Giorni e notti nella foresta

"Aranyer Din Ratri" is an underrated lyrical masterpiece from the great Satyajit Ray. Its structure is one of the most musical of Ray's films, yet it remains one of the most scathing indictments of pompous urban men. A must see. The memory game sequence alone is worth the price of the film.

I feel compelled to respond to Ravenus, who writes: "Simi Garewal's hilariously accented Bengali makes her tribal character a hard act to digest." We must remember that Duli, the character Simi plays, is not a sophisticated woman from Calcutta, but a tribal woman from Palamau, which is 300 miles west of Calcutta. Her accent is perfect for the character.

Couldn't recall the time, last when I have seen such a natural, inherent term movie! No doubt about that how much gem Satyajit Ray was! Really wish to watch his all movies..

Story is about friends going to a vacation to disconnect from daily life for a while. The writer, Sunil Gangopadhyay, is one of the best novelists of Bengal who wrote beautifully about youth and thus this film too. There are scenes of them drinking which has been served as a reference for drunk scenes for decades. Also, the memory game scene breaks the classical expositions in film and a source of many pop quizzes, memes and minimalistic posters. At least 2 post-millennial film I can remember directly inspired by this - Goutam Ghose's 'Abar Aranye', a sequel and Anjan Dutt's 'Chalo Let's Go', a remake?!. Again, like all his films, Rabi Ghosh steals a lot of scenes. And again, lot of sexy women.

Ray excells himself in this wonderfully sensitive rites-of-passage film. A group of friends in their twenties take a short vacation in the countryside together. After some confusion about their accommodation they find themselves staying near to two respectable young women of good family who stimulate their interest. Although the women appear not too interested at first, things change, and they all begin to spend time together. Each of the characters is profoundly different from the others, and it soon becomes clear that they have different goals - and perhaps needs - in life. That does not prevent an extraordinary sexual chemistry from developing which is all the more vivid for being understated and unspoken. The picnic scene where the girls suggest they all play a literary game is replete with poignantly repressed sexuality. As the film develops the four men begin to go their separate ways, but for the two women (and for one especially) the encounter with the men has stimulated feelings it is difficult to ignore. This is a film of extraordinary subtlety and depth. A classic of world cinema by one of the cinema's greatest directors, it deserves much greater recognition.

Probably one of the most underrated works of Satyajit Ray....this is a beautiful take on life of few middle urban class people as they go on a vacation.......There's so much depth in every characters and sequences that is handled with so much immense realism......The Memory gane scene alone is enough to make this film into the top tier......