Aparajito
by Satyajit Ray
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Product details
Actor: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Pinaki Sengupta, Santi Gupta, Smaran GhosalDirector: Satyajit Ray
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
Running Time: 113 minutes
Release Date: 1996-08-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
VHS Movie Reviews of Aparajito
Movie Review: Good
Summary: 4 Stars
The first film of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali, was such a great film that, naturally, the second film in the series was bound to suffer a bit of a let down. Thus, Aparajito (The Unvanquished)- based on the novel Aparajita, by Bibhutibhushan Banerjee, is not the unadulterated great piece of art that Pather Panchali is. Like many middle films of a series, it suffers from the infamous middle filmitis; when films that are not first in a series rely too heavily upon an audience's memories of earlier films to inform them of the traits of characters, the chronology of prior events, and a general knowledge of the world the film series is set in.
Aparajito falls into this trap, however, in a way different from your average Hollywood blockbuster film. Whereas most middle films feel a need to fall back on what already passed in a first film, Aparajito spends too much time ignoring the traits and actions that occurred in Pather Panchali; almost as if Ray wanted to sever connections between the two films. He achieves this by having the film's lead character, Apu, not being played by the child who portrayed him in the first film- Subir Banerjee. In this film, Apu is first played by Pinaki Sen Gupta, when ten; and later by Smaran Ghosal, when in hi slate teens. Two of the actors from the first film were retained: Kanu Banerjee as Harihar- Apu's father, and his wife Sarbajaya- still played by Karuna Banerjee. However, there has been a major personality shift in Sarbajaya- likely the only evidence of the death of Durga- Apu's older sister, from the first film. Whereas Sarbajaya was bossy and condescending in the first film- while also being loving, in this film she's timid and let's life play her; whereas in the first film she was restive, and dissatisfied with what life brought....The abrupt and disappointing ending is merely the most manifest sign of this tendency to rely on the fact that the viewer will have seen Pather Panchali. If coming to Aparajito on its own, most viewers will be a) lost, or b) more likely simply not as prone to care for either Sarbajaya nor Apu.
That stated, this is an excellent film which, asides from the death scenes, contains excellent poesy and metaphors- such as a scene where Apu enters Calcutta on a train, holding a small globe, given to him as a gift by the headmaster at the school in his mother's employer's village. The film also makes good use of humor, such as scenes where the young Apu plays around with monkeys and bells, and later, as a student, in an English class, where he falls asleep (due to working a job and his studiousness) during a lecture on synecdoche and metonymy. It also has moments of universality, such as when the mother and son reacquaint after a long stay at school, and the first thing Sarbajaya says is that Apu has grown taller and doesn't appear to be eating well, despite the fact that neither is true. But, the film's greatest strength is its depiction of fortuity. Despite its flaws, Aparajito is a great what if? movie- had his sister and father not died early, would Apu have ended up in college? Had his mother not been emotionally devastated by both losses, would she have domineered her son into submission when he wanted to go abroad? All of his family's losses, and deaths- his auntie, his sister, his father, his mother, all serve Apu's benefit. In short, death has been very, very good for Apu- both in allowing him to grow and removing obstacles to his own self-fulfillment, which may be the most damning (and tangential) criticism of religion (and its fetishizing by religion) that Ray makes in this whole film (as well as in the first film).
Like the domestic troubles and idiocies that abound in a typical Yasujiro Ozu film, which almost always transcends to the universal, Satyajit Ray's films seem to likewise contain personal and comic moments that all viewers, from any background, can relate to. The problem with Aparajito- especially in relation to Pather Panchali, is that- as far as domestic troubles go, the first film's were more existential and deeper in nature, making those suffered in Aparajito seem trivial by comparison. But, that is the trouble with comparing excellent art to great art- it always suffers by the comparison. On its own, Aparajito is an outstanding film, and, hopefully, provides merely a relatively weak link to a final film that is the equal of Pather Panchali, and one that shows Apu finally taking center stage in his titular trilogy's plight.
Movie Review: a wonderful film
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the APU Trilogy on VHS along w/ "Devi" and another Ray film.
I won't add to the other reviews which are all positive for the films.
Being a rabid Beatle fan,I did find it sort of amusing to see the teen Apu as he first arrived in Calcutta look up to see the name "Harrison St."
on the wall of the building near where he arrived at. Hmmmm....,
I have seen these films many times and they are precious gems. The first film,Pather Panchali,reminds me alot of Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath".
