★★★★★ 5
Stunning Document of Humanity
I waited far, far too long to immerse myself in the films of Satyajit Ray. After finally watching the Apu trilogy on The Criterion Channel, I immediately purchase the Criterion set (because the internet's going down someday and these are pantheon-level, must-have films).
Ray's 3-film trilogy following the arc of a boy's life from his idyllic rural village in India to the teeming metropolis of Calcutta covers just about every aspect of human growth and conflict. Family, curiosity, mischief, tragedy, love, desire, intellectual pursuit, and ultimately, the responsibility of parenthood all unfold in Ray's epically framed cinema. At times one feels as if watching a documentary, glimpsing the intimate moments of lives we might never otherwise see. Ray's direction lets every scene breathe fully and the actors feel perfectly natural. It's also a real treat to hear the early works of a young Ravi Shankar in his perfectly timed soundtrack utilizing both traditional and modern treatments of Indian music. Ray's Apu trilogy--as well as the rest of his film catalogue--are must-watch movies for any student of film or anyone who appreciates a beautiful, heartfelt, and philosophical portrait of people enslaved by pleasures, responsibilities, and tragedies.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2021
