The second Ray film I have seen. While it didn't captivate me to the extent that Pather Panchali did, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Touching and compelling film-making.

Not as good as Pather Panchali but still an excellent film. The thing I like about these movies is that it transports me to a culture and world I know nothing about, can't relate to at all and would otherwise have no interest in but it grabs me and shows me something that us Americans rarely, if ever, see. I didn't even need subtitles for many of the scenes, you knew what they were saying, it was just written all over the actors faces. Very moving.

Ray has grown as a director, but mostly on a technical level. The film lacks the lyrical beauty and poetic imagery that "Pather Panchali" possessed. Don't let that turn you away, I mean sure, it's not as rejuvenating as its predecessor but "Aparajito" is still a great and compelling film.

295

#303

really great

Writer/director Satyajit Ray beautifully conveys the passage of time in this, the second of his Apu Trilogy. This inevitable movement in film and in life carries with it both the excited anticipation of the future as well as the heartbreaking remembrance of things past. The woman who plays Apu's mother delivers my favorite performance of the trilogy, full of soul and pathos. The well-timed musical flourishes root the action with a sense of place. And oh, those fireflies.

I seem to be the only person who thinks this is the best of the Apu trilogy. All three are tremendous but if I had to pick just one it would be this one - Apu is at a crossroads here - torn between his mother and his ambition to learn more about the world. He's full of such promise and we're willing him to do well for the two of them. The dynamic between him and his mother is very interesting and both performances are excellent.

Warning: this is slightly more enjoyable if you watch the first episode first.

# 286

Almost as good as Pather Panchali, it's more of the same and yet markedly different in that we see the same culture but as Apu grows up the perspective shifts. The acting is again very good though there are a few times where it falters just a little bit. What's really striking about the film is how so many aspects are universal even with all the superficial differences.

I have mixed feelings about Aparajito... it's interesting enough and has a certain flow, but didn't really grab me. It's sort of more of the same that's happened in Pather Panchali, though I guess those elements are understated enough not to come off as exagerated or melodramatic. As in Pather, the mother is in a sense the central figure and Karuna Bannerjee is a good actress. Anyway, it's a fine movie but other than being the middle link in a trilogy, isn't very substantial.

A warm and touching film that successfully follows Pather Panchali on the themes of family, poverty, and loss.

Apu faces more challenges in the second and by a very tiny margin the least successful of the Apu trilogy. The actress who plays Apu's mother (Karuna Bannerjee) is very, very good here.

A little bit less than Pather Panchali... a little less beautiful, a little less interesting, a little less well-acted, a little weaker score. I'm not saying I don't like it, but coming right after Pather Panchali it doesn't feel as powerful. I also think Ray perhaps judges Apu too harshly.

Direct comparisons to Pather Panchali are inevitable and this one isn't as successful, but it's still a beautiful, well-acted story with a great musical score. It's more tragic than Pather, but the lack of bright-eyed innocence present in Aparajito as compared to Pather makes its predecessor more powerful. It's still a wonderful film, though.

Karuna Banerjee's performance is a thing of perfection.

Good Movie

In some senses, devastating, but a bit too much of a retread of the previous film's ideas; enormously helped by the technical marvel that is a Satyajit Ray production.

289

Everything that Pather Panchali succeeded at, Aparajito fails at. However, this is an improvement on all that the previous film needed to fix with wiser tactics and strategies. Good, smooth-flowing Drama that's slightly better than the original.