Phantom India (1969)

- Original title
- L'Inde fantôme
- Directed by
- Louis Malle
- Genre
- documentary film
- Country
- France
- Length
- 1 season, 7 episodes
- Rating
- 5.4 of 10 from 12 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb

The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A French filmmaker travels across India in the late 1960s with a small crew. He captures everyday life, poverty, and rituals without a fixed plan. The seven part documentary reflects his personal and unfiltered view of the country.
observationalcontemplativepersonalunhurriedintimaterawunadornedthoughtful
What happens
L'Inde fantôme: Reflexions sur un voyage is a 1969 French seven part television documentary miniseries about India, directed by Louis Malle. It was shown on BBC television as Louis Malle's India. Malle later said that the film was his most personal work and the one he was most proud of. It is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of his career. It was initially inspired by a two-month trip to India in late 1967 that Malle made on behalf of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present a selection of "new French cinema" throughout the country. Filming took place between January 5, 1968, and May 1, 1968, with a crew of two, a cameraman and a sound recordist. Malle arrived in India with no particular plans and financed the trip himself. The resulting 30 hours of footage was then edited down to the 363 minutes of Phantom India. The 105-minute-long Calcutta used the footage he had recorded over his three-week stay in that city. Phantom India was shown on French television and the BBC in the UK in 1969. Many British Indians and the Indian Government felt that Malle had shown a one-sided portrait of India, focusing on the impoverished, rather than the developing parts of the country. A diplomatic incident occurred when the Indian government asked the BBC to stop broadcasting the programme. The BBC refused and were briefly asked to leave their New Delhi bureau. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Calcutta (1969)
La peau dure (1969)
Paris top secret (1969)
13 Days in France (1968)
God Chose Paris (1969)
Chanson de gestes (1965)
Human (2015)
An Indian Day (1968)- More like this series, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.