belonging to a wealthy Mumbai businessman fascinates the boys, and so do its owners, the businessman and his truculent daughter. Through a combination of accident and design, Venkatesh becomes part of the menage. The result is a subtle, truthful, moving story of class, ambition, friendship and romantic yearning that many feel could have been inspired by Satyajit Ray.

The showing begins at 8:00pm in Corrie Hall on Sunday, 11th May, and all are welcome. There is no charge, but contributions to the hall’s running costs are always gratefully received.