Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thieves)

This movie is NOT a Ray movie, but it surely is the Italian masterpiece that inspired Ray to take up cinematography as a serious career path, so it's a must watch.

This movie was made in post World War-II period which marked a period of transition for many European countries. Vittorio De Sica, director of the movie is attributed for bringing neo-realism to the world of cinema and inspiring a whole lot of movie makers of that period to bring about a paradigm shift in way movies were made and the social reality portrayed. The period (1948) when the movie was made marked the beginning of Italian neo-realism as a literary and cinematic movement that flourished after WW-II. Neo-realism demanded to deal realistically with the events leading to the war and the problems that the public faced during and after the war. The Bicycle Thieves was perhaps the first Italian movie to bring that reality to the celluloid in an unabridged manner.

A new genre of cinema had emerged with this movie, with non-professional actors, lots of outdoor shootings encompassing public and a story that truly depicts the hardships of working class life in a city after war. Imagination, grandeur & romanticism were now replaced with realities of daily life and the crisis of survival.

The story is set in the outskirts of Rome where Ricci finds a job after lot of struggle amidst several unemployed people looking for the jobs, but the job profile requires him to have a bicycle. As his bicycle had been pawned long back, his wife pawns household items to get back the bicycle. Disaster strikes and the bicycle is stolen the next day. Ricci looks for the bicycle all over the place but in vain. In utter dismay, he decides to steal a bicycle, but is caught and beaten up by mob in front of his son Bruno. The delicate father-son relationship is at a strange point now. Both disappear in the streets of Rome weeping. The moral confusion of stealing is showed in a realistic manner. Despair has turned Ricci into a thief but the moral assumptions leading to the theft are complex.

The kid Bruno is very impressive throughout the film. He is a smart city kid and understands well the family situation. He’s a constant companion of his father in the search for the bicycle. Ricci is a caring man for his family, but is torn apart from hardship of losing his only hope for job i.e. bicycle. While searching for bicycle he even turns to the fortune-teller (for visiting whom he’d earlier scolded his wife)in superstition. He’s a typical representative of person dealing the hardships that follow in a nation torn apart by war.

Although it’s not very evident, some people have blamed the movie of having a “Marxist undertone”[IMDB discussion thread] as if to say that religion is incompatible with real problems of the struggling working class. The open mockery of the young man who kneels in front of the altar while chasing Ricci in the church might have led to this notion. But I don’t think this was a deliberate attempt of the director. The conditions after WW II were harsh for economies and even harsher for the working class dependent upon industries driven by capitalism.

The movie was a critical inspiration for Satyajit Ray as it was after watching this movie he decided with certainty that he’d make Pather Panchali the way he’d planned. The reason it influenced him so much might have been Ray’s affinity towards social realism and naturalism. He always wanted to do things breaking the conventions and outdoor shootings, use of non-professional actors and a realist theme in Bicycle Thieves made him believe that what he’d conceived can not only be done but done with absolute precision and clarity. If Sica had done it in Rome, why couldn’t he in India.

Mahanagar (The City)

The movie is set in post-independence Calcutta, where a lower-middle class family undergoes a crucial transformation in the city. Ray made this movie in 1963 and for the first time we see a woman awakened to the sense of the self and a kinship beyond husband’s family. Subroto, Arati’s husband himself encourages her to take up a job to meet the ever-rising family expenses. Arati is confused at first but agrees to it as she feels that why should her husband alone bear the burden of providing for the family. She gets the job of a salesgirl and starts earning, but her father-in-law and mother-in-law do not approve of the housewife as a working woman. Things get complicated when Subroto isn’t sure any more of his decision of letting Arati work. He feels that Arati’s changing, she’s no longer the same person with the same priorities. Her new found independence bothers him and he decides to make her resign, but on the same day he himself loses his job at the Bank and Arati has to continue working. The boss Himangshu Mukherjee is impressed by Arati and even offers her a raise when he comes to know that her husband has lost his job. But as it turns out, when he fires the Anglo-Indian girl Edith for being absent a few days and even insults her, Arati feels bad for her colleague and argues with her Boss. Finally when Boss disagrees to apologize to Edith, Arati resigns of her own will knowing that it can cost her family dearly.

