Pather Panchali (1955) ft. Peterson W. Hill

Guest:

• Peterson W. Hill - Co-Host of the War Starts at Midnight podcast

  • @petersonwhill on IG, Letterboxd, and Twitter

  • Previous Guest on Gone Girl (2014), Parasite (2019), Fight Club (1999), Ben-Hur (1959), Up in the Air (2009), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), La Dolce Vita (1960), The Social Network (2010) Revisit

Cast:

• Satyajit Ray, Writer/Director

• Subrata Mitra, Cinematography

• Ravi Shankar, Music

• Kanu Banerjee as Harihar Roy

• Karuna Banerjee as Sarbajaya Roy

• Subir Banerjee as Apurba "Apu" Roy

• Runki Banerjee as Durga Roy (child)

• Uma Dasgupta as Durga Roy (teenager)

• Chunibala Devi as Indir Thakrun

• Tulsi Chakraborty as Prasanna

• Haren Banerjee as Chinibas

Background:

• Based on a book of the same name, Pather Panchali was released in Indian cinema on August 26, 1955.

• On a budget between an estimated $14,000-31,500, Pather Panchali is estimated to have grossed $21 million total during its lifetime.

• Pather Panchali is described as a turning point in Indian cinema, as it was among the films that pioneered the Parallel cinema movement, which espoused authenticity and social realism.

• It was the first film from independent India to attract major international critical attention, and it won India's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1955.

• At the time of release, American critics were mixed. However, the film gained international praise, and won several awards.

• In the years since, Pather Panchali has often been cited as one of the great films of all-time including in Sight & Sound where it has placed several times in its Critics' Polls of the greatest-ever films. In 1962, it ranked 11th; in 1992, 6th; and in 2002, 22nd. It also topped the British Film Institute's user poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time in 2002. The magazine ranked the film 42nd in its 2012 critics' poll of "Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time" and 48th in its 2012 directors' poll. In the most recent 2022 edition of BFI's Greatest films of all time list, the film ranked 35th in the critics poll and 22nd in the director's poll.

• Pather Panchali was followed by two films that continued the tale of Apu's life—Aparajito (The Unvanquished) in 1956 and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) in 1959.

• Pather Panchali currently holds a 98% among critics on RT, and a 4.3/5 on Letterboxd.

Plot Summary: Pather Panchali (meaning Song of the Little Road) is a 1955 film by Satyajit Ray. It tells the story of Apu, a young boy in a poor village in Bengal. His father, Harihar, is a priest who dreams of a better life, while his mother, Sarbajaya, struggles to care for the family. Apu is very close to his older sister, Durga, who finds happiness in small things even though they are very poor.

The film shows daily village life—both its beauty and hardships—through the children’s eyes. As the family faces loss and change, Apu begins a journey that reflects the joys and sorrows of growing up.

Did You Know:

• This film was shot piecemeal over five years; often, production was halted due to lack of funds. Halfway through filming, Ray ran out of funds. The Government of West Bengal loaned him the rest, allowing him to complete the film. This loan is listed in public records at the time as "roads improvement", a nod to the film's translated title.

• Legend has it that on the first day of shooting, Satyajit Ray had never directed a scene, his cameraman Subrata Mitra had never photographed one and none of his child actors had even been screentested for their roles.

• Because of all the many delays in this film's nearly three-year production, director Satyajit Ray became increasingly apprehensive that some event might occur to prevent his finishing it. In fact, he attributed his success in that regard to three miraculous occurrences (or rather non-occurrences), referring to his cast by their character names: "One, Apu's voice did not break. Two, Durga did not grow up. Three, Indir Thakrun did not die."

• After the film's great success, Ray was able to obtain a grant from the West Bengal government and he was able to complete his projected trilogy at the behest of the then Prime Minister of India.

• Satyajit Ray, although he allegedly received a verbal promise of payment for his work as director from the Government of West Bengal after it took over production of this film, in fact received absolutely no compensation of any kind, despite having worked on it (often at his own expense) for almost three years. Ray was philosophical about this, as he much preferred the international fame the film brought him to any monetary reward.

Best Performance: Karuna Banerjee (Sarbajaya)/Satyajit Ray (Writer/Director)

Best Secondary Performance: Subrata Mitra (Cinematography)/Uma Dasgupta (Teen Durga)/Karuna Banerjee (Sarbajaya)

Most Charismatic Award: Chunibala Devi (Auntie)/Ravi Shankar (Music)

Best Scene:

• Fruit Thief

• Beaded Necklace

• Auntie Returns

• Finding the Train

• Night of the Storm

• Harihar Returns

Favorite Scene: Beaded Necklace/Fruit Thief/Harihar Returns

Most Indelible Moment: Harihar Returns/Night of the Storm

In Memorium:

• Joe Caroff, 103, American graphic designer (designed the iconic 007/James Bond logo)

• Terence Stamp, 87, English actor (Superman II, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Billy Budd)

• Tristan Rogers, 79, Australian actor (General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, The Rescuers Down Under)

• Michael Sloan, 78, American television writer and producer (co-creator of The Equalizer, other credits - B. J. and the Bear, Quincy, M.E.)

• Danielle Spencer, 60, American actress (What's Happening!!)

• Michael Klick, 77, American television producer (24, Homeland, Love & Death), Emmy winner (2006, 2012).

Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Harihar Ray: Don't be anxious. Whatever God ordains is for the best.

Sarbojaya Ray: This is my home now too. But just look at it. It's like living in the jungle. Jackals prowling around as soon as night falls. No neighbors to sit and talk to. When you're not here, I'm terribly uneasy. But you wouldn't understand. You eat and sleep and go about your work, unconcerned whether you're paid or not. I had lots of dreams too. All the things I wanted to do...

Durga: By leaf of lime and karamcha tree, rain, rain, away with thee! Rain, rain, away with thee!

Durga: We'll go see the train when I'm better, all right? We'll get there early and have a good look. You want to?

Indir Thakrun: Can't an old woman have wishes too?

The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 6.83

Impact/Significance: 8.67

Novelty: 8.67

Classic-ness: 9

Rewatchability: 5.17

Audience Score: 9.45 (96% Google, 93% RT)

Total: 47.79

Remaining Questions:

• If you were to tell a similar style film as this from your life, what would be the pivotal moment?