Review of Pather Panchali (1955) by Paul J — 21 Apr 2009
The film that introduced Western audiences to Indian cinema. Ray was heavily influenced by Italian neo-realism and of course Renoir. You might call this Indian neo-realism. Forget Bollywood, this is as real as cinema gets.
The story of a young boy and his troubled family is incredibly moving, while being simple and beautifully poetic. Like Ozu, I adore Ray's cutaways. Life goes on and he focuses on the most intimate and natural moments in time.
Yes, it's tragic but it's only the first in a masterful trilogy. Here is filmmaking as honest and straight-forward as you can get. Truly inspiring.
This review of Pather Panchali (1955) was written by Paul J on 21 Apr 2009.
Pather Panchali has generally received very positive reviews.
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