Rodgers & Hammerstein. Laurel & Hardy. Proctor & Gamble. These partnerships clicked for reasons the duos themselves didn’t always understand. This endearing documentary about the inspired filmmaking team of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant attempts to explain their magical, if at times volatile, chemistry that resulted in “Room With a View,” “Howard’s End” and “The Remains of the Day.” Watching clips from their classics made during the pair’s heyday in the 1980s and ‘90s may send you home to stream them in their entirety. Interviews with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and a very lively Helena Bonham-Carter enrich Stephen Soucy’s documentary as they reminisce about the esprit de corps Merchant and Ivory created on their movie sets. Zoom interview with Ivory and Soucy conducted by Mostly British senior programmer Maxine Einhorn.
UK 2024 (112 minutes)
Sponsor: David Landis and Sean Dowdall