Savages Details

James Ivory returned to his native America for this heavy-handed Buñuelian parable on the thin line between savagery and sophistication. The arch nature of the enterprise — in which human-sacrificing primitives are guided by a croquet ball into a country manor, where they briefly assume the trappings of gentility — is only emphasised by Walter Lassally's decision to photograph the Mud People's progression and inevitable regression in monochrome, sepia and lavish colour. The cast works hard and the attempt to encapsulate the history of civilisation in the various antics and anecdotes is laudable. But a true sense of satirical outrage is fatally absent.

Strip away our veneer of civilisation, cast a dispassionate eye on our frantic attempts to gratify ourselves, and what... read more on Time Out