''Pondichéry, dernier comptoir des Indes'' (original French title) ("Pondicherry, last trading post in India" in English, released as “Last Trading Post in India” ) is a 1997 French drama film set during

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

's independence from France in 1954.

Plot

The fictional film is set during Pondicherry's independence from France in 1954. It tells the story of Stanislas Charvin, a young European male born in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

but raised in

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

, France by his grandmother. Stanislas returns to Pondicherry as the French administration are preparing to leave; he intends to collect his mother’s remains for repatriation to France for burial. While in India, he learns that his mother has not died but has disappeared. Stanislas discovers that she left her husband André for Weber, a

half-caste Half-caste is a term used for individuals of Multiracial, multiracial descent. The word ''wikt:caste, caste'' is borrowed from the Portuguese or Spanish word ''casta'', meaning race. Terms such as ''half-caste'', ''caste'', ''quarter-caste'' an ...

man, and is consequently shunned and despised by her community. During the course of the film, Stanislas meets his father (whom he hates) but reconciles with him before his death. The film explores the self-discovery of the young 20 year-old Stanislas against the backdrop of the "great departure" as we see several images of boxes and suitcases in the background. The final message to appear before the credits roll makes an explicit connection between the loss of the "comptoirs" in India and the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

: “November 1st, 1954, Pondicherry rejoins India as the Algerian insurrection explodes”. The film also depicts Granier (the last French administrator in Pondicherry) shouting “Pondicherry, the capital of nowhere!” as he departs the colony in the final scenes of the production.

Cast

The film stars

Frédéric Gorny Frédéric Gorny (born 6 September 1973, in Asnières-sur-Seine) is a French actor known for his role as attorney Pierre Clément on the television series ''Cherif (TV series), Cherif''. , he has been in about thirty television series and films s ...

as Stanislas Charvin,

Richard Bohringer Richard Bohringer () is a French actor, singer, writer, and film director. He is the father of actresses Romane Bohringer and . Early life Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier, France, to a French mother, Huguette Foucault and a German fathe ...

as André Charvin,

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...

as Leo Baumann, Vanessa Lhoste as Clémence, and K. Kaartikeyan as Weber. Frédéric Gorny would receive the “Prix Raimu de la comédie” for his role in the film in 1997.

Technical notes

The sets were designed by noted Indian production designer and art director

Thota Tharani Thota Tharani is an Indian art director, production designer and painter known for his work in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. With over six decades of experience, he is recognized for his detailed set designs and visual storytellin ...

Reception

The film was largely derided by critics in France. One author (Jackie Assayag) delivers a scathing critique of the film and its "sentimental clichés" in a 1999 book.

References

External links

Allocine pageIMDb page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pondichéry, dernier comptoir des Indes 1997 films 1997 drama films French drama films 1990s French-language films Films set in Puducherry 1990s French films Films set in the Indian independence movement Cultural depictions of Indian people Films shot in Puducherry French India