Advertisement

arts entertainmentMovies

Criterion brings the majestic and essential Apu Trilogy to Blu-ray

Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy contains multitudes of life, and of death, which is never far away in these three Indian gems from the '50s. The restoration and re-release of Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar stands among cinema's signal achievements in 2015. The films themselves are the definition of timelessness.

If you missed the restored trilogy when it played in repertory theaters (including Dallas' Texas Theatre) earlier this year, you can still get in on the action. Criterion has released a gorgeous Blu-ray set with copious special features. But if you haven't seen the films before, put the extras on hold and first bask in Ray's lyrical command.

The trilogy immerses us in the life of a young Bengali, starting with the rural innocence of his boyhood in the '20s and concluding with the conflicts of adulthood. (Speaking of Boyhood, my friend Vikas Bajaj wrote eloquently of how Pather Panchali reminds him of the Richard Linklater film). The films traverse back and forth between country and city, and between personal ambition and familial fealty. They move from the free-flowing rhythms of village life to a more linear structure as Apu's life advances and crystallizes. Like Boyhood, it leaves us with the sensation of having lived a specific life.

Advertisement

There's something quietly majestic in the trilogy's mix of spiritual generosity and harsh reality; this is an openhearted portrait of a life laden with sadness and heartbreak. But it is always is so very much alive, even as it reminds us again and again of our mortality.

News Roundups

Catch up on the day's news you need to know.

Or with:

I was struck by the universality of these stories, with their themes of love, loss, growth and bittersweet maturity. As Bajaj writes, "The specific details of Apu's dilemma and the choice he makes are, of course, unique to a particular time and place. But they represent the kinds of choices people confront all the time." In his essay printed in the accompanying Blu-ray booklet, "Behind the Universal," Girish Shambu distills some details of that particular time and place, and of the influences that contributed to Ray's development as an artist.

Advertisement

As I made my way through the Apu Trilogy over the Thanksgiving holiday it quickly transformed from an assignment to a joy. I was sorry when it ended (with perhaps the most life-affirming image in the series), and I envy anyone about to wade in for the first time.