According to most of what I've read, Satiyajit Ray had never touched a movie camera before he began filming Pather Panchali, and most of his cast had never been in front of a camera before. That's an incredible fact to remember as you watch Pather Panchali, which is a wonderful, rich, heartfelt film about a poor Indian family in an impoverished village. By and large, Pather has little plot; more than anything, it follows a young boy named Apu as he grows up in the village and interacts with his family - his older sister, his parents, and his elderly aunt who lives with them. Though there's an arc to the film - involving the father's efforts to make money for the family as they need it - it's far more shaped by the pieces of life along the way, from a performance by an acting troupe to a trip to see a train to confrontations with the neighbors. There's elements of neo-realism here, to be sure; Ray brings a remarkable grounding to his film, which feels beautifully natural and low-key. But even with its clear links to other movements, Pather Panchali works as its own wonderful portrait of life in this village and among these people. It's unmistakably human and grounded in love and familial bonds, but it's as much shaped by its economic realities and the time and place in which its set, which makes it all the more compelling today. I didn't like Pather Panchali quite as much as I liked The Music Room, whose shape and structure are undoubtedly stronger, but it's still a beautiful, honest film, and the fact that it's a debut feature filmed over years is jaw-dropping; some directors who've worked for years have yet to accomplish something this honest and wonderful.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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