Apus Weg ins Leben - 3.: Apus Welt

I am not usually drawn to slow-moving, "artistic" films. But this film is of rare beauty and insight. I found it much more moving than the first two films in the Apu trilogy. The themes of loss, of running away from grief, and ultimately of reconciliation and responsibility have rarely been handled with a wiser eye.

"The World of Apu" is a tale joy of and tragedy, unmatched in its beauty and profound emotion. Satyajit Ray's final film in the Apu trilogy ranks with King Vidor's "The Crowd" and Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Ordet" as a cinema landmark of family life. But it far exceeds those films in its visual poetry. Apu's journey with a friend and his unplanned marriage sets the stage for a story of domestic life in all its simple joy and awful despair. The serene, contented beauty of the girl is a soaring vision, matched in its humanity only by the broken heart of Apu when she dies. The pages of an unfinished novel, a life's work floating in the mountain air like the seeds of a dandelion, become the symbol of Apu's devastation. The rebirth of life and hope realized in the child illustrates a fundamental belief of Hinduism. Beautifully photographed and edited, "The World of Apu" is a masterpiece of film as narrative storytelling. It is the most "Indian" of all Indian films.

The final episode of the Trilogy takes us to a young adult Apu. IMdb seems to have missed the British Film Award that this and Sathyajits' other two episodes (Song of the Road, Unvanquished) received.

This movie together with the other two movies are a monumental work in movie making. The way the story is portrayed, and the use of many details, enrich the emotional experience it provides. One can recall the way the screen of the movie theatre fades into the window of the horse carriage, or the way the hole on the window curtain reverberates with the spotted decorations on the actress face and etc.

This a "must see" movie for all, in the different ways emotions are expressed and the way it takes the audience in a roller coater ride of emotions. It is an enriching and a moving experience. It reinforces and reinvigorates the humanity within each of us.

To enjoy the movie most, viewers should see the first two episodes in sequence before viewing "Apur Sangsar."

The final episode of the Trilogy takes us to a young adult Apu. Received the British Film Award which Sathyajits' other two episodes (Song of the Road, Unvanquished) also received.

This movie together with the other two movies are a monumental work in movie making. The way the story is portrayed, and the use of many details, enrich the emotional experience it provides. One can recall the way the screen of the movie theatre fades into the window of the horse carriage, or the way the hole on the window curtain reverberates with the spotted decorations on the actress face and etc.

This a "must see" movie for all, in the different ways emotions are expressed and the way it takes the audience in a roller coater ride of emotions. It is an enriching and a moving experience. It reinforces and reinvigorates the humanity within each of us.

To enjoy the movie most, viewers should see the first two episodes in sequence before viewing "Apur Sangsar."

Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) is the stunning final chapter of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, one of the most widely acclaimed series in film. While Pather Panchali and Aparajito, the trilogy's first two, are extremely well crafted, the lack the heart-wrenching beauty of this installment. These three films revolve around tragedy, and it has an almost predestined quality to it, which reminded me somewhat of Stanley Kubrick's excellent, "Barry Lyndon." That's where the similarities end of course, as this film is warm and radiates humanity, and Lyndon (as well as all of Kubrick's work) is cold and icy. Ray's rich lyrical realism breathes beauty in the mundane acts of his characters. The film opens as Apu, now a young man, attempts to eek out a living. He searches relentlessly for work, most of which is monotonous and doesn't pay well. However his pudgy friend Pulu invites him to a wedding, and Apu obliges, hoping maybe this display of love will help inspire him and the novel he is writing. In a fascinating turn of events (which I won't spoil,) Apu finds himself coming back to Calcutta married. Aparna, his new bride, is used to a life of luxury outside of the big city` but she is prepared for a life of poverty with her new husband. In one of the most beautiful sequences in film, Apu and his bride slowly begin to love and care for one another. The beauty of this is that we never see them embrace, or kiss or make love. Instead we see it in gestures, in window curtains, in little notes Aparna puts in Apu's cigarettes reminding him only to have one after every meal. Their love is like a dream of love we've had, one that's so innocent and wonderful we want to dream forever. But like all dreams, Apu must wake up. Happiness is just a fleeting emotion for Apu, one that enters his life at random points and then dissapears. Apu wanders bitterly through the Indian landscape, searching for solace and peace. The end moments cannot be explained in words, and simply must be experienced. One of the greatest films of all time. 10/10