Satyajit Ray’s Haunting Poetry

Posted on by

If you find yourself a connoisseur of good cinema or have a thing for really good art-house Indie (as in Indian) films, and are in the Washington D.C. area, make sure you try and stop off to see the National Gallery of Art’s screening tomorrow (May 7) of the 1955 Satyajit Ray classic, Pather Panchali, a story of an impoverished family in a Bengali village circa 1919, and the movie that many would say placed Satyajit ray on the international film map. In celebration of the film’s fiftieth anniversary (which would have actually been in 2005), Partha Mitter, research professor at the University of Sussex, will discuss the work of his friend Satyajit Ray. The lecture will be followed by a screening of a 35 mm archival print of Pather Panchali from the collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This event is free, open to the public, begins at 4 PM, and should last around 2 hours and 15 minutes. Amazon.com calls this film an “essential video” in its editorial review, and goes on to say,

“this truly remarkable feat of storytelling is a must-see kind of movie. Ray reveals a gift for presenting stories that unfold gently, one engaging scene at time. This film delivers an amazing emotional punch that will linger in your consciousness for some time, not in spite of, but because of its simplicity.”

15 thoughts on “Satyajit Ray’s Haunting Poetry”

  1. the movie that many would say placed Satyajit ray on the international film map

    There is no doubt that Pather Panchali was the film that put Ray on the international stage Sajit, as he hadn’t made any beforehand – it was his debut. SatyajitRay.org is a superb website all about the man, with these two great little articles about Pather Panchali.

    And big up Brighton for representing Stateside! I wonder if Mitter’s own film will be shown too?

  2. Yay! I think I will be able to make it. I have always wanted to see this movie.

  3. The movie is a masterpiece! I watched it on video recently with my family. Everything felt so darn real! It’s hard to imagine that anyone there was acting. And Durga just stole and broke our hearts. Everyone, including my daughter (who is about the same age as Durga in movie), was profoundly affected. A must see for everyone.

  7. I have seen all of his films…did not like them all, but I did see them…The Apu Trilogy, the first “real” Indian film for me. Real meaning not Bollywood, although, don’t get me wrong, Bollywood is fun!

    Pather Panchali! What fun!

  8. One of the advantages of being Bengali is that I can view the works of Ghatak, Ray and Sen. For people just getting into Ray movies I recommend the following:

    Apu Trilogy Jalsaghar (The Music Room) Charulata (Lonely Wife) Mahanagar (The Big City) Jana Aranya (The Middleman) Ghare Baiyre (The Home and the World)

  9. I watched the Apu Trilogy when I was about 10 years old and some of the scenes and characters from the film are still so vivid in my mind (after nearly 18 years) The cinematography by Subrata Mitra was simply beautiful. Anyone remember the train scene?

    It’s definitely one of those films that ‘stays’ with you forever although I think I need to watch it again as I probably didn’t get 90% of the symbolism etc.

  10. Can any one tell me where i will get all bangla tintin and asterix…

  11. omg…..when i saw apu triilogy….i ws pyched…man it ws so awesom……iloved it……….n yes….i remembd d train scene….offcourse………it ws awesom..i jus cnt foget dt scene…..d movie ws briilliant………superb..i saw d movie when i ws 14….on my birthday…wid all mah!! frndzzzzzzzzz..n i loved it………….

  13. hmmm………serisoly…….no 1 cn beat dt movei…”APU TRILLOGY”..it ws mind blowing…..awesom…outstanding…………hena vanshhika………

  15. All Indian movies should be like this…then it can be taken seriously by an international audience..especially an intellectual one, like European cinema and Japanese cinema