347. Apu Sansar (The World Of Apu) (1959)

Directed By Satyajit Ray

Synopsis

Apu leaves school and stays in Calcutta giving private tutoring and barely making ends meet. He goes with a friend to a village where he gets married, almost by accident. Fortunately it becomes a very loving relationship, unfortunately his wife dies in childbirth. Distraught Apu goes wandering.

Review

Finally we come to the end of Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy. And frankly they should be seen as a film in three Acts rather than as separate works. Fortunately they are all pretty amazing works, the first and last film being the best.

So it is hard to judge this last film without making a general judgement on the series. Satyajit Ray is a wonderful director, the images are stunnign throughout, you could almost pause the film anywhere and get a great picture from it. The faces, the settings, the music, the acting. everything comes together to make a very attractive series of films indeed.

The scope of the work is great as well, you see the evolution of a character from early childhood to full maturity and with him you follow what is a pretty shitty life. In the end the Apu trilogy is essential viewing for anyone who likes cinema.

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

This trilogy is considered by critics around the globe to rank among the greatest achievements of Indian film, and is established as one of the most historically important cinematic debuts. Pather Panchali won 12 international prizes, followed by a Golden Lion in Venice for Aparajito and numerous other awards for Apur Sansar. When Ray made Pather Panchali he worked with a cast and crew most of whom had never been previously involved in the film medium. Ray himself at the time of directing Pather Panchali had primarily worked in the advertising industry, although he had served as assistant director on Jean Renoir's 1951 film The River. From this foundation, Ray went on to create other highly acclaimed films, like Charulata, Mahanagar, and Aranyer Dinratri, and his international success energized other Bengal filmmakers like Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak.

After his wife dies Apu throws his great novel to the wind: