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Pather Panchali
পথের পাঁচালী
1955 · Film · 125 min
Directed by Satyajit Ray
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.
2 positivefrom 2 commenters
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2 comments on Hacker News
There's something so beautifully romantic about trains. Perhaps that's why filmmakers love them. I can't help but think of the characters in Days of Heaven, migrating across the Texas Panhandle for work and a new life. Or the wonderful opening scene of Clouds of Sils Maria, with Kristen Stewart ducking and weaving, the barrier between Juliette Binoche and the frenzied celebrity culture of the outside world. Or the scene in Pather Panchali where the young kids encounter a train for the first time and you understand that they haven't just seen a train, but indeed they've gotten a glimpse at modernity, at a brave new world that they don't understand, but will come to encompass them.
Everybody loves their road films but I think trains are the ultimate film vehicle.
Satyajit Ray was a master storyteller. In the same league as Kurusova or Miyazaki.
His stories seemed simple and yet had some unknown power that gripped your heart. I remembering crying the first time I saw the Pather Panchali trilogy as a kid. I never understood why.
Some little know facts about Ray :
1. His first movie Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) faced financial issues. A good friend of Ray convinced the Communist Chief Minister of his state to provide some funding. Upon learning the name of the movie the Minister (who was art blind) asked the Public Works Department (Road construction department) to finance it. (because there is a Road in the name)
2. The Chief minister was furious to see the ending. He demanded the ending should be changed and they must show that the family finally gets benefited from a communist government scheme where they get free house and everything. Ray however flat out refused.
3. Satyajit ray penned down Feluda who is Indian Sherlock Holmes told from the perspective of his teenage sidekick. Feluda movies were utterly brilliant.
4. Satyajit Ray also wrote a number of science fiction stories. He would easily feature among the top 5 Sci-Fi writers from India any day.
5. Though India has such a vibrant movie industry called Bollywood, Satyajit Ray never became mainstream. A lot of his contemporaries hated him for unknown reasons and one even called his movies "poverty porn".
6. Ray introduced some great actors to the world. From Sharmila Tagore to
Western movie makes very often make poverty porn movies about India, the best example being Slumdog Millionaire. Here is a wonderful comparison of Boyle and Ray.
https://greatbong.net/2009/01/17/of-ray-and-boyle/
Here is the best ever review of Pather Panchali https://greatbong.net/2005/07/27/pather-panchali-an-intensely-personal-review/