SPOILERS:
Part two of the brilliant trilogy about the life of Apu is called "Aparajito" and although it is not quite as good as the first movie "Pather Panchali",it still is a powerhouse of drama and beautiful images.
It is nice to see that Ray actually begins his film where the first had ended,which really gives the feeling that you are witnessing the cycle of Apu's life. As said,I prefer "Pather Panchali" to this one and it is because of the element of surprise and characters that is better and broader worked out in the first movie.Still,some great scenes are in "Aparajito" for instance the scenes in which Apu's mother Sarbojaya,again a great role by Karuna Bannerjee,awaits her son's arrival from the University of Calcutta by train.The use of the arrival of the train in the distance is very well done and has a significant role in all three films.
The joy and sorrow is very closely linked in "Aparajito",the joy that Apu gets for getting the chance to study in Calcutta causes the sorrow of his mother who becomes lonely and eventually dies alone.The final shot of the movie resembles quite a lot the last shot of "Pather Panchali",only now Apu is going away from the country on his own.
Also of lesser quality is the music of Ravi Shankar,although it is a very good soundtrack.I still very much prefer the music of "Pather Panchali".
A very good movie and although I haven't seen "Apur Sansar" yet(I will do so tonight since I rented all three movies) I can't quite say yet which one is the best although one could very easily say that all three movies combine as one film about life,family and humanism.
Pather Panchali 9/10 (number 61 in my all-time top 100 list)
Aparajito 9/10 (number 70 in my all-time top 100 list)
Part two of the brilliant trilogy about the life of Apu is called "Aparajito" and although it is not quite as good as the first movie "Pather Panchali",it still is a powerhouse of drama and beautiful images.
It is nice to see that Ray actually begins his film where the first had ended,which really gives the feeling that you are witnessing the cycle of Apu's life. As said,I prefer "Pather Panchali" to this one and it is because of the element of surprise and characters that is better and broader worked out in the first movie.Still,some great scenes are in "Aparajito" for instance the scenes in which Apu's mother Sarbojaya,again a great role by Karuna Bannerjee,awaits her son's arrival from the University of Calcutta by train.The use of the arrival of the train in the distance is very well done and has a significant role in all three films.
The joy and sorrow is very closely linked in "Aparajito",the joy that Apu gets for getting the chance to study in Calcutta causes the sorrow of his mother who becomes lonely and eventually dies alone.The final shot of the movie resembles quite a lot the last shot of "Pather Panchali",only now Apu is going away from the country on his own.
Also of lesser quality is the music of Ravi Shankar,although it is a very good soundtrack.I still very much prefer the music of "Pather Panchali".
A very good movie and although I haven't seen "Apur Sansar" yet(I will do so tonight since I rented all three movies) I can't quite say yet which one is the best although one could very easily say that all three movies combine as one film about life,family and humanism.
Pather Panchali 9/10 (number 61 in my all-time top 100 list)
Aparajito 9/10 (number 70 in my all-time top 100 list)