PATHER PANCHALI- A FILM REVIEW
Pather Panchai (Song of the little road) presents to us the complexities of life in all their rythimic harmonies. The film directed by Satyajit Ray is a poignant story of poverty and starvation at various levels and yet a story that challenges the notion that poor are bereft of happiness. Entwined into the film are moments of abject poverty meet moments of small joys that only the poor experience. The whistling sound of the train, running behind the ‘mithai wala’ to steal one sweet, dancing in the rain, picnics in the forest and eating with friends and many such joys make for the nuances in the film that break the comfort of the elitist notion that there is no joy in poverty.
The film is marked by a series …show more content…
The visual of the stormy night depicted the commotion that was going to hit the family, the visual of the dead frog outside the house was symbolic of what was going to happen inside the house. Monsoon is symbolic of change because it brings spells of coolness in the scorching heat. However rainstorms can bring about destruction as well, So monsoons in a way symbolizes promise with a speck of threat. Ray builds up this narrative beautifully accompanied by a montage of images of lotus flowers, dark clouds and tiny aquatic insects, connoting change.
Ray has crafted a rich cinematic experience for the viewers into the lives of his protagonists and engages with them to experience their joys and sorrows. The two characters that truly stand out in the film are that of Durga and her stooped aunt, Indir. Ironic to her wrinkled features and stooped body, her presence lights up the scenes with vitality and life. Durga on the other hand is a spirited girl who absolutely enchants the viewers not with her liveliness but her imperfections. She steals from the neighborhood, hits her brother and also manipulates him to get what she wants just like most other children. Both characters share resemblance with each other and there is always the very appealing trait of the very old and very young. In fact, both characters eventually die through the course of the
Pather Panchai (Song of the little road) presents to us the complexities of life in all their rythimic harmonies. The film directed by Satyajit Ray is a poignant story of poverty and starvation at various levels and yet a story that challenges the notion that poor are bereft of happiness. Entwined into the film are moments of abject poverty meet moments of small joys that only the poor experience. The whistling sound of the train, running behind the ‘mithai wala’ to steal one sweet, dancing in the rain, picnics in the forest and eating with friends and many such joys make for the nuances in the film that break the comfort of the elitist notion that there is no joy in poverty.
The film is marked by a series …show more content…
The visual of the stormy night depicted the commotion that was going to hit the family, the visual of the dead frog outside the house was symbolic of what was going to happen inside the house. Monsoon is symbolic of change because it brings spells of coolness in the scorching heat. However rainstorms can bring about destruction as well, So monsoons in a way symbolizes promise with a speck of threat. Ray builds up this narrative beautifully accompanied by a montage of images of lotus flowers, dark clouds and tiny aquatic insects, connoting change.
Ray has crafted a rich cinematic experience for the viewers into the lives of his protagonists and engages with them to experience their joys and sorrows. The two characters that truly stand out in the film are that of Durga and her stooped aunt, Indir. Ironic to her wrinkled features and stooped body, her presence lights up the scenes with vitality and life. Durga on the other hand is a spirited girl who absolutely enchants the viewers not with her liveliness but her imperfections. She steals from the neighborhood, hits her brother and also manipulates him to get what she wants just like most other children. Both characters share resemblance with each other and there is always the very appealing trait of the very old and very young. In fact, both characters eventually die through the course of the