In the movie, breakage of cliché’s associated with women is shown. The idea of housewife so imbued in the social fabric is being modified and the she is free to explore the self in an independent manner. With the idea of working women, a paradigm shift in the family structure comes along. New roles for her emerge and the old ones associated with her assume newer meanings. Arati, the protagonist is shown to be impulsive but strong and having a sense of righteousness. She encounters new relations being a working woman. The circle of “who does she care for?” changes with the new role she undertakes. Her husband Subroto is a very “real” character. He likes the idea of liberating women and their being equal in all respects to men, but things turn out to be more complex than he’d imagined. He’s no longer confident and sure of his decision. Father-in-law is a very peculiar character. He’s been a teacher all his life and feels betrayed that his life has stagnated while several of his students went on to become rich and famous. He doesn’t approve of Arati working for the family though he admires her as housewife. He also has this strange hope of winning money by solving crosswords. Mother-in-law of Arati is very friendly ad helping but she also doesn’t approve of Arati as a working women. But her opinion changes as Arati bring money and happiness home. She’s also very dedicated to his teacher husband.

There is peculiarity about Ray’s characters, he never portrays them in absolute while or dark shades of behavior. There are shades of the two, with a natural element in them. For example the Boss, who has a strong sense of nativity of being a Bengali is a person cannot be classifies into white or dark. He didn’t seem negative at all. He has his own biases regarding Anglo-Indians and acts accordingly. On some accounts he even seems right and experienced.

The movie is cinematographically flawless except for the reconciliation of husband and wife at the end which seemed a bit abrupt and dramatic when they both decide to look for jobs hoping that the big city surely has opportunities enough to sustain them. Apart from that, I liked every bit of it. Particularly the acting of Anil Chatterjee as Subroto seemed very impressive and real. His confusions and uncertainties seem very justified. I look forward to watching Devi and Charulata soon.

Apur Sansar

Apur Sansar (The world of Apu)

Ray hadn’t initially thought of making a trilogy, but when he was asked this question after “Aparajito” was shown in some foreign film festival, he gave it a thought. Novel surely went ahead with Apu’s life, so could the movie. Again, the movie had a lot of cinematographic opportunities with several outdoor shootings involved in Kolkata, a nearby village and a location in some hilly central region of India. But before shooting Apur Sansar, he made a couple of more movies, Jalsaghar and Paras Pathar, and they did reasonably well in Bengal.

Apur Sansar begins with Apu struggling in Kolkata to find a job. In spite of having a good academic record, he finds it difficult to find a good job and has to live on meager wages he managed by tutoring students. But his love for literature and dreams of being a successful artist are still alive and he begins writing a novel. But soon he meets a pleasant accident in form of invitation from his college friend Pulu to his cousin’s wedding. Apu decides to attend the marriage as a guest, but the destiny creates a situation that forces him to marry Pulu’s cousin Aparna out of sympathy for her tragedy. Marriage transforms his life, he’s happier and more organized and his love for Aparna grows continuously. Then sudden death of Aparna during childbirth completely devastates him. He even thinks of suicide, and blames his son for being the cause of his wife’s death. He wanders across the country searching for some relief in nature and after sometime takes up a job in mine. Meanwhile his son, who has now grown into a small kid, continues to live with his maternal grandparents. Pulu tries to convince him to take his son back into his life and assume the roles and responsibilities of being a father, but Apu tries to disregard him. Finally, realizing his mistake he returns back to his son and persuades the kid to come with him with an emotional ending.

