The Music Room

The Music Room aka Jalsaghar (Satiyajit Ray, 1958)

Jalsaghar depicts the end days of a decadant zamindar or landlord (Chhabi Biswas) in Bengal, and his efforts to uphold his family prestige even when faced with economic adversity.

Apur Sansar (1959)

Apur Sansar (Satyajit Ray, 1959)

The last chapter of the trilogy of Apu by Satyajit Ray concludes this autobiographical story of its director with mastery. Apu just lost his mother and is out of school without a "real" diploma. He decides to become a writer and he teaches to pupils as a living. He hardly gets want he needs to survive. His life is miserable and it doesn't seem to get better. One day his best friend come visit and invite him on a wedding in his family. Apu accepts but on the arrival of the groom the family of the discovers that the groom is mentally ill. They decide to cancel this wedding, but the bride must get married before the sunset. If not, she will be cursed. The only solution is to take Apu as her husband. With a little resistance and lots of compassion, Apu accepts again and marries Aparna.

For a while, they live something like a happily life together until Aparna gets pregnant. She returns to her family to have the baby but a dramatic event occurs and Kajal, their son is the result. Once again, Apu gets on his own and disappears. His journey will take messianic scale. However, in conclusion he'll renew with his son Kajal and the journey of the life of Apu will continue forever.

Like the other films of the trilogy, Apur Sansar is shot with crude natural images and rests on the human Indian life. Ray approach to film is near the documentary because it documents how Indians lived and many cultural elements that are unknown by any Occidentals like your host here. The rites of marriage, the couple lives, the food making, etc. Satyajit Ray was the John Ford of his country he took a picture of his land, his time, and the richness of both to spread wide to the whole world. It's shame that his films are so hard to find in North America because his Trilogy is populated by three masterpieces.

Pather Panchali (1955)

Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955)

When I discovered Pather Panchali it was the first Satyajit Ray film I've ever seen, and it was also the first Indian film I watched. I knew it was the first part of the Apu Trilogy and that it was considered as a true masterpiece. But I didn't knew that it was gonna be one of the most recognized "foreign" film. 

Its narration is very subtle and lets lots of space to the actors to actually live on the screen. I know there was a novel on which the trilogy is based but I also read somewhere that it is almost Satyajit Ray's autobiography.

Pather Panchali is the story of an Indian peasant family living with the grand mother, a son Apu and his sister. It depicts how Indians lived in the begininng of the 20th century. The discovery of modernity illustrated by the train and the fragility of life represented by the daughter's death.

The most important aspect of this filmmaking is how Satyajit Ray wants his film to be naturalistic and realistic. It possesses a documentary-like narration of objective camera and almost a non-existent plot. It depicts life itself and what is Cinema if it's not about life? Ray's films are hard to get and sometimes as Occidentals we are a little confused about what's going on the screen but for a glutton and curious cinephile like me Pather Panchali leads you in something completely different and very interesting.

Aparajito

Aparajito (Satyajit Ray, 1956)

Aparajito is the simple story of an Indian family of the region of Bengal. The father felt ill because of his overwork, and dies a while after. He let behind him a wife and a son, Apu. As in many families where the husband dies or the mother is divorced, the son becomes the remplacement of his father in the mind of the mother. This is a natural reaction to an emptiness caused by a lost.

Later, Apu is in his teenage years and he goes to school in Calcutta away from his dear mother. Once again, the mother suffers from the lost of his male figure. On one side she wants the best for her son; a good education and a good future. But, on the other side she wants him on her side as much as he can.

The second chapter of the Apu triology by Satyajit Ray, tells the story of many families but especially the life of its auteur; Ray himself. Family is a universal theme but in this depiction of India, it is very specific to its country and reflects for outsiders like me, how people lived in India in the 1920's. We have shots of the Gange, the classrooms, the family home, the relations between the mother, the father, and the son. The talent of Satyajit Ray is realism, his images are raw and real and his mastery of Cinema is impressive for an Occidental point of view. The way he shot his film is near the documentary and it gives a sense of palpable moviemaking. Ray presented to the world his culture, his country, and his art and he put it by himself in front of the big Hollywood machine, the european auteurs, etc. A country that didn't had the reputation to offer masterpieces had his master: Satyajit Ray for India. I read somewhere that what Ray did to India is comparable has what John Ford did to the American heritage. I think it's not pretentious to support this affirmation.

World Cinema diserves much more praised than it actually has and I will review much more of Satyajit Ray's films in the montrhs to come.