MovieChat Forums > Pather Panchali (1955) Discussion > I've finally watched this film yesterday

I've finally watched this film yesterday

posted 15 years ago by Jag85
3 replies | jump to latest

I finally got around to watching Pather Panchali yesterday. Even though I'm a Bengali myself (raised in Britain), this is probably the first Bengali film I've ever watched. I've seen many Hollywood, Bollywood, British and Far-Eastern movies, but never gave Bengali films a chance (usually because of their low budgets), even though my parents would often brag about Bengali films being so wonderful. After the release of Slumdog Millionaire though, it got me interested in checking out some Indian art films. The name Satyajit Ray often pops up while his film Pather Panchali is considered one of the finest examples, so I finally decided to check it out. I had to watch it with subtitles though, since the dialect of Bengali they were speaking was quite difficult for me to understand.

I'm usually into watching more fast-paced films, so I wasn't quite used to Pather Panchali's slow pace at first. I was also watching it at night, so I was a bit tired while watching it. For the first half of the film, I found some scenes interesting (like the ones involving the siblings and the old woman) but found some other scenes not so interesting (like the silent scenes showing random bits of scenery). However, the last half-hour of the film did manage to keep my interest throughout and by the time I was finished watching the film, I stared blankly into the screen for sometime while in deep thought and still can't forget about the experience. The ending was simple yet touched me in a way very few films before ever have, not to mention the unforgettable music by Ravi Shankar (whose music I had only heard in some Beatles songs but his earlier music in Pather Panchali was far more effective). Now I'm looking forward to watching the other two films in the Apu Trilogy to continue the story of to Apu and his family now that they're moving to a new place.

On a side note, I also saw The Shawshank Redemption for the first time a few days before. While I enjoyed watching that film and liked the pacing better, I found Pather Panchali to be a more touching and memorable experience.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM???!!!!!"

[–] logan03 15 years ago

I had rented the VHS version from my local library about a year ago and only lasted about 20 minutes because the print was much too dark, subtitles hard to make out, etc. Unfortunately, the other 2 of the series were also VHS and I figured they would be just as bad (I didn't really want to confirm that because I was determined I would only watch all 3 in the proper sequence or not at all).

I then thought I could get them through my Netflix as DVD's but Netlix has kept jerking around, not giving a specific release date for any of them & as a result they have been listed as an upcoming release for at least a year now). When I called them to ask why they had not released them yet, they gave me some crap excuse that there was not a big enough demand for these films.

Finally, I saw that the library in a nearby city had the whole series on DVD and I was able to sign up with them to get a library card - I then had to put my name on the request list because it was such a popular item. After waiting 6 weeks, I just watched it an hour ago: The wait was more than worth it!!!!

The print was wonderful, subtitles easy to read and the movie was riveting and moving throughout. I never felt it dragged or got boring in any way.

I have the other 2 of this trilogy lined up and can't wait to watch them.

[–] Jag85 15 years ago

Glad you liked it. Although it does look like I was criticizing the film for its slow pacing during the middle portion of the film, it did make up for it with the gripping last one-third of the film and of course the powerful ending, kind of like The Godfather Part II (which also had a slow middle portion but the last one-third of the film made up for it).

I watched the sequels Aparajito and The World of Apu over the next two days after watching Pather Panchali. Although many usually consider Pather Panchali better, I personally liked Aparajito and The World of Apu even better than the first.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM???!!!!!"

[–] Professicchio 13 years ago

Welcome to the world of true cinema.

As much as one can say abot The Shawshank Redemption, Ray's cinema is head and shoulders above all that and it shouldn't even be on the same list: no visual punches, no emotional manipulation and no crowd-pleasing "redemption", but every single frame, every single gesture and every single sound in it is poetry in motion. Take it from another genious:

"Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the Sun or the Moon."
Kurosawa Akira