The movie is well integrated to the first two of trilogy. The train and the railway tracks are again used as superb cinematographic symbols that signify Apu’s pursuit for modernity. The riverside village, windows and the background songs are used well to integrate intra-movie sequences and realizations of Apu. Death of Aparna is severe shock for Apu and he tries to kill himself. The scene when Apu decides to throw himself in the railway track but the shriek of a pig that was run over by the train sort of pulls him out of spell of grief and he decides to travel and take refuge in nature’s shelter.

The lighting of the scenes was very effective and natural, with shadows and night scenes handled in a very sophisticated manner. (or did I noticed it due to a better restored print!). The scene inside the carriage where Aparna lights Apu’s cigarette is the most well shot with Sharmila Tagore doing absolutely fabulous acting. The shots taken inside Apu’s apartment, particularly those involving smoky environment were very fine. The surroundings of the scene where Pulu convinces Apu are very attractive. The cliff and a leafless trunk impart it an almost poetic touch.

There certainly was more humor in this movie. When Apu tries to read Aparna’s letter while returning back to home from workplace, the humor used is very effective. Intimacy between Apu and Aparna is also depicted in a touching manner. Cloudy surroundings and rain is something that Ray always handles well. Stroll across railway tracks also has something very communicative about it. And the unification of Apu with his son in the end signifies a full circle in Apu’s life.

I really liked this movie, certainly more than Aparajito as it is more vibrant. (or may be it’s just Sharmila! J)

Aparajito

Aparajito (The Unvanquished)

After the success of Pather Panchali Ray knew that cinema was his real calling and hence quit his job in the British advertising agency to pursue film-making. After racking his brains for a while to find a suitable subject for his next movie with no results, Ray re-read the twin novels by Bibhutibhushan and contemplated the idea of a sequel to Pather Panchali. Apu’s onward life in Benaras seemed quite interesting as well as full of cinematographic opportunities. He finally decided to make “Aparajito”.

The story is quite interesting and eventful, but the movie isn’t as emotionally intense and moving as Pather Panchali. Though it sure is cinematographically brighter than the last one. Picturesque ghats of Benaras, chaos of Kolkata and moving train shots add to the dynamicity of the movie. Ray has used several integrating themes to connect to the last movie and to make the story seem smooth and the transition natural. The “train” and its sound, two deaths and open location shooting make the film appear strongly connected to the Pather Panchali. The presence of same characters (Harihar and Sarbajaya) makes the transition even smoother. The train is a symbol of mobility, change and a carrier of modernity. Deaths in the Apu’s family correspond to major overhauls in his life and its course.

After a year or so of peaceful life in Benaras, Harihar dies and Sarbajaya moves as a servant (cook) to a Zamindar Bengali family to Burdwan in Bengal. But when she gets invitation from his uncle living in a village she can’t resist the idea of going with him, the reason being that she cannot see his son working as a servant for the Zamindars with indifference towards them. They move to the maternal uncle’s village where Apu learns priest work and starts to earn for the family. But the curiosity of Apu to go to school doesn’t allow things to be as Sarbajaya wants. He has the curiosity to go after the unknown and know the outside modern world. He studies and gets scholarship to study in Kolkata. Sarbajaya relents unwillingly to his son’s will and he moves to Kolkata leaving Sarbajaya alone in the village. His fascination with modernity leads to his ignorance for the village and Sarbajaya. He rarely visits her and overlooks her deteriorating health. She finally succumbs to death waiting for his son on a dreary night full of fireflies. Apu returns to find the home empty and after a little morning he discovers a strange transformation in himself and returns to Kolkata with a strange relief of being set free to continue his pursuit for modernity.

The most influencing character in the movie is Sarbajaya and her immense strength as a mother. She has this strong feeling of pride and is willing to sacrifice everything for his son. Initially the mother-son relationship is intense but as Apu grows apart from her mother and matures (in a very different sense being hostile to nativity and simplicity) the relationship becomes more complicated and we feel sympathy for Sarbajaya.

