Saturday, June 8, 2019

Delayed Reaction: Pather Panchali


The Pitch: If you are in the mood for an Indian film without all the singing and happiness, check this out.

The day-to-day life of a poor family in rural Bengal, India in the early part of the 20th century.

This is another international classic film that I'm afraid I don't really get. I definitely need some more context for it. From my understanding, it was a big step forward for Indian cinema back in the 1950s. It shares elements of the neo-realism movement that was going on in Italy. I'm not exactly sure why this is an enduring classic though. It's the first part of the Apu trilogy, so perhaps I have something to gain by watching the other two parts.

I did like the movie. It's a very simple film. I enjoyed the relationship between the brother and sister (Apu and Durga). It's a very patient film that spends a lot of time building up all the characters. I thought that the father's dashed dreams and financial struggles would be as severe as it got, so when bodies started dropping, that was a blow. The very end, when Apu finds the necklace his sister stole, did hit me a lot harder than I expected. I may need to revisit this one whenever my movie diet is better rounded out.

Verdict: Weakly Recommend

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