Figure 1.--Here Kim is wearing the military uniform at thevorphanage thatbhe is sent to by the British soldiers that found him. He doesn't like the military discipline/.

"Kim" is the classic tale of the Raj--a British orphan abandoned in India. The film is an exciting tale that does justice to the book. We believe that the film follows the Kipling plot fairly closely, but it has be some time (about 50 years) since we read Kim, so am not sure about the details. Hopefully some of our readers can advise us here. Kim is a street kid, but a very unusual street kid--a white boy living by his wits in India. His father was a seargeant in the Enlish army of Irish ancestry--thus the name O'Hara. Being a white boy on Indian streets--Kim would stand out. So he does his best to desguise himself. He disguieses himself because he is afraid missiinaries would nab him. Kipling tells us, "missionaries take white boys to school". Kim wants no part of school. He wants nothing more than his freedom and to work with Mobugali--Red Beard. Kim manages to maked do on the streets by himself. He engages in a litte petty theft and runs erannds. Mobugali is his idol. Mobugali is also white and lives like as an Indian. While on one of his assignments to deliver a message for Bobugali, Kim aataches himself to Tibetian? monk with a pure spirit. The monk is trying to find the legendary holy river that will cleanse his sins, although one is hard put to find any sins that that need to be clensed. Kim manages to obtain food, not only by just beggin. His monk turn a blind idea to Kim's methods. Working or the monk provides a cover for Kim, but the two quickly becomes attached to each other. He is with him when British soldiers find him--at first suspecting him of thieving. One of the officers knew his father--Sgt. O'Hara. Tey send him to a military school where they attempt to "make a white boy" of him. The uniform at the school is a glengary-like cap and red military tunic (jacket). School for Kim is just as bad as he thought it would be. Used to his freedom, he objects to te discipline. he has trouble fitting in. He lags far behind the other boys in his studies, having been out of school so long. He is constantly in trouble. I don't recall now if the military facilityis a school or orphanage. I think it is a kind of school for orphans. Unknown to Kim, his monk has provided the tuition for attending St. Xavier, a prestigious private school. It is on the break from St. Xavier that the real action takes place as part of "The Great Game". The "Great Game" is the struggle between the British and Russians in Central Asia.

Created: February 9, 2004
Last updated: February 9, 2004