Pather Panchali (1955)

Pather Panchali (1955) - (India)

Written and directed by Satyajit Ray

Music by Ravi Shanker

*SPOILER FREE

"Never having seen a Satyajit Ray film is never having seen the sun or the moon." ~ Akira Kurosawa

Pather Panchali is the first installment of The Apu trilogy set in early 20th century in a Bengal village where our protagonist, Apu, is born to a poor family of three including his sister Durga, his mother, and his father who's a priest, poet and playwright aspiring for a better life for his family.

This is a coming-of-age story of family, poverty, and the ongoing cycle of change and struggle.

Satyajit Ray, inspired by Italian neorealism, begins his celebrated career as a notable filmmaker with Pather Panchali and creating a cinema of naturalism and humanism.

The story-driven music is remarkable, as enchanting and captivating as Indian classical music can be. Scored by Indian sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar.

The exhilarating cinematography style, the camera work and the usage natural light, is so ahead of its time.

Pather Panchali (alongside The Apu trilogy) was the first film to be restored and preserved by Martin Scorsese and his foundation, World Cinema Project, that's devoted to neglected cinematic gemstones from around the world.

Pather Panchali is a golden classic from India to world cinema, an essential stop in the history of motion pictures.

Honorable mentions (the second and third parts of The Apu trilogy): Aparajito (1956) & The World of Apu (1959)

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Available to watch on HBO Max, The Criterion Collection, and on Amazon Prime Video

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