content: A surprisingly bad film, painfully slow paced and convoluted. It really is one hell of a mess. The exploitation of a pitiful malformed character (played by John Mills) is so over the top, insensitive, and with a tasteless comic bent, and so frequently employed, that it demands mention. The story feels minor to begin with, but is so disjointed and inane, that it is best described as no story at all. The music is hard to describe, I'll be kind, it's not helpful. The only reason to see this film is for the absolutely gorgeous, almost hypnotic cinematography. That and perhaps a young and radiant Sarah Miles. That should have been enough to save this film with some tough and aggressive editing, and just a little devotion to good taste. But instead we are forced to endure some kind of a personal or career psychosis by a great director, David Lean.