Ray is a masterful storyteller, whose slow pace is too much for some, but rewards those willing to be drawn into his world.
Aparajito (1957)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:14
Fresh:13
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: The second film in director Ray's acclaimed "Apu Trilogy" (see PATHER PANCHALI and THE WORLD OF APU). Winner of the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. Devastated by a family... The second film in director Ray's acclaimed "Apu Trilogy" (see PATHER PANCHALI and THE WORLD OF APU). Winner of the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. Devastated by a family tragedy, 10-year-old Apu and his parents move to the sacred city of Benares, hoping to build a new life. In Benares, Apu's father Harihar ekes out a subsistence living as a priest reciting religious scripture. Though his family is poor and his mother burdened with cares, Apu runs freely, ignorant of his parents' concerns. One day, Harihar returns from work faint and feverish. Shortly thereafter, he dies. Widowed, Sarbajaya realizes she has no recourse but to find work. As a cook for a wealthy Bengali family, she makes a decent living for herself and a growing Apu. But she leaves that position to live with her uncle in his village of Bengal. There, Apu excels in school and wins a scholarship to study at a college in Calcutta. Though pleased with her son's academic success, Sarbajaya's health is now failing and she needs him at home. Thus begins the clash between a proud woman and her headstrong son. [More]
Starring: Pinaki San Gupta, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Smaran Ghosal
Starring: Pinaki San Gupta, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Smaran Ghosal
Director: Satyajit Ray
Director: Satyajit Ray
Composer: Ravi Shankar
Screenwriter: Satyajit Ray
Producer: Satyajit Ray
Story: Bibhutibhusan Banerjee
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Reviews for Aparajito
It's a masterpiece for which terms like 'simplicity' and 'profundity' seem inadequate.
Ray's relaxed, open style had a tremendous influence on the film world of 1956, but time has absorbed some of its originality.
Standing above fashion, it creates a world so convincing that it becomes, for a time, another life we might have lived.
It is done with such rare feeling and skill at pictorial imagery, and with such sympathetic understanding of Indian character on the part of Mr. Ray, that it develops a sort of hypnotism for the serene and tolerant viewer.
each tightly constructed story flows naturally like the Ganges River without artificial contrivances
The word 'masterpiece' is certainly overused, but this is one instance when it is deserved.
There's pleasure in witnessing Apu's thrill of knowledge, but sadness when his ambitions create an inevitable break with his mother.
It doesn't have quite the tension or quite the variety of mood but it has a special brooding quality and a more explicit conflict between East and West.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
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