MOVIE REVIEW

MOVIE : PATHER PANCHALI

CAST : Subir Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Chunibala Devi, Uma Dasgupta, Kanu
Banerjee
DIRECTOR : Satyajit Ray

REVIEW :
This movie is based in a village in West Bengal, was released in 1955. It has been ac-
knowledged as one of the best works of the director Satyajit Ray and has let him several
national awards for the same.

The movie is set amidst a strong regional and cultural influence of the Location. The
story revolves around the hardships faced by the villagers and its impact n their lifestyle. The
audience is kept engaged within the story which unfolds itself gradually. The movie em-
barks on the most important character of the film, Durga(Uma Dasgupta) making mischief
around. She steals fruits form the garden of landlords due to which her mother is taunted.
She used to give those fruits to her aunt who was a very old lady. Durga generally is caring
and mischievous character all along the film. The family lives in the harsh conditions of
poverty. The father suffers from a fluctuating unemployment and has a significant impact
on the overall life of each character. As the time flies by , the children start growing up and
this creates an additional need for more income. Due to this mother is generally worrisome
about their family’s survival.

Apu, the youngest character in the film follows and regards her sister, Durga a lot.
Though he tries to follow her sister everywhere , he has been portrayed as someone who at a
very young has to see a lot of turmoil in his family. Another important character in the film
is that of the Old lady. She is usually a self occupied person.

This story based on the hopefulness of the poor people that one day they will be able to
live their lives with adequate basic amenities has been portrayed wonderfully. The Actors
have given full justice to the film by engaging the audience into the dismal of various char-
acters. The director , Satyajit Ray has given great consideration to even the smallest of details
which made the film so hugely successful, capturing the village life as raw as it is. The back-
ground music enhances the Bengali ambience throughout the movie.

APPRECIATION :
The film has a lot of tension building moments , for example the scene where Durga is
ill , they have used a lot of dramatic elements like windows shutting and opening , the door
about to open , the rain coming inside through windows. Even the director gave hints for
incidents that are planned to happen in near future , that makes the audience alert and in-
trigued.
 The film also had many such moments where the humbleness of people is being por-
trayed. Using a Shawl as a symbol of basic clothing during winter creates a feeling of gratitude
that we are so well equipped and an empathy towards the old lady.. There are many such inci-
dents like the sweet seller, the beaded necklace of Durga’s friend , her friends marriage which
is so impactful that it creates an empathy in the audience towards the children.

The Cinematography played an important role in this movie. It has been used so cre-
atively and originally that the audience can actually picture them being an observer of any
particular scene. The scene where the kids are running behind the sweet seller with the dog
running with them is shot all through their reflection on the water.

The shots were mostly still shots except for a few shots. Even the location of shooting
was mostly restricted to the house and it surroundings. There were not many locations they
explored. Even when the father went to Banaras, they did not displayed his side of the story
for what was he going through in his life.

Music and sound also played an important role in creating tensions and relaxations at
different moments during the course of the movie. Using typically Bengali music instruments
for creating background music , never let the audience feel disconnected to any scene.

The Director’s visual vocabulary is highly satisfying as the costumes, the utensils in
kitchen , the shoot location , the cultural representation through different elements created an
enriching experience of the traditions of Bengal villages.

Summing it up , the movie is a great experience of understanding life in villages and has
a lot of impact emotionally to be in the place of the characters and experiencing their emo-
tional state with so many hardships for a basic living.