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| Young Apu is standing on the street with his belongings, moving out from home, on this modern poster for Satyajit Ray's Aparajito |
Apu's family live in poverty, - but are together, - SPOILER until his father's sudden death. Apu and his mother then move to the countryside, where he becomes a kind of priest and a master student, before he decides to move to Calcutta by himself to continue his studies. The decision mars his lonely mother.
Just like Pather Panchali (1955), - Bengali master filmmaker, writer, producer and director Satyajit Ray's (The Big City/Mahanagar (1963)) first in his Apu trilogy, - Aparajito (which means 'the unvanquished' in Bengali) is a captivating and delicate portrayal of life in what is Bangladesh and India today (and was at the time the Bengal region of Pakistan.) It is based on the last 5th of the novel Pather Panchali (1929) and the first third of Aparajito by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (Chander Pahar (1937).
Everything is depicted with intimate knowledge of the culture and life there, (Ray was himself from Calcutta), human tenderness, feeling and insight and great dignity. The acting is first class and truly moving, with original ideas heightening key moments in the transfixing film, which is at its base about a young man's need to free himself from the confines of his family and step forth to be by himself.
Aparajito is a sometimes funny and often moving second chapter in the life of Apu, which can be seen on its own, or after the masterpiece Pather Panchali. The trilogy ends in The World of Apu (1959). Together, the films and Ray form one of the most important single entries in the cinema history of the 20th century. You will simply have to get the films to see and feel exactly why for yourself.
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
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[Aparajito was released 11 October (India) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place in India, including Kolkata. The film was reportedly less successful in India than the antecedent Pather Panchali, SPOILER as Apu's reaction of relief to his mother's death caused outrage. Cost and box office details are regrettably not readily available. The film was nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won a National Board of Review award and 3 prizes at the Venice Film Festival, among other honors. The Apu trilogy is concluded with The World of Apu (1959) by Ray. Ray returned first with The Philosopher's Stone/Parash Pathar (1958). Aparajito is fresh at 95 % with an 8.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
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