This tale from the Raj about a woman travelling to India to trace the footsteps of one of her ancestors and having a similar life-changing experience is Merchant Ivory's best movie. Julie Christie is wonderful as the woman researching the scandal that engulfed her grandmother's sister, a role played by the gorgeous Greta Scacchi in the performance that made her a star and a sex symbol in the 80's...
Heat and Dust attempts to tell three separate tales occurring at three disparate times and places, in hopes of tying them together in an organic and fruitful way before the conclusion of the film. It is enough to say that in this all-important attempt it fails miserably.