Review of The World of Apu (1959) by Uditha D — 30 Dec 2011

In Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, I consider Apu Sansar as its most fitting and definitive part. Why is say that is simply because it showcases a brilliant, evocative and somber end to what I feel is one of the world's most beautiful collections of art.

In it, Soumitra Chatterjee played the character of Apu in a very convincing way: but that wasn't exactly the main strength in it. I believe that the biggest asset this film had was in its cinematography.

In one of its opening scenes, where the destitute Apu carefully (and unwillingly) selects some books (from an array of classics by Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and the like) to sell in order to pay his rent, was acutely depicted.

The same, if not more, went for the scenes of domesticity after Apu's marriage. Thick, grimy walls, surrounded by a grim and unseasonable household, are depicted: this is what I would call true and accurate camerawork.

But the most beautiful scene in this beautiful film came on later: when, after his wife's tragic death, he goes out to live in the countryside as a wandering hermit, he realizes that all those literary pursuits he so vainly went after were but a cruel illusion.

And when he does realize this ultimately, he does so in what I would fearlessly call the most beautiful and moving scene in cinema history - he goes up to the edge of a mountain, and slowly lets go of a bundle papers he wrote in (for a book he had once ambitiously planned to finish).

As he looks on, all those papers fall down the countryside around him, and a far-out shot catches this moment before a close-up reveals the sadness and desolation imprinted upon his face. All this to the tune of Ravi Shankar's evocative score.

That one scene should convince all of the beauty ingrained in this wonderfully poignant tale. It is one of cinema history's greatest apexes, and I would say that it would be a grand pity if even one film fan fails to see this in their lifetime.