Pather Panchali ***** (1955, Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Banerjee) – Classic Movie Review 7740

Pather Panchali (1955) is Indian writer-producer-director Satyajit Ray’s first film and the start of his stunning Apu trilogy charts the growth of Apu Ray (Subir Banerjee), a small boy born in a poor Bengali village, beset by poverty and family tragedy, around the start of the 20th century.

Based on the novels of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay [Bhibuti Bashan Bannerjee], Ray’s story focuses on the tiny points of memory we retain from our childhood years, ordinary events that help to produce meaning and understanding for the rest of our lives. It concentrates on the humanist themes of the rural setting, village life and family relationships. Ray completely restructured and filleted Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s semi-autobiographical work.

Pather Panchali is filmed with a huge warmth of feeling and an often startling eye for beauty. It is an original and boldly moving film that ranks among the highest achievements of world cinema. Ray’s beautiful screenplay is enriched by the flawless performances and Ravi Shankar’s eloquent score.

The main cast are Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Banerjee, Uma Das Gupta, Chunibala Devi, Runki Banerjee, Reda Devi, Aparna Devi, Nibbanoni Devi, Roma Ganguli, Kshirod Roy and Binoy Mukherjee.

Pather Panchali (aka Song of the Road, The Saga of the Road, The Lament of the Path) is directed by Satyajit Ray, runs 122 minutes, is made by Government of West Bengal, is written by Satyajit Ray, based on the novels by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay [Bhibuti Bashan Bannerjee], is shot in black and white by Subrata Mitra, is produced by Satyajit Ray, is scored by Ravi Shankar and is designed by Bansi Chandragupta.

It is followed by Aparajito (1957) and The World of Apu (1959).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7740

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