User Reviews

Even as the middle segment of a trilogy, this was my introduction to Satyajit Ray, turning me into an instant fan, and is one of the greatest films I've seen. The neo-realist leanness the film is completely absorbing & is perfectly matched to the characters. Not having been to India, I'll admit to being unsure of how true to reality the look of the film is, but Ray's gift for detail is in a league of its' own - I consider the opening scenes (establishing shots from Benares intercut with shots of young Apu running through narrow lanes) to be among cinema's most memorable moments, and a great example of allowing images and rhythm to tell a story. I don't want to overstate it, but this is a really beautiful, haunting film - from it's warmest to it's most tragic elements, I was thinking about it for quite a while afterwards. APARAJITO is obviously the work of a genuinely enthusiastic filmmaker, and also a great thinker as well - every cinephile should see it. Would love to see all of Ray's work available in the US, and on DVD.

The first film of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali, was such a great film that, naturally, the second film in the series was bound to suffer a bit of a let down. Thus, Aparajito (The Unvanquished)- based on the novel Aparajita, by Bibhutibhushan Banerjee, is not the unadulterated great piece of art that Pather Panchali is. Like many middle films of a series, it suffers from the infamous middle filmitis; when films that are not first in a series rely too heavily upon an audience's memories of earlier films to inform them of the traits of characters, the chronology of prior events, and a general knowledge of the world the film series is set in.

Aparajito falls into this trap, however, in a way different from your average Hollywood blockbuster film. Whereas most middle films feel a need to fall back on what already passed in a first film, Aparajito spends too much time ignoring the traits and actions that occurred in Pather Panchali; almost as if Ray wanted to sever connections between the two films. He achieves this by having the film's lead character, Apu, not being played by the child who portrayed him in the first film- Subir Banerjee. In this film, Apu is first played by Pinaki Sen Gupta, when ten; and later by Smaran Ghosal, when in hi slate teens. Two of the actors from the first film were retained: Kanu Banerjee as Harihar- Apu's father, and his wife Sarbajaya- still played by Karuna Banerjee. However, there has been a major personality shift in Sarbajaya- likely the only evidence of the death of Durga- Apu's older sister, from the first film. Whereas Sarbajaya was bossy and condescending in the first film- while also being loving, in this film she's timid and let's life play her; whereas in the first film she was restive, and dissatisfied with what life brought....The abrupt and disappointing ending is merely the most manifest sign of this tendency to rely on the fact that the viewer will have seen Pather Panchali. If coming to Aparajito on its own, most viewers will be a) lost, or b) more likely simply not as prone to care for either Sarbajaya nor Apu.

That stated, this is an excellent film which, asides from the death scenes, contains excellent poesy and metaphors- such as a scene where Apu enters Calcutta on a train, holding a small globe, given to him as a gift by the headmaster at the school in his mother's employer's village. The film also makes good use of humor, such as scenes where the young Apu plays around with monkeys and bells, and later, as a student, in an English class, where he falls asleep (due to working a job and his studiousness) during a lecture on synecdoche and metonymy. It also has moments of universality, such as when the mother and son reacquaint after a long stay at school, and the first thing Sarbajaya says is that Apu has grown taller and doesn't appear to be eating well, despite the fact that neither is true. But, the film's greatest strength is its depiction of fortuity. Despite its flaws, Aparajito is a great what if? movie- had his sister and father not died early, would Apu have ended up in college? Had his mother not been emotionally devastated by both losses, would she have domineered her son into submission when he wanted to go abroad? All of his family's losses, and deaths- his auntie, his sister, his father, his mother, all serve Apu's benefit. In short, death has been very, very good for Apu- both in allowing him to grow and removing obstacles to his own self-fulfillment, which may be the most damning (and tangential) criticism of religion (and its fetishizing by religion) that Ray makes in this whole film (as well as in the first film).

Like the domestic troubles and idiocies that abound in a typical Yasujiro Ozu film, which almost always transcends to the universal, Satyajit Ray's films seem to likewise contain personal and comic moments that all viewers, from any background, can relate to. The problem with Aparajito- especially in relation to Pather Panchali, is that- as far as domestic troubles go, the first film's were more existential and deeper in nature, making those suffered in Aparajito seem trivial by comparison. But, that is the trouble with comparing excellent art to great art- it always suffers by the comparison. On its own, Aparajito is an outstanding film, and, hopefully, provides merely a relatively weak link to a final film that is the equal of Pather Panchali, and one that shows Apu finally taking center stage in his titular trilogy's plight.

I had high hopes from one of my favorite directors about this movie. Not only because this is one of the most beautifully, poetically narrated novel of the history of Bengali literature, but also of the reason that this is my personal favorite, 'Aporajito' that is from Great novelist Bhibhutibhushan. But my favorite director let me down big time.

