LOST HORIZON, 1932

What an unusual movie! Ronald Coleman is a British Foreign Secretary, who gets shanghaied from Shanghai with a party of British types. The plane which carries them crash lands near the legendary, fabled Shangri La, whence a greeting party has meanwhile been dispatched. The physical film, which had been damaged and restored, feels as much a rarified treasure as Shangri La itself. The plot is set in the Himalayas, near Tibet. It is permeated by an intense feeling of cold, isolation and altitude. Shangri La is like an oasis in this hostile environment, its mild weather resulting from high protective mountain ranges. Despite a lack of amenities like public plumbing, its gleaming white buildings resemble something from a World’s Fair. Shangri La turns out to be a stand-in for the liberal tradition of the West. No one struggles. There is no money, only exchange. People can live for centuries. It is polite to give up your wife to someone who wants her badly (of course, seen from a male perspective). It is prescient of modern times, and talks about similar social ills, including greed and environmental destruction, to those which plague us now. Coleman's worldly career happened despite his deep longing for a better world. The books he has written about his utopian dreams have been read by some at Shangri La. They include the girl and the founder, who are convinced that he belongs there. The party from the plane, including Coleman, react in different ways to the possibility of “escape.”