Movie Screening : To The Lighthouse

Hello Readers !

        Welcome to my world . This blog is about reflective writing on the movie " To The Lighthouse " .  The movie is based on the novel of Virginia Woolf.  It was adapted by Hugh Stoddart, directed by Colin Gregg, and produced by Alan Shallcross. The movie beautifully captured the essence of the novel. But here in the movie director don't follow the narrative design that is given by author.

    (    Click here to watch a movie..,..)

           So here I am discussing the particular Frame of the movie and also the reference of India in the movie and how the philosophical ideas unfold in  the movie. Let's start…….

           The movie " To The Lighthouse "  begins with a couple shots of creepy dolls in a dark house, just so we know what we’re getting into. A small girl is asleep. A small boy looks longingly through a lace curtain and sees the lighthouse . In the novel we find the first scene is James asking his mother that we will go to visit the lighthouse today ? And Mrs. Ramsay replied that “Yes, of course, if it’s fine tomorrow,”.

He was attractively looking at the lighthouse. He was craving to go to the lighthouse. This Frame  portrayed his inner desire and feelings. His obsession towards 'Lighthouse' we see through out the movie but at last she he was going to the lighthouse he was not exited as before.

Here there are two frames together , in which we find the girl who was alone standing in the garden. She was looking towards her mother and her brother sitting together. Maybe she was jealous because her mother always gives attention to James. Always pampering his soul.  And also it was a symbolic frame because here we saw the experience of Virginia Woolf that society always gives attention to boy child's dreams and their life. So her mother was somehow partial to her duties. Mother can symbolize the whole society also.

This frame we find at the end part of the movie. Lily Briscoe , trying to make a painting of Mrs. Ramsay. What she was feeling at that time. There is absence of Mrs. Ramsay. But people who are there in the summer house , they miss Mrs. Ramsay. So the painting shows her present form of the mental world. In the frame we find that the present world (reality) and the painting is Lily's state of minds. Does she feel sorrow for Mrs.Ramsay ? because the painting shows us a stream of consciousness of Lily Briscoe. That Mrs Ramsay spent her whole life for others she doesn't live a single moment for herself.  To some extent we can say she was emotional because Lily was not happy with how she spent her whole life.

👉 The Reference of India :-

 

In  the movie we find the reference of India I think only one time. ( Time duration : 50:39) When one of the daughters of Ramsay's and one man were sitting in the garden. And talking about Augustus Carmichael who was sleeping in the garden in front of them. The girl added that he was writing poetry many times at night. ' It's quite well-respected Perch. You know'. He was a Teacher in India.  I think that is the only reference of India I found in the movie.

So the question is whether the reference was a good one or not and how the image of India unfolds. Here in the context of Mr. Carmichael was considered as some sort of achievement or something good. In the novel we find more references to India.

In the novel we find that the reference of India that is six time. So let's see in which context that is their in novel. References are in good manners or not.

In the novel we find the six references of India.  First of all there is a reference that India is ruled by others. Then the second one is there, when all the daughters who were talking with Charles Tansley live in different forms. There we find that the information of the Indian Empire : 

……..of the Bank of England and the Indian Empire, of ringed fingers and lace, though to them all there was something in this of the essence of beauty, which called out the manliness in their girlish hearts, and made them, as they sat at table beneath their mother’s eyes, honour her strange severity, her extreme courtesy, like a queen’s raising from the mud to wash a beggar’s dirty foot,.....

         This  paragraph gives us a view of looking at India. The description is kind of that India is a great empire and like a very exotic place where great romance ,  adventure and happiness lies there.

      The third reference is that Augustus Carmichael that we discussed earlier.

       The forth references is there :

      "  There were all the places she had not seen; the Indian plains; she felt herself pushing aside the thick leather curtain of a church in Rome. saw it."

   

       Here we can see that she was craving to visit the place India . So that through we can say India is something for Virginia Woolf 8a that desirable things.

The fifth reference :. 

    "  But which was it to be? They had all the trays of her jewel-case open. The gold necklace, which was Italian, or the opal necklace, which Uncle James had brought her from India; or should she wear her amethysts? "

  

      Here we can see that something that is brought from India is valuable for them. And also the owner with pride.

The sixth reference :

  " The autumn trees, ravaged as they are, take on the flash of tattered flags kindling in the gloom of cool cathedral caves where gold letters on marble pages describe death in battle and how bones bleach and burn far away in Indian sands. " 

     

              I think here we can say that the author tried to describe the hotness of Indian climate . There is also reference to battle. So that through we can say that knowingly or unknowingly she was putting the situation of India at that time.

References of philosophy  : 

     In the novel we find the character of Mr. Ramsay who was the philosopher and his student Charles Tansley, who was working for his PhD. Many times we find that the philosophical discussion is going on among the characters.

          Mr. Ramsay, a professional philosopher, was referred to as the greatest metaphysician of the time. Many times he was talking about the relationship between body and mind, and appearance and reality. Mr. Ramsay's books are about " Subject and object and the nature of reality".

👉

The dinner table became a  most important symbol in the movie. Because it comes more and more time. I think the dinner table reveals feelings, thoughts and emotional state of minds towards particular characters and others. With words and silently also( their stream of consciousness). For example James' reaction towards his father. Sometimes it seems like the dinner table is the discussion table. Many decisions were made at that time. That through we can see the mood of the characters.

    

 If we look at the point of view of  Northrop Frye's Archetypal criticism, then we find that the interesting things. That detector very beautifully present the snowy and heavy rains atmosphere. In which we find that the season of winter or snow itself symbol darkness and sorrow. Here in the movie we find that after the scene of rain and snowy automospher Wrist situation occurred. 

Here in this particular frame in which we find that women are always more attached and give more attention to the boy child. Mrs.Ramsay Always pampering male ego. Here we can predict that women are enemies of women. Because which way Mrs.Ramsay always tries to give attention to James. And in a way controlled James. As Lily Briscoe who said that James looks like a kite and Mrs. Ramsay who tries to control James. 

There is one scene in movie that Camara go through the windows and then focused on Mrs. Ramsay who was thinking and looked outside to the windows.  So we find that she herself Said at one time that ' close to the doors and open the Windows'. So here Camera is working like for Mrs. Ramsay windows only open, she can't go outside within a frame of her household work. In the frame she looks at on the outside of the windows that we connect with her little bit desire to go out and get freedom. This frame came after her illness. She realized that she was near to death and she realized that she doesn't live a single moment for her.

References :

To the Lighthouse. By Hugh Stoddart. Dir. Colin Gregg. Perf. Rosemary Harris, et al. Prod. Alan Shallcross. 1983. CD. 11 October 2020.

Woolf, V., Goldman, J., & Woolf, V. (1998). To the lighthouse ; The waves. New York: Columbia University Press.

Thank you....