Watching this not a short film (two hours), the tempo is quite slow, and it is actually quite boring from today's eyes. However, the valuable part of the film is that it reflects the life of the lower class in India from the perspective of a child. The actors in it are not professional at first glance. It's no wonder that director Sayezilei is heard to be a seller in this movie! Perhaps so, he can melt the taste of the remote country into the lens.
Birth and death, such a classic theme, of course, will not be absent from such a classic movie. The moments of joy such as the birth of the protagonist child Apu and the playfulness between his brothers and sisters can hardly conceal the cruel reality of life. At the end of the film, the whole family is burdened with sadness and regret and leaves the old place in search of a new life. This kind of hope, but it seems there is still nothing.
Kurosawa once commented: "Having not seen Sayezerei's movie is like living in the world without seeing the sun and the moon!" If this is the case, I have really seen the sun and the moon just now. Masters appraise masters, and masters do not need to care too much about their tricks. In terms of understanding Indian movies, this drama is also a good knock-on brick.
I checked it and found that this was the first part of "The Apu Trilogy" filmed by the director for the child protagonist Apu. The second is The Unvanquished (The Unvanquished, 1957), and the third is The World of Apu (The World of Apu, 1959). I want to watch the last two parts. Where can I find them? Please let me know if anyone knows, thank you.
VeryCD has a very detailed introduction to the background of this play, it is worth seeing: http://lib.verycd.com/2005/10/19/0000070317.html
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