Thank You George Harrison,without you,I might not've discovered the other-world (and still my world) of India and it's culture and people.
Movie Review: The Story Continues
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been a few years since I saw "Pather Panchali" and I still remember a number of scenes vividly; especially the death of Apu's sister (oops that isn't giving anything away is it?). It shouldn't because death is in the supporting cast for all of the trilogy of Apu movies and "Aparajito" is no exception. We find Apu and his parents in a more urban environment than when we left them in "Pather Panchali". Apu is studying to become a priest of sorts but he is still drawn to the academic world. Trajedy ocurrs and an opportunity arises which eventually leads Apu to a scholarship to good school. The essence of "Aparajito" is the series of decisions that he makes. As with any young person emerging to adulthood, not all choices are easy nor do they all turn out the way you think they will.
Director Ray has done a masterful job of creating a family in India and endearing them to us to a degree that we share in every emotional swing they go through. Thus it is that "Aparajito" is both emotionally draing and emotionally uplifting. It isn't quite the equal of "Pather Panchali" but it is a worthy sequel.
Movie Review: brilliant film.....
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the second installment in the "Apu Trilogy," by masterful Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
Apu (Pinaki Sengupta, as the young Apu and Smaran Ghosal, as the adolescent) has relocated with his mother (Karuna Bannerjee) and father (Kanu Bannerjee) to Banares. Apu's father is working as a medicine man there, and Apu is very ambitious to start school with the other young boys. This follows the life of this family, its joys, struggles and the choice Apu must make to either pursue the life of his father (as a priest) or venture out to Calcutta, as a scholarship student, to build a foundation for himself.
This film was shot beautifully and is really a great example of marvelous storytelling. Also, the acting is brilliant. The two young men who portray Apu as a child and a young man are wonderful and engaging--particularly Pinaki Sengupta whose eyes say so much in the scenes between him and his parents that there is very little need for dialogue. Beautiful.......
Movie Review: What makes a man?
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the second entry of a famous Trilogy (Panther Pancahli was the first one and The world of Apu the last one). Satyajit Ray was essentially, a poet of the image, an untiring searcher of the total expression about cinema means. His notable traveling, his expressive close ups, the admirable sense of the contrasts, that confers him a superb status among the giants of the world cinema.
Aparajito is fundamentally, the story of a boy who becomes a man through a rigorous process of growing up. After his father's death. Apu decides to study in Calcutta, despite the ferrous opposition of his mother; so against all odds, he makes the journey(once more the unerring mythic seed beneath the plot), and he demonstrates to be a very clever and intelligent pupil. The adolescence is by definition, an age of sudden changes, meditations and doubts. Far from his birth land he will know and deal with those little miseries of the life but also with the significance of the personal effort as a continuous work in progress.
Arresting images, sharp contrasts with the Ganges river working out as a big frame, a realist script with towering performances make of this movie one of the best films in cinema's story without a bit of doubt.
A must-see.
Summary of Aparajito
In this, the second film in the Apu trilogy, Harihar (Kanu Bannerjee) takes his wife, Sarbajaya (Karuna Bannerjee), and his son, Apu, to live in the bustling city of Benares after the tragic death of his daughter, Durga, and the destruction of the family's home. Harihar ekes out a living reading sacred texts by the shores of the Ganges River. When he falls ill, Sarbajaya must learn to cope on her own and leaves the city to work as a cook for a wealthy family living in the country.Apu, by now an adolescent (played by Smaran Ghosal), is extremely bright and hungry for knowledge. Good fortune befalls him, and he is able to attend school, eventually going to Calcutta to attend the university. Sarbajaya is reluctant to let her son go, but she is unable to stop him. She waits patiently for his return, but at the same time is growing weak from illness. When Apu learns of his mother's illness, he must decide if he's going to sacrifice his final exams and return to her side or take the exams and risk the chance she might die before he gets there.
As compelling as its predecessor, Pather Panchali, this film was made only one year later, in 1956. Karuna Bannerjee is riveting in her portrayal of a woman who has lost everything of value to her but her beloved son. The film was based on the novel Aparajito by Bibhutibhushan Banerjee, and the music was composed by Ravi Shankar. --Luanne Brown
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