EN
Journey as Dialogue (in British Heritage Film) One of the most popular cultural themes—in both literature and cinema—is that of a journey. Moving in space and, sometimes, in time—be it in a literary sense or by means of the protagonists’ memories—facilitates comparison and contrast of different cultures, value systems, and causes and effects of actions and decisions. Journey remained one of the most significant plot-organizing motifs in films belonging to the so called Heritage Films which has been an important and controversial movement in British cinema. In those films, usually set during the glory days of the British Empire, journey in space (to Italy or colonial India) is connected to a journey in time, providing the authors with an opportunity (not always realized) to judge bygone reality and ‘rewrite’ the past. Using representative motion pictures from the Heritage Film movement as examples, the author of the article ponders upon the status of the journey motif in the context of cultural encounters and the degree to which restoration of an intercultural dialogue and the redefinition cultural “Others” was realized in films otherwise undermining so many aspects of the splendor of the British Empire (for instance, patriarchy.)