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6.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Jalna remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s soap opera energy. If you hate people shouting in drawing rooms, you will be checking your watch within ten minutes. It is basically the cinematic equivalent of being trapped at a family reunion where you don't know any of the cousins.
The Whiteoaks are, uh, a lot. There is just so much furniture and so many people trying to sit on it. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Marius, but with more tea and less sunlight.
The house itself feels like it’s about to burst. You can practically hear the floorboards groaning under the weight of all these competing personalities. I kept noticing these weird, small background details—like a painting hanging slightly crooked in the hallway—that the director probably didn't intend for me to fixate on. But there I was, staring at it.
There is a scene halfway through where two characters are having a serious, life-altering conversation, but someone in the background is just aggressively rearranging flowers. It is incredibly distracting. Why are the flowers so important right now?
It’s not as polished as The Covered Wagon, which feels like it has a much clearer sense of where it’s going. This movie just kind of wanders from room to room. Sometimes it feels like a play that forgot it had a camera pointed at it. Other times, it feels like the actors are just trying to find the best light before the scene cuts.
I can’t tell if the ending is meant to be happy or just a total exhaustion of resources. Everyone looks tired. I think I was tired too.
It’s fine. It’s an odd, dusty artifact. Just don't go in expecting some grand, sweeping epic. It’s just a house full of people who probably need to move out and get their own apartments. 🏠