THE WORLD OF APU Movie Review

Apu Sansat
Apur Sansar

In the final film of Satyajit Ray's great Apu Trilogy, Apu (played now by Soumitra Chatterjee) is forced to abandon his university studies for lack of funds. Though a strange, unplanned series of circumstances, Apu marries, but the marriage turns out to be a happy one, and Apu believes he has found his place in the world. His wife dies giving childbirth, however, and Apu is so devastated that he will not see his son; instead, he goes on a long journey through the country, alone. Five years later Apu is persuaded to return, and when he sees his son, his love for the boy suddenly transcends all of his deep-seated, festering anger. Now, he truly has found his place in the world. Ray's trilogy is one of the greatest of all film experiences. The flow of narrative, the rhythm of the storytelling, Ravi Shankar's musical score, the visual intimacy, and uninsistent elegance of the acting all reinforce the basic, magnificent story that Ray gives to us. The comic moments in the films seem to flow naturally as well, and are never mere “comic relief.” The trilogy has the spaciousness and breadth of a great novel, and it takes us along on Apu's journey through life rather than making us mere spectators. The Apu Trilogy can, and does, change you. It opens your eyes once again to the wonder and possibilities of the choices we have, and it reminds us as well of the limitless, untapped potential of the cinema to show us these things.

NEXT STOP … Two Daughters, The Lion King, The Searchers

1959 103m/B IN Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Charkravarty, Swapan Makerji; D: Satyajit Ray; W: Satyajit Ray; M: Ravi Shankar. VHS HHT, VYY, DVT