This is a girl that has often gone to bed hungry.Īpu is what you would expect a young boy to be. We see her watch others eat, and we see the hunger pains on her face. This may be why Durga steals - not out of an innate need to misbehave - but as a means of survival. They are also living in poverty, barely able to subsist during some seemingly insurmountable economic challenges. It is almost as if the family is in their own little corner of the forest, away from the trappings of society. It is in a small village, but aside from a select few, we barely get to meet any of their fellow neighbors. The Ray family is situated in their rural, ancestral home. When her younger brother enters the world, she takes him under her wing and shows him that there is a magnificent world lurking beyond their impoverished village. She is a thief, whether she takes beads or fruit, but she has a big heart. She is mischievous, like her younger brother will eventually become, but she is also benevolent. The first major character that we identify with is young Durga, Apu’s older sister, although we first meet her before meeting Apu. The debut may not be as fine-tuned as the two that would follow, but it portrays an innocence and simplicity hardly seen before or since. The fact that we are still talking about the trilogy sixty years later proves that he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Many consider it to be the crowning achievement of the series, and it currently sits at number 41 on the BFI Sight & Sound Poll ( Apur Sansar is 245 and Aparajito is not on the list.) Ray, influenced by Italian Neo-Realism and Poetic Realism, wanted to portray a different type of India than had been seen before. These posts will include spoilers of major events in the trilogy.īoth Apu’s cinematic story and Satyajit’s career began with Pather Panchali. Not enough can be said about the tremendous work that Criterion has put into not just the box set, but the visual presentation.

This was my second viewing of Pather Panchali and Aparajito, and the print was night and day compared to what I initially saw. It shows the tragic condition of the burnt prints, and we hear from the people who were instrumental throughout this painstaking process. Below is a short video that summarizes the restoration, but I recommend you watch the longer and more comprehensive piece on the Apur Sansar disc. The story of the Apu Trilogy, at least in 2015, cannot be told without discussing the exhaustive restoration that The Criterion Collection undertook in order to let a worthy print see the light of day. This post is part of the Criterion Blogathon hosted by Silver Screenings, Speakeasy and Criterion Blues (yours truly).

Pather panchali blu ray