It's Java of the Dutch East Indies. There is great street food for two cents. This has to be the highlight of this episode. They could have done a whole episode on street foods. There are plenty of other local flavors and street life. Fitzpatrick praising the Dutch colonial power is tone deaf in the modern sense, but it is very much in the man's nature. The second half spends all its time at the residence of the Governor General. It's still interesting to spend the time in its gardens. It's a travelogue after all and looking at exotic plants is a traditional part of the genre. I didn't know the giant lily pads come from the Amazons.
3 Reviews
If you wish to view some really large lily pads . . .
oscaralbert7 August 2020
. . . JAVA JOURNEY may well fill your bill. The last third of this travel trek outing is devoted to a botanical garden, which includes said aquatic plants reputed to be large and sturdy enough to accommodate dancing toddlers. Those inclined toward vandalism are allowed to carve their initials into prickly pear cactus leaves, assuming that they want to spring for another trip to this far-off locale to admire their handiwork three or four years later. (It takes all kinds, I guess.)
Fitzgerald Slings The Java Jive
boblipton17 December 2022
James A. Fitzpatrick sends the Technicolor cameras to the island of Java, with Hone Glendinning to supervise the shoot. Fitzpatrick then reads a script with lots of facts, like the population, and lots of shots from the local ships on the water, to Batavia -- now Djakarta -- and a water lily and cactus garden thirty miles from the capital.
Fitzgerald never uses a short word when a long one will almost do, but he has given up shouting at the audience.
The copy of this travelogue that plays on Turner Classic Movies is in very good condition, but the ubiquity of browns in the early scenes may make the viewer think it is damaged. Show some patience.
Fitzgerald never uses a short word when a long one will almost do, but he has given up shouting at the audience.
The copy of this travelogue that plays on Turner Classic Movies is in very good condition, but the ubiquity of browns in the early scenes may make the viewer think it is damaged. Show some patience.
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