Pather Panchali
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| Pather Panchali | |
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| Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
| Produced by | Government of West Bengal |
| Written by | Satyajit Ray, from a story by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay |
| Starring | Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Bannerjee, Uma Dasgupta, Chunibala Devi, Reba Devi |
| Release date(s) | 1955 |
| Running time | 122 mins |
| Language | Bengali |
| Followed by | Aparajito |
| IMDb profile | |
Pather Panchali (Bengali: পথের পাঁচালী Pôther Pãchali, aka Song of the Little Road), released in 1955, is the first film of director Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy. The film depicts a boy's childhood in the Indian countryside in the 1950s.
The film was made on a shoestring budget by Ray, who was at that time a completely unknown director. After the success of Pather Panchali, Ray was able to obtain a grant from the government of West Bengal, and completed the trilogy at the behest of the Prime Minister of India; this will indicate the extent of the first film's cultural impact.
The film is an adaptation of the Bengali novel by the same name by noted Bengali writer Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. But when it was adapted by Satyajit Ray a great many changes and cuts were made to the book's original form. Ray always claimed that cinema, as a medium of artistic expression, was entirely different from literary modes such as novels, short stories, and dramas. He restructured the entire story and cut away what he thought were unnecessary elements of the novel.
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[edit] Title
The word pather literally means "of the path" in Bengali. Panchali refers to a type of narrative folk song that used to be performed in Bengal, forerunner of another type of folk song now known as jatra.[1] Thus, the title may indicate that the plot is an old story ("panchali") that takes place in a village (where dirt paths were the only type of roads to be found).
[edit] Plot
Pather Panchali is mainly a portrayal of life in India in the 1920s. The film focuses on the lives of Apu (full name: Apurba Kumaraj) and his family members.
The story revolves around a poor Brahmin family in the early years of the 20th century in Bengal. The father, Harihar, is a priest who is unable to make ends meet to keep his family together. The mother, Sarbajaya, has the chief responsibility for raising her mischievous daughter Durga and caring for her elderly sister-in-law Indir, who is a distant relative and whose independent spirit sometimes irritates her. With the arrival of Apu in the family, scenes of happiness and play enrich their daily life. Life, however, is a struggle, so Harihar has to find a new job and departs, leaving Sarbajaya alone to deal with the stress of this family's survival, Durga's illness and the turbulence of the monsoon. The final disaster, Durga's death, causes the family to leave their village in search of a new life in Benares.
The film suggests an intimate relationship between loss and growth or destruction and creation. Another theme of Pather Panchali could be the search for progress (e.g. arrival of the train to the village, wishes for a happy wedding).
[edit] Critical reception
Pather Panchali was reviewed worldwide with great praise.
Akira Kurosawa said of the film, "I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing it. It is the kind of cinema that flows with the serenity and nobility of a big river."[2]
Newsweek critic Jack Kroll reviewed the film as "One of the most stunning first films in movie history. Ray is a welcome jolt of flesh, blood and spirit."
Hazel-Dawn Dumpert of LA Weekly wrote that the film was "as deeply beautiful and plainly poetic as any movie ever made. Rare and exquisite."[3]
"This tale, as crafted by Ray, touches the souls and minds of viewers, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers" was to write James Berardinelli.[4]
"The first film by the masterly Satyajit Ray - possibly the most unembarrassed and natural of directors - is a quiet reverie about the life of an impoverished Brahmin family in a Bengali village. Beautiful, sometimes funny, and full of love, it brought a new vision of India to the screen" said Pauline Kael.
"A beautiful picture, completely fresh and personal. [Ray's camera] reaches forward into life, exploring and exposing, with reverence and wonder" wrote Lindsay Anderson.[3]
Damian Cannon sums up the film as follows: "When Ray depicts this bleak conclusion, he resists the urge to force a single scene, emotion or moment. The sharp edges of tension, surprise and terror that tear through the fabric of Pather Panchali grow naturally from within the story. Events happen, then the consequences; destiny, good or bad, comes to be inescapable. What makes Pather Panchali more than just a lyrical work of fiction is that Ray addresses universal concerns; how families deal with random catastrophe, how people unwittingly hurt one another, how parents love their children unconditionally. Yet as insightful as Ray is to the reality of rural India, a place of little opportunity, there's a distance between audience and cast. For viewers suckled on the primary emotion of Western cinema, Ray's undemonstrative and muted approach can fail to make an impact. Combined with Ray's extensive use of symbolism, some of which is sure to go over foreign heads, Pather Panchali may seem less than the sum of its critical acclaim."[5]
Philip French of The Observer described Pather Panchali as "one of the greatest pictures ever made".[6]
The Village Voice ranked the film at #12 (equal with The Godfather) in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.[7]
The novel is included as part of the ICSE syllabus for students in India choosing to study Bengali.
[edit] Awards
- President's Gold & Silver Medals, New Delhi, 1955
- National Film Award for Best Film, India, 1956
- Best Human Document, Cannes 1956
- Diploma Of Merit, Edinbugh, 1956
- Vatican Award, Rome, 1956
- Golden Carbao, Manila, 1956
- Best Film and Direction, San Francisco, 1957
- Selznik Golden Laurel, Berlin, 1957
- Best Film, Vancouver, 1958
- Critics' Award: Best Film, Stratford (Canada), 1958
- Best Foreign Film, New York, National Board Of Review 1959
- Kinema Jumpo Award: Best Foreign Film, Tokyo 1966
- Bodil Award: Best Non-European Film of the Year, Denmark, 1966
[edit] Notes
- ^ Banglapedia: Panchali. Banglapedia. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Critics on Ray. SatyajitRay.org. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
- ^ a b Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road). SatyajitRay.org. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
- ^ James Berardinelli (1996). Review: Pather Panchali. ReelViews. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
- ^ Damian Cannon (1998). Pather Panchali (1955). Movie Reviews UK. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
- ^ Philip French (5 May 2002). Pather Panchali. The Observer. Retrieved on 27 July 2006.
- ^ Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll. The Village Voice (1999). Retrieved on 27 July 2006.
[edit] External links
| Films directed by Satyajit Ray |
|---|
| Pather Panchali (1955) • Aparajito (1957) • Parash Pathar (1958) • Jalsaghar (1958) • Apur Sansar (1959) • Devi (1960) • Teen Kanya (1961) • Rabindranath Tagore (1961) • Kanchenjungha (1962) • Abhijan (1962) • Mahanagar (1963) • Charulata (1964) • Two (1965) • Kapurush (1965) • Mahapurush (1966) • Nayak (1966) • Chiriyakhana (1967) • Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969) • Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) • Pratidwandi (1971) • Seemabaddha (1971) • Sikkim (1971) • The Inner Eye (1972) • Ashani Sanket (1973) • Sonar Kella (1974) • Jana Aranya (1976) • Bala (1976) • Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977) • Joi Baba Felunath (1978) • Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980) • Pikoor Diary (1981) • Sadgati (1981) • Ghare Baire (1984) • Sukumar Ray (1987) • Ganashatru (1989) • Shakha Proshakha (1990) • Agantuk (1991) |
