अपराजितो

Although Satajit Ray was to old, sick and spent to fully appreciate his special Oscar, it was to the Academy's credit that it finally did recognize this supreme artist.

It's often been said that "Aparajito" is the lesser of the three film that comprise "The Apu Trilogy." I personally don't buy that. Here is a finely etched portrait of a young man as he leaves his primitive Indian village and widowed mother to better himself through education at a Calcutta University.

The relationship between mother and son are beautifully presented, with their differing values representative of passing generations. The circumstances may be specific, while the story is universal.

It is about the age-old tension between human choices and challenging environments, about the balancing of values in achieving one's heart's desires.

The emotional fluctuations felt by both mother and son are sharply depicted, including the loss of one's parents as a unique, one-time experience. One must pick up the pieces and move on, as Apu does.

Viewing "Pather Panchali," "Aparajito" and "The World of Apu" in one continuous sequence is the proper way to get the full impact of this incredible piece of work.

This is one of the few films that, ever since first viewing, have reverberated daily in my consciousness--and no doubt on a subconscious level as well.

If somebody wanted to acclaim "Aparajito" as the finest film ever made, I would not offer resistance, though of course that's a kind of meaningless claim to make. It's similar to calling Mozart the finest composer who ever lived--meaningless, yet somehow appropriate.

See "Aparajito" and find out if you don't agree. This film can change the way you look at life and human interaction--forever.

Only slightly weaker, in my opinion, is the first of the three films in this "Apu Trilogy," "Pather Panchali." "Pather Panchali" may be even stronger than "Aparajito" in that it repeatedly reaches heart-wrenching emotional peaks with the slightest of cinematic means. Both films are testimony to the great human heart of Satyajit Ray, surely one of the masterful geniuses of any day, in any medium.

I wish the third member of the trilogy, "The World of Apu," lived up to the standard of the first two. Unfortunately, it's flawed by an excess of sentimentality and melodrama. Still a fine film by ordinary standards, it does fail when measured against its two masterful predecessors. But that's often the way in multi-volume works.

All three films should be seen by anybody who considers film important as a means of human communication, or who cherishes learning about other cultures, or who simply feels in need of some affirmation of the occasional nobility of spirit and mysterious ways of the souls of ordinary human beings.

Each of the three films of the Apu Trilogy exhibit the extraordinary quality of a documentary film on the conditions of life in India at the time they are set. I think this is what I like best in them through numerous viewings. The films are shot in locations that appear untouched by any art department - remote countryside in Bengal, the great cities - Benares and Calcutta. The characters eke out an adequate life in their sufficient poverty - a life sustained by their faith and simple devotion to one another. At the same time there are moments that are pure cinema. There is an exquisite swish pan cut from Kurana (the mother) leaning against a tree, full of emptiness as Apu has just left for Calcutta, to the swift dynamo of the train crossing a bridge with the trestles a blur. At the moment Kanu (the father) gives up his soul a flock of birds alights over the Ganges. Later as Kurana is gradually sinking into the depths of loneliness - a sickness unto death - she has a vision of fireflies swirling around in the falling darkness.

These films traverse the drama of life and death touching gently on all of the salient points along the path. They put us face to face with the challenge of living in a world, which constantly give us disappointment. At the same time there is a celebration of that ineffable quality which gives life meaning.

Each of the three films of the Apu Trilogy exhibit the extraordinary quality of a documentary film on the conditions of life in India at the time they are set. I think this is what I like best in them through numerous viewings. The films are shot in locations that appear untouched by any art department - remote countryside in Bengal, the great cities - Benares and Calcutta. The characters eke out an adequate life in their sufficient poverty - a life sustained by their faith and simple devotion to one another. At the same time there are moments that are pure cinema. There is an exquisite swish pan cut from Kurana (the mother) leaning against a tree, full of emptiness as Apu has just left for Calcutta, to the swift dynamo of the train crossing a bridge with the trestles a blur. At the moment Kanu (the father) gives up his soul a flock of birds alights over the Ganges. Later as Kurana is gradually sinking into the depths of loneliness - a sickness unto death - she has a vision of fireflies swirling around in the falling darkness.

These films traverse the drama of life and death touching gently on all of the salient points along the path. They put us face to face with the challenge of living in a world, which constantly gives us disappointment. At the same time there is a celebration of that ineffable quality which gives life meaning.

This is so much heart touching movie with extra ordinary acting. The acting of the mother of apurba by Karuna Bannerjee is marvelous. The relationship between mother and son, showing in the film is so much heart touching. I watched with my friend at 7 pm and before complete the movie i called the mom and again after completing i calling her twice. She wondered what happened to me ! Not only me, my friend also call his home now regularly. That's the effect of the Aparajito. Satyajit Ray is the greatest director of India. There have no mistake in this classic play. Apu, his father, the principal, everyone is perfect. If you still not watching this movie, you missing something in your life. Enjoy and feel it, still hurting me.