In this movie, he built an 'Apu'which differs significantly from the original novel. In the novel, Apu is a keen student of mainly literature, wandering about and reading poetry from 'The Golden Treasury' in the school-yard. On the contrary, in the movie he is a keen student of science studying 1/u + 1/v = 1/f. I didn't like this this thing at all. Because in the later part of his life, he became a 'poet come novelist'. How can he become a 'poet come novelist' without a single reference to his liking for poetry in the whole movie? Satyajit focused on the relation between Apu and his 'a bit old fashioned' mother in a strange way. In the movie, it seems that Apu has simply stopped to pay any kind of attention to his mother which is also contrary to the original novel. Yes, he had a bit of a fight with his mother about studying in the school. His old fashioned mother didn't see the necessity of reading in a school while they are getting enough to live their life from Apu's career as a Hindu priest. But Apu badly wanted to read in a school which will give him knowledge about the outside world. At last Apu won, he did go to read in the school, but there was no lacking in love and respect for his mother in his life. He always felt his mother in the school (according to the novel), read out interesting stories to his mother when he was home from school. Overall he intended to share the joy of gathering knowledge with his poor mother who worked so hard to establish Apu. But Satyajit completely ignored these feelings on the basis of a paragraph from the novel that said Apu was relieved when his mother died. This isn't the way of portraying that paragraph. It merely reflected Apu's mind which was free as a flying bird. Now that his mother has passed away, he would be able to roam wherever he may like without any bond of family, which was a mixed feelings of slight relief and deep sorrow for the huge loss of losing his mom.

The character 'Apu' is like a myth in Bengali literature, comprises of sweetness of dream rather than bitterness of harsh reality. He gave hope back to me which I lost in the earlier part of my life. He is an icon not only to me, but also to a lot of young people of Bengal like me. Satyajit, with due respect to the great man, failed to portray this mythical 'Apu'. He portrayed his own Apu. He is entitled to his opinion, but I didn't like his rendition of Apu. I hope that a better rendition of Apu will be made in near future, which will have similarity with Bhibhutibhusan's Apu.

Aparajito (The Unvanquished) is the second part of Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy" – the three films chronicling the life of Apu from his childhood to adulthood.

Aparajito begins with Apu as a teenager and culminates with him in his youth. This journey is arduous for him, riddled with pitfalls and puzzles. And Ray attempts to portray how Apu triumphs all hurdles, setbacks and sorrows. Or maybe, "triumph" would be too sweeping a statement. Aparajito, as the title suggests, is more about weathering storms than storming forts. Apu's spirit and relentless struggle finds him walking past tragedies and setbacks and hold his own in unknown battlegrounds.

Like its predecessor, Aparajito is brilliant, in its images and its artists, and the master, Ray, takes the viewer with him onwards in the journey of Apu, till the final installment of the trilogy.

Following his father's death, a boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.

Roger Ebert said, "the relationship between Apu and his mother observes truths that must exist in all cultures: how the parent makes sacrifices for years, only to see the child turn aside and move thoughtlessly away into adulthood... It is about a time, place and culture far removed from our own, and yet it connects directly and deeply with our human feelings. It is like a prayer, affirming that this is what the cinema can be, no matter how far in our cynicism we may stray." Ebert writes eloquently, but despite his praise and the endless amount of love for the so-called Apu trilogy, I just get no joy or pleasure from the series. As a whole, I find Indian film really hard to fathom. Of all the foreign film businesses, India's is the only one I haven't really found something that touches me. I am sorry.

This is the second of three films dubbed by fans as 'The Apu Trilogy', three stories that make up the life of Apu as he goes from childhood to adulthood. I have yet to see the third, but the first two films are very depressing, as horrid things happen to his family. Sadly, they are not unrealistic as child mortality and short life spans were particularly the case in impoverished India back in the day. And, because the films are so often depressing, you might want to think twice before watching them if you are suffering from depression yourself.

In "Pather Panchali", Apu seems like a very ordinary boy growing up poor in rural India. Here in "Aparajito" he's moved to the big city and is growing and gaining the attention of others because they see lots of promise in this bright boy. However, there are many setbacks such as his father's death as well as Apu struggling with what to do with his life, as he has an opportunity to go away and have an excellent education...but it would mean leaving his widowed mother alone.

Like the first film, this is an example of the so-called 'Parallel Cinema" (also called 'New Indian Cinema'). In many ways, it's much like Italian Neo-Realist films as it features ordinary people (not established actors) playing very normal characters. Often in Indian films, the protagonists are rich and beautiful and privileged, but in a Parallel Cinema picture, it gives a view of the ordinary folks who make up the vast majority in the country.

I was not a big fan of the first film. To me, it was depressing but seemed to have little direction and was very slow. Yes, I know it's considered among the greatest Indian films ever made....but for some reason it just didn't work for me. This second picture, in contrast, is a bit easier to watch...probably because there's at least some indication that things will improve eventually. Also, Apu's mother seems less angry and depressed...making the film just a tad lighter and easier to watch. Overall, while I didn't love "Aparajito", I did find it interesting and worth seeing. But, like the previous film, so much hype surrounds it you can't help but feel a tad disappointed....a common thing, actually.