Lost Horizon, 1937

Shangri-La, of course, being a utopian mountain paradise somewhere on the border between China and Tibet - a place where everyone lives in perfect happiness and no-one ever grows old. Watching this film with a modern point of view was quite an interesting experience. Initially I got bad vibes, when, in the opening sequence we are told that the film's protagonist, an adventurer and diplomat called Robert Conway (played ably by Ronald Colman), had been sent to China to "evacuate 90 white people" from a local revolution. Just the white people!? Thankfully, it turns out that Conway is a sympathetic character, and shares our disillusionment for his mission, later saying with some bitterness; "Did you say we saved 90 white people? Good, hooray for us. Did you say we left 10,000 natives down there to be annihilated? No, you wouldn't say that... they don't count..." Conway's cynicism is tempered somewhat when the plane crashes and they are taken by a band of rescuers to Shangri-La. There he finds a land where there is no war, no hunger and no inequality. However, even in such a perfect land there are still some aspects which make the modern-day viewer wonder if true equality actually exists. Why, for instance, do the European settlers live in large, modern villas, while the local people live in basic farmsteads (with no plumbing, as one character points out). Why are the schoolchildren taught English rhymes and songs instead of being taught in their own language? Political and military imperialism may not exist in Shangri-La, but cultural imperialism sure does! Although these issues did irk me slightly, they didn't distract me from an otherwise good adventure film. The special effects still hold up well for such an old film. The acting, too, is good, and there are some fun comic moments from the minor characters - particularly the reserved English palaeontologist and his verbal sparring with the brash American conman.

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