Ray has employed several cinematographic feats to add to the story’s impact like flocks of pigeons taking off as soon as Harihar dies implying sudden grief. Death of Sarbajaya is equally moving with impact of the dancing fireflies sequence. The monkey sequence in Benaras temple was also well shot. Under lit streets of Benaras give a shady feeling to the life there in contrast to the well lit ghats. Ray has wriiten in “My days with Apu” that his setmaker was the first person to use cloth reflected light to make Harihar’s home inside set giving it a filtered light feeling as is the case with the Benaras homes in congested streets. This imparts natural look to the shots in spite of the low light inside a home lit only by filtered sunlight coming from center yard. The soundtrack in this movie is also by Ravi Shankar and is equally delightful as in Pather Panchali.

Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali (The Song of the Road)

This was the first ever movie of Satyajit Ray I’d ever watched, and I must admit that it was a lot better than I’d imagined. Considering that the movie was made in 1955, the cinematographic techniques used in the film were quite impressive. I’m confused as to what I should appreciate as I’ve never before analyzed movies with such subjectivity before. Is it the vision and cinematography of Ray that clicks or the creative genius of Bibhutibhushan who wrote the story and made the characters seem original. One thing strikes me particularly about the movie and that is its simplicity. Its straightforwardness and genuine definitions of happiness, sadness and other contours of life and the way characters embody all these things. Again, the credit can be given to the novelist for this, but Ray surely had the superb ability to communicate these things with the viewer in the right form. As I haven’t read the novel yet so I cannot comment more on the same.

The concept of a native place and it’s relation to the characters is profound. All characters, Durga, Apu, Mother and Father are typical rural Bengali Brahmins living in a small village. Durga is the central character in the movie and the best moments of the movie (to me at least) are when Durga is on the screen. She is an adolescent girl having budding feelings and sense of beauty. She dreams of a future which is full of beauty and simplicity and has the typical aspirations of a village girl. Birth of Apu is a landmark for the family. The boy is innocent and has a close relationship with Durga who is like a mentor and friend to him. He always has his curious and broad open eyes that reflect his tendency to learn and grow. Father is a rural Bengali Brahmin who also happens to be an artist writing plays and songs that never achieve recognition. He is poor and out of luck, but doesn’t complains a lot and accepts his fate. Mother is also a very impressive character in the movie. She is a typical housewife but is surprisingly tough and strong. But she cares a lot about the family and dreams of a better and crisis-free tomorrow. The aunt Indir is a portrayal of poverty and extreme helplessness, only cared about by Durga. She is a strangely picturesque character.

Another noticeable thing about the movie is its background score (By Pt. Ravi Shankar) that really enlightens. It is very soothing at times and makes watching movie a nice experience uplifting your spirit at times. The environment and sets used to shoot the movie seem perfectly natural and in conformity to a small Bengali village. Even the items like pots, household utilities and clothes etc fit well into the picture one has in mind about rural Bengalis. Some of the scenes like when the view from across the moving wheels of train is shown became quite stereotypical movie scenes used in quite a number of movies for cinematographic impact.

I cannot be critical about the movie as I do not know how to rate of judge a movie on its cinematographic features. What else should one notice about the movie while writing a review? I have no idea. Prof. Sarkar asked as to what makes a viewer sympathetic about the characters in the movie. I don’t have the answer to that as well. May be I’ll learn more as I watch more of Ray’s movies. I really look forward to watching Aparajito coming Tuesday.

Satyajit Ray: Film-maker and Artist

When Tagore christened (baptized/blessed) Satyajit Ray on being approached by his father, he wrote a short poem(haiku) for him. And as it turned out, Ray turned out to be perhaps the only one to live upto the standards expected of that poem. Read this.(Courtesy: greatbong.net)

Already being a fan of Ray's Feluda stories, when I got a chance of taking an open elective on Ray this semester I grabbed it. Prof. Aditi Nath Sarkar is teaching it.

We will begin this journey through Ray's movies from Apu Trilogy. I'll post the reviews as I watch the movies.