Best of the trilogy?
My vote goes to "Apur Sansar", followed by "Aparajito". I just didn't like "Pather Panchali" that much...
sharePather Panchali
Apur Sansar
Aparajito
1.Pather Panchali-10/10-An extraordinaty, beautiful and poetic film. One of the best films about being a child in poverty.
2.Aparajito-10/10-The second part is no better than the first. Deeply touching and powerful!
3.Apur Sansar-8/10-Extremely flawed but it's a must see. Very inventively directed. It's just that I can't believe why it's so difficult for Apu to accept his wife's death after everything he's been through(so many deaths occured in his life untill that moment).
Maybe that's the reason? That he can't stand one more of them... And anyway, he changes his mind, doesn't he?
shareYeah absolutely, the way I saw it also.
Having had to face as much tragedy in his life as that guy, any more would only have been harder to take not easier.
You also have to remember that Apu prior to marrying, saw himself as an "artist" and in doing so chose to live his life eschewing all worldly attachments such as love and material wealth. Apu at the beginning of the film (possibly because of all that had happened to him in the past) was essentially an "observer" of life rather than a participant. But as his friend pointed out -- how could he write about something he'd never really experienced?
It was only when he married and his burgeoning relationship with his wife, that Apu, for the first time, began to truly experience what love is; in fact he was consumed by it. And it was her death that caused him to re-evaluate almost everything he had come to believe life represented up to that point. And it was only through that re-evaluation that Apu could fully appreciate what the important things in life were (it wasn't his book for a start) and finally make a connection with his son.
Brilliant film.
My personal favorite is "Pather Panchali". As many might know it was Satyajit Ray's first film and was sort of a learning phase for him. He previously worked with famous director Jean Renoir for "The River", which was shot in Calcutta. The movie was adapted from the novel very thoroughly and closely and whoever has read the novel will know how close it is. The film was made close to nature so that one can truely smell the air of a poor Bengal village in the early 1900s. If you think you'll understand, that none of the scenes can be complete without the amount of nature that is in it. Whoever is in film studies, will know that it is one of the first phase of Satyajit Ray movie where the scenes are more close to nature, more subtle, and has less conversation and startling editing. It might feel a little slow because of the kind of life shown in the movie. In the next two movies of the trilogy Apu goes to cities, which obviously has faster life than in a poor village. It is regarded as a master-piece by the world's most renowned critics because of the meticulous effort behind it. Due to budget constraint and other things the production of this movie actually took a long time.
But still without the next two movies "Pather Panchali" remains incomplete and Apur Sansar ends it brilliantly in a tragicomic note.