Pather Panchali

1955 [BANGLA]

Action / Drama / History

49
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 98% · 82 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 93% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 8.2/10 10 42255 42.3K

dying and death pre-code robbery misery difficult childhood move

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Plot summary

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.

Director

Satyajit Ray Photo
Satyajit Ray

Top cast

Kanu Bannerjee Photo
Kanu Bannerjee as Harihar Ray
Tulsi Chakraborty Photo
Tulsi Chakraborty as Prasanna, school teacher
Binoy Mukherjee Photo
Binoy Mukherjee as Baidyanath Majumdar
Roma Ganguli Photo
Roma Ganguli as Roma
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.13 GB
988*720
Bangla 2.0
Not Rated
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 5 min
Seeds 11
2.1 GB
1472*1072
Bangla 2.0
Not Rated
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 5 min
Seeds 48

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

Part one of Satyajit Ray's trilogy introduces us

Part one of Satyajit Ray's trilogy introduces us to the poverty stricken family of the young "Apu" (Subir Banerjee). His family once had a guava orchard, but his poet and philosopher father "Harihar" (Kanu Bannerjee) had to trade that in to square up his profligate brother's debts. That now means that his mother "Sarbojaya" (Karuna Bannerjee) has to try to keep food on the table for them, his pilfering sister "Durga" (Uma Das Gupta) and their resident elderly aunt "Indir" (Chunibala Devi) - and that's not a task she relishes! With nothing much coming in, her's is the job of scraping together the means of buying food and living with the disdain of her neighbours. Finally, "Harihar" concludes that he must go and find work - so off he goes leaving the family to fend for themselves - and all of this with the monsoon season looming large over their dilapidated home. Being the first of a trilogy, this is much more of an establishing exercise - we get to meet the constituent parts of this happy but strained and frequently quarrelsome family; we see just how hand-to-mouth their existence is; we experience some of the culture of shame that is visited on those less fortunate - and we also get to appreciate the stoicism of a family with very little prospect of light at the end of their tunnel. What really adds richness to this story is the photography. It's so intimate in it's presentation. Everything here looks spontaneous and natural, the antics of the children - especially the fruit stealing sister; the boys playing and cavorting around. Even the constant bickering between aunt and mother comes across as entirely convincing. The jigsaw puzzle of his life is only gradually being put together, but you can sense that "Apu" is in for some adventures as he strives for a better life for him and his family, and even at a young age we all see his potential, and the potential for him to fail. I saw a 16mm print of this recently and though the subtitles had faded slightly, it was quite an astonishing production to watch and as an observation of subsistence life, it's really quite poignant.
Reviewed by review_forum 8 / 10

Beauty Lies In The Detailing.

This film is based on the the Bengali novel "Pather Panchali" by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. It is hard to believe Satyajit Ray made his directorial debut with this film. The movie itself is the evidence what Satyajit Ray was capable of. Story is simple but the things that make the film great are its soulful scenes without using dialogues, camera work technically very much ahead of its time and the background score by Pandit Ravi Shankar setting the tone for the movie. The style of detailings used in this film help us to connect with the film. Cinematography and believable acting are the strength of this film. No wonder why Martin Scorsese was a great admirer of Satyajit Ray's work.
Reviewed by infoseeker531 9 / 10

What a story!

I have just finished Pather Panchali. To be honest, it took almost two weeks to watch it. Not only interruptions, but the shear poverty of the individuals--the family--is overwhelming. Each member exhibits their poverty and destitution in a different way. My favorite character is Durga, who gives and gives until she reaches the point where she is tired of not receiving.

I will forever remember this movie, and I hope to watch the other two parts of the trilogy.

I have to have this film in my collection. Movies that make you think and think again, and search your heart for answers that sometimes never come.

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