Rating: 
Summary: rays masterpiece
Review: Once upon a time, in the early years of the last century, a young boy named Apu lived with his poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, Harihar Ray (Kanu Bannerjee) is a poet and a priest, who would rather think of an idea for his next play than make an effort to get the money that is owed him, and who responds to the hardships of life with the simple declaration, "Whatever God does is for the best." Consequently, he has to travel far away for long periods of time to try and raise the money his family needs to survive, to pay back their debts, and to repair the family home, which is falling down. This leaves his wife and two children to survive as best they can in this intimate and poetic film.The two things I knew about this classic Indian film before I watched it was that it was the first by director Satyajit Ray and the first in the Apu trilogy. I found the later more interesting because Apu (Subir Bannerjee) is arguable the least significant of the major characters in this film, which centers more on his mother, Sarbojaya (Karuna Bannerjee), and especially his sister, Durga (Uma Das Gupta). Durga is something of a petty theft, who is always stealing fruit from the neighborhood orchards. Her mother defends her behavior to the neighbors, pointing out that fruit does not have the name of its owner on it, but she does not know what to do about Durga, or about the family's old auntie (Chunibala Devi). Apu is a witness to some of what happens, but it is not until the end of the film that he has a scene of some importance. Even then, it is the poetry of the moment that matters more than anything Apu does, and you are left with a sense of wonder as to how Ray has crafted this film so that this relatively simple moment becomes so eloquent. "Pather Panchali" was also known as "The Lament of the Path," "The Saga of the Road," and "Song of the Road," all of which give you a sense of the meaning and import of the title. You would be hard pressed to describe the plot of this movie in terms that would be enticing to an audience that is going to have to sit down and read subtitles for a film, but there are so many memorable moments in this film without dialogue, that being forced to read the English subtitles of the Bengali dialogue seems a small price to pay. This is about a poor rural family cursed with bad luck, and even that minor description gives no indication of the scope of this film. Even when nothing is happening, the scenes are still filled with meaning, and we never shake the feeling that we are watching real life. After seeing this film I started reading up on Ray and the legendary story of how he made this film, it is rather unbelievable when you consider we are talking about one of the greatest "foreign" film directors of all time, right up there with Kurosawa, Bergman, and Fellini. The short version is Ray had never directed a scene, his cameraman (Subrata Mitra) was a still photographer who had never shot a film, and his young actors had been hired without tryouts. He also hired a young musician named Ravi Shankar to do the score, and the result was cinematic magic and a film debut that is unforgettable. "Pather Panchali" is followed by "Aparajito" (1957) and "Apur Sansar" (1959) in telling the rest of the story of young Apu as he grows up. I have not seen then yet, but of course I will. I just need to let the afterglow of having finally seen this film dissipate first before I move on to the next offering in the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: The exquisite first film of the great Satyajit Ray
Review: Once upon a time, in the early years of the last century, a young boy named Apu lived with his poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, Harihar Ray (Kanu Bannerjee) is a poet and a priest, who would rather think of an idea for his next play than make an effort to get the money that is owed him, and who responds to the hardships of life with the simple declaration, "Whatever God does is for the best." Consequently, he has to travel far away for long periods of time to try and raise the money his family needs to survive, to pay back their debts, and to repair the family home, which is falling down. This leaves his wife and two children to survive as best they can in this intimate and poetic film. The two things I knew about this classic Indian film before I watched it was that it was the first by director Satyajit Ray and the first in the Apu trilogy. I found the later more interesting because Apu (Subir Bannerjee) is arguable the least significant of the major characters in this film, which centers more on his mother, Sarbojaya (Karuna Bannerjee), and especially his sister, Durga (Uma Das Gupta). Durga is something of a petty theft, who is always stealing fruit from the neighborhood orchards. Her mother defends her behavior to the neighbors, pointing out that fruit does not have the name of its owner on it, but she does not know what to do about Durga, or about the family's old auntie (Chunibala Devi). Apu is a witness to some of what happens, but it is not until the end of the film that he has a scene of some importance. Even then, it is the poetry of the moment that matters more than anything Apu does, and you are left with a sense of wonder as to how Ray has crafted this film so that this relatively simple moment becomes so eloquent. "Pather Panchali" was also known as "The Lament of the Path," "The Saga of the Road," and "Song of the Road," all of which give you a sense of the meaning and import of the title. You would be hard pressed to describe the plot of this movie in terms that would be enticing to an audience that is going to have to sit down and read subtitles for a film, but there are so many memorable moments in this film without dialogue, that being forced to read the English subtitles of the Bengali dialogue seems a small price to pay. This is about a poor rural family cursed with bad luck, and even that minor description gives no indication of the scope of this film. Even when nothing is happening, the scenes are still filled with meaning, and we never shake the feeling that we are watching real life. After seeing this film I started reading up on Ray and the legendary story of how he made this film, it is rather unbelievable when you consider we are talking about one of the greatest "foreign" film directors of all time, right up there with Kurosawa, Bergman, and Fellini. The short version is Ray had never directed a scene, his cameraman (Subrata Mitra) was a still photographer who had never shot a film, and his young actors had been hired without tryouts. He also hired a young musician named Ravi Shankar to do the score, and the result was cinematic magic and a film debut that is unforgettable. "Pather Panchali" is followed by "Aparajito" (1957) and "Apur Sansar" (1959) in telling the rest of the story of young Apu as he grows up. I have not seen then yet, but of course I will. I just need to let the afterglow of having finally seen this film dissipate first before I move on to the next offering in the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: Outstanding movie. DVD release not up to Criterion standards but the print quality is good.
Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: Outstanding movie. DVD release not up to Criterion standards but the print quality is good.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest.
Review: Pather Panchali is quite simply one of the greatest films of all time. It packs an unimaginably intense emotional wallop that I have not felt in some time at the cinema. It is one of maybe three or four movies I have ever cried at. A fellow reviewer put it best when he said that it is the very simplicity of the story that makes it so intense, and one is so completely drawn into the story of the poor Brahmin family that at the tragic climax of the film, we feel the grief of the family just as they would have. I had to see this movie three times during its limited engagement in Seattle, and it remains one of the most profound experiences I have ever had.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Films ever made
Review: Pather Panchali stays with you forever. The film envelops you with every frame, and you find yourself responding viscerally to every display of emotion on the screen. The end leaves you breathless, aching, distraught - you want to cry but you're left with a strange sense of incomrehensible loss. In a world where tawdry emotions concerning love, life, and loss are on constant display by the numbingly bubble-gum media and hollywood, this film remains a treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Unforgettable
Review: Pather Panchali, a simple, moving, story of a family struggling to survive the harshness of poverty in a village in Bengal. Nothing magical, nothing remarkable, and yet their lives encompass all the varied emotions that is within us all. That is the greatness of this film. It is ageless and universal. The bond between the girl Durga and Auntie,the old old lady is sweet and moving. So is the love between the little brother Apu and elder sister Durga. The simple things that fill these children with happiness, like a passing train, transport us to the simplicity of our childhood. The song when old Auntie calls to God in the gloomy dusk, to relieve her from the burden of this earth is haunting and sad, in that we feel the utter loneliness of the old woman. Each scene, is filled with meaning and there are no artificial sounds. In one of the scenes, with Durga and Apu roaming in the fields, there is just a heavy stillness, broken just by the sound of a sighing wind. The sitar recital by Ravi Shankar when the monsoon breaks and the first drops of rain fall, with the insects dancing over the rippling lake is magical and poetic. This movie, considered the best of Satyajit's work, remains one of the best and unforgettable movies, for me.
Rating:
Summary: Masterwork
Review: Satyajit Ray produced this simple film set in a small village in Bengal. The story is of a Brahmin who struggles to support his family. He has to travel in a search to find something. Against his travels the story of the family is explained. The black and white photography is the work of genius. When the film was made it was as if India was introduced into the world of serious cinema. The film containes scene after scene which are unforgetable. An early work by one of the great directors of all time. The film went on to become a triology. It is difficult to describe the sensation of seeing it. One of infinite saddness but at the same time one can not but admire its beauty.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: so i had to say something. this is an absolutely beautiful film. the forests in the film are beautiful. the music by ravi shanker fits everything in the film flawlessly. my favorite character is the grandmother. the presentation of this lady is beyond any character i've seen before in cinema. what she is all about captures your heart. and the daughter captures your heart. then the mother, father, and son. this film is about karma. the family's actions bring about the first tragedy, the grandmother's fate. so you know what will happen. fate is sealed. the father is pursuing the wrong things, and will pay a karmic price. this simple tale is a tale about spirituality and karma. because of the moral taught, its metaphorical significance, it is a great work of art, as great as any masterpiece. it has to be one of the greatest films ever conceived. it's in my top five films, perhaps my top three, and perhaps my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: The song of India illuminated like scenes in a pageant
Review: Some reviewer writes that this is an over-rated film. If anything this is an under-rated film. Because this is made in Bengali, very few people in India can appreciate this film far less the international audience. Bengali films and that too in 1950s were not promoted, not properly subtitled with the result that this film is confined to art-house audiences in India and elsewhere. I have seen Citizen Kane and let me tell you this is comparable if not better. Ray is criticized on 2 fronts by 2 different sets of people. Some people denigrate him as having sold India's poverty for awards. Others castigate him from glorifying poverty and for given a rose tinted view of poverty.Well you cant please everyone.Ray is not a social reformer, he is an artist with celluloid. So while his films are not meant to stir you into "action", he also does not succumb to making traditional Indian escapist song fests so that everyone can feel "good". This isnt a film--its a dream. It is about an Indian boy, who despite the death,sorrow,poverty he encounters at every stage in his life manages to keep his innocence and his dreams intact. It is about the courage to dream and the indomitable force of life. People who think this is dark and depressing miss out on the heart of Pather Panchali and on the Apu trilogy. On the contrary this is the greatest celebration of life ever captured on celluloid. And the haunting background score, the beautiful imagery, the rains falling on the pond, the necklace vanishing into the vegetation over the water......oh if this is not poetry then tell me what is ? See this....just see this.Thats all I